United States v. Vincent Cantu

MEMORANDUM

In 2009, Vincent Cantu pled guilty to committing multiple armed bank robberies. He was sentenced to 162 months in prison and ordered to pay $37,338 in restitution to the banks. We affirmed his sentence in 2011. United States v. Cantu, 427 Fed.Appx. 587 (9th Cir. 2011).

The present matter concerns Cantu’s motion under Rule 41(g) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure for the return of $3,000 that was seized from his home during a search. In support of his motion, he explains that the money represents part of a loan from his mother-in-law and must be returned because the government has no “legitimate reason” to retain it. See United States v. Gladding, 775 F.3d 1149, 1152 (9th Cir. 2014).

The district court denied Cantu’s motion. The court concluded that the $3,000 actually represents proceeds from one of Cantu’s robberies and may, accordingly, be applied to the restitution he owes the victim bank. As a result, the government has satisfied its burden of proving that it has “legitimate reason” to retain the money. Id.

The district court did not clearly err in reaching this conclusion. Shortly after his arrest, Cantu admitted in an FBI proffer session that the…