United States v. $223,178.00 in Bank Account Funds

MEMORANDUM ***

Claimant Kathy Tran appeals in part the district court’s order granting summary judgment to the government in this civil forfeiture proceeding. The government seeks forfeiture of over $485,000 in bank accounts, cashier’s checks, and cash that it contends represent proceeds from Tran’s facilitation of fraudulent marriages between U.S. citizens and foreign nationals. In opposition to the government’s motion for summary judgment, Tran submitted two declarations which, if credited, would lend support to her contention that a portion of the funds seized by the government derive from innocent sources. A declaration from Steven, Tran’s brother, states that he gave Tran roughly $1,000 to $1,200 per month beginning in 1995 in an effort to repay her for prior financial support. The second declaration, from Tran’s son, Chris Huynh, states that Huynh gave Tran $137,974.81 in earnings from his employment with a company called Source One Marketing. In granting summary judgment for the government, the district court held that, because the declarations were unaccompanied by documentary evidence presumably within the control of claimant or the declarants, the declarations were…