State of Minnesota Julie Blaha State Auditor __________________________________________________________________________ Asset Forfeitures in Minnesota For the Year Ended December 31, 2020 Description of the Office of the State Auditor The mission of the Office of the State Auditor is to oversee local government finances for Minnesota taxpayers by helping to ensure financial integrity and accountability in local governmental financial activities. Through financial, compliance, and special audits, the State Auditor oversees and ensures that local government funds are used for the purposes intended by law and that local governments hold themselves to the highest standards of financial accountability. The State Auditor performs approximately 100 financial and compliance audits per year and has oversight responsibilities for over 3,300 local units of government throughout the state. The office currently maintains five divisions: Audit Practice ‐ conducts financial and legal compliance audits of local governments; Government Information ‐ collects and analyzes financial information for cities, towns, counties, and special districts; Legal/Special Investigations ‐ provides legal analysis and counsel to the Office and responds to outside inquiries about Minnesota local government law; as well as investigates allegations of misfeasance, malfeasance, and nonfeasance in local government; Pension ‐ monitors investment, financial, and actuarial reporting for Minnesota’s local public pension funds; and Tax Increment Financing ‐ promotes compliance and accountability in local governments’ use of tax increment financing through financial and compliance audits. The State Auditor serves on the State Executive Council, State Board of Investment, Land Exchange Board, Public Employees Retirement Association Board, Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, and the Rural Finance Authority Board. Office of the State Auditor 525 Park Street, Suite 500 Saint Paul, Minnesota 55103 (651) 296‐2551 [email protected] www.osa.state.mn.us This document can be made available in alternative formats upon request. Call (651) 296‐2551 [voice] or 1‐800‐627‐3529 [relay service] for assistance; or visit the Office of the State Auditor’s web site: www.osa.state.mn.us. Asset Forfeitures in Minnesota For the Year Ended December 31, 2020 August 19, 2021 Government Information Division Office of the State Auditor State of Minnesota Deputy State Auditor Dianne Syverson Staff Kathy Docter, Director of Government Information Division John Jernberg, Research Analysis Specialist Christy John, Research Analyst Intermediate Mark Albarado, Management Analyst 2 Tiffany O’Neil, Accounting Officer Erin St. Cyr, Accounting Officer Marie Henning, Local Government Auditor ‐ Senior TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary ................................................................................................................. 1 Scope and Methodology .......................................................................................................... 2 Background ............................................................................................................................. 3 2020 Forfeiture Activity ........................................................................................................... 6 Range in Net Proceeds Level ........................................................................................ 7 Forfeiture Activity by Law Enforcement Agency ........................................................... 8 Type of Property .......................................................................................................... 8 Table 1: Type of Forfeited Property ‐ 2019 and 2020 ................................................... 9 Type of Crime ............................................................................................................. 10 Controlled Substance and DUI‐Related Forfeitures .................................................... 11 Forfeited Property Destroyed, Retained, or Forwarded to Other Agency ................... 13 Final Disposition of Property ...................................................................................... 13 Property or Proceeds Shared With Other Agency ........................................................ 13 Agencies Reporting No Forfeitures in 2020 ................................................................. 14 Data Tables Table 2 ‐ Property Seized Subject to Forfeiture ‐ Final Disposition ‐ 2020 ‐ Sorted by Agency and Net Proceeds ..................................................................................................... 16 Table 3 ‐ Summary of Forfeiture Activity by Agency ‐ 2020 ‐ Sorted by Agency ..................... 210 Appendices Appendix 1 ‐ Law Enforcement Agencies Reporting No Forfeitures in 2020 .......................... 220 Appendix 2 ‐ 2020 Drug and Violent Crime Enforcement Teams ............................................. 223 Executive Summary In 2020, 298 Minnesota law enforcement agencies reported a total of 5,785 completed forfeitures. This compares to 7,708 completed forfeitures in 2019 (pg. 6). Of the 5,785 completed forfeitures reported in 2020, 3,270 involved seized cash, property that was sold, or an agreement that required monetary compensation to the agency.1 The total value of net proceeds from these forfeitures was $5,614,419 (pg. 7). In 2020, gross sales of forfeited property or seized cash totaled $8,016,229; administrative expenses and lienholders’ obligations totaled $1,388,684;2 amount returned totaled $1,221,949;3 and net proceeds totaled $5,614,4194 (pg. 7). The agencies with 100 or more completed forfeitures in 2020 were: the Minnesota State Patrol (1,074); Department of Natural Resources, Enforcement Division (DNR) (417); Wright County Sheriff’s Office (134); Saint Paul Police Department (115); and Minneapolis Police Department (112) (pg. 8). In 2020, vehicles5 accounted for 61 percent of property seized, followed by cash at 21 percent, firearms at 15 percent, and other property at two percent (pg. 8). The most common criminal activities leading to seizure, forfeiture, and final disposition of property in 2020 were DUI‐related and controlled substance, accounting for 85 percent of the forfeitures. DUI‐related forfeitures accounted for 2,635, or 46 percent, of reported forfeitures, while forfeitures involving a controlled substance accounted for 2,308, or 40 percent, of reported forfeitures. The remaining forfeitures involved game and fish violations (416), fleeing (254), prostitution (53), weapons (45), “other” crimes (38), robbery/theft (14), assault (12), and burglary (10) (pg. 10). For 2020, 148 agencies reported that they did not process any property under the forfeiture statutes, compared to 134 in 2019 (pg. 14). 1The remaining 2,515 completed forfeitures involved property returned, property destroyed, and other types of dispositions that did not result in net proceeds. 2These costs represent the payment of seizure, storage, forfeiture, and sale expenses; satisfaction of valid liens against the property; and court‐ordered restitution (Minn. Stat. § 609.5315, subd. 4). 3Amount returned represents cash returned to owner per court order or agreement. 4Net proceeds do not equal the gross proceeds minus administrative expenses/lienholder obligations because when expenses exceed the gross proceeds, the net proceeds available for distribution are shown as zero. 5Vehicles include ATVs, boats, golf carts, motorcycles, scooters, and snowmobiles. 1 Scope and Methodology Under Minnesota law, property associated with designated criminal offenses may be forfeited. Minn. Stat. § 609.5315, subd. 6, directs the appropriate agency to report to the Office of the State Auditor (OSA) property seized subject to forfeiture after final disposition. Information reported to the Office of the State Auditor includes eth amount forfeited, the statutory authority for the forfeiture, the disposition date, a brief description of the circumstances involved, whether the forfeiture was contested, and the final disposition of the property. For controlled substance and driving while impaired forfeitures, the report must indicate whether the forfeiture was initiated as an administrative or a judicial forfeiture. For firearms, the make, model, and serial number of each firearm forfeited must be reported. The forfeitures presented in this report only reflect property forfeited under state statutes. Property forfeited under federal statutes is reported to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury (USDT). The data can be found on the DOJ website at https://www.justice.gov/afp and the USDT website at https://home.treasury.gov/policy‐ issues/terrorism‐and‐illicit‐finance/asset‐forfeiture/annual‐reports. This report provides information on the cash and property seized subject to forfeiture in which the final disposition was completed in 2020.6 Forfeitures are considered complete in the year in which there is a final disposition of the seized property regardless of the date the property is initially seized. At final disposition, items are sold, retained for law enforcement purposes, destroyed, forwarded to other law enforcement agencies, or returned to the owner. This report does not reflect all property seizure and forfeiture activity in 2020, but rather the number of forfeitures that went through final disposition in 2020.7 In 2020, 446 law enforcement agencies were required to report forfeiture activity to