United States v. Angela Aguilar

Angela Maria Gomez Aguilar (“Angela”), Enrique Faustino Aguilar Gomez (“Enrique Jr.”), and Grupo Internacional de Asesores S.A. (“Grupo”) (collectively the “Appellants”) appeal the district court’s denial of their Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(1) motion to set aside a default judgment for forfeiture. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

A. Preliminary Proceedings, Criminal Trial, and Dismissal

Angela and her husband Enrique Faustino Aguilar Noriega (“Enrique Sr.”) were stockholders of and controlled Grupo, a Panamanian corporation. In December 2008, as part of a long-term Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) investigation, the government seized approximately $2.4 million held at one time in Grupo’s name in a brokerage account. The government believed that illegal payments to Mexican officials had been tunneled through Grupo’s account. In June 2009, the government, Angela, and Enrique Sr. entered into a stipulation to delay the filing of a civil forfeiture complaint against the seized funds pending the outcome of the criminal investigation.

In August 2010, agents arrested Angela while she was traveling…