Semaan

Penal Code section 186.11, sometimes called the

“Freeze and Seize Law,” permits the superior court in certain white-collar criminal cases to take possession of assets under the defendants’ control and to preserve them for the payment of restitution. A person who claims an interest in frozen assets may seek their release by filing a verified claim with the superior court. (§ 186.11, subd. (e)(6).) In this case, the superior court denied a claim filed by the person whose name appeared on a frozen bank account controlled by defendants, finding the claimant failed to show she actually owned any of the money in the account. The Court of Appeal, reasoning that the People had the burden to show by clear and convincing evidence the claimant did not own the disputed funds, reversed. We conclude the Court of Appeal erred and, thus, reverse.

I. Background

Defendants Youssef Semaan and Lilliane Semaan pled guilty to a complaint charging them with 99 felony counts arising out of a “credit card bust-out” scheme. The scheme exploited “courtesy checks” mailed by credit card issuers to cardholders in order to encourage the cards’ use. Using courtesy checks, defendants would overpay by…