Alcaraz-Garcia

Raul D. Covarrubias, David Haro and Javier R. Aguirre (“Appellants”) appeal the district court’s denial of their third party petition to amend an order of forfeiture imposed under 18 U.S.C. § 982 (a). The criminal forfeiture arose from the defendant Francisco Alcaraz-Garcia’s (“Alearaz”) failure to report that he was carrying $35,020 in cash when crossing the border. In their petition, Appellants claimed ownership of a portion of the $25,020 that was forfeited, alleging they had each given sums of money to Alearaz to deliver to their families in Colima, Mexico. After a hearing, the district court denied their petition, finding that the Appellants failed to establish their ownership interest in the forfeited funds under California law.

We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and, for the following reasons, we REVERSE the district court’s denial of the third party petition and REMAND to the *772 district court for an appropriate amendment of the forfeiture order.

I.

On June 22, 1994, while driving from Southern California to the airport in Tijuana, Mexico, Alcaraz was stopped at the Otay Mesa, California Port of Entry. In response to questioning during primary and secondary…