Check out the latest news from Oklahoma:
You may have heard of civil asset forfeiture.
That’s where police can seize your property and cash without first proving you committed a crime; without a warrant and without arresting you, as long as they suspect that your property is somehow tied to a crime.
Now, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol has a device that also allows them to seize money in your bank account or on prepaid cards.
Yikes!
It’s called an ERAD, or Electronic Recovery and Access to Data machine, and state police began using 16 of them last month.
Here’s how it works. If a trooper suspects you may have money tied to some type of crime, the highway patrol can scan any cards you have and seize the money.
At least manufactured spending doesn’t look suspicious, since normal people often drive to and fro with tons of gift cards, prepaids, and money orders in their vehicles.
And remember: incentives matter. If you have a few thousand dollars of cards in your car on the way back from CVS or the mall or wherever, the authorities have an incentive to grab it since they get a cut of the loot, as does the ERAD manufacturer:
News 9 obtained a copy of the contract with the state.
It shows the state is paying ERAD Group Inc., $5,000 for the software and scanners, then 7.7 percent of all the cash the highway patrol seizes.
Fortunately for all of us, manufactured spending is dying anyway…
MickiSue says
Wow. That’s not a Supreme Court case just waiting to happen or anything…
Remind me to stay out of OK.
ed says
There’s more than just this happening throughout the U.S. as we continue to lose liberty. When a majority of Americans vote in those who believe big brother government is preferable to small government then this is what we get. It doesn’t matter what party a state seems loyal to, it matters who we put in office and who they put on judicial benches. The so-called fight against money laundering has gone too far and innocents will be hurt by these laws. Where is judicial process in all this. We’re becoming like Italy where the police can deem someone guilty without trial and guilty until proven innocent.
TravelBloggerBuzz says
Buy ERAD is the new Buy Gold 🙂
nsx at FlyerTalk says
Manufactured spending meets manufactured crime.
MickiSue says
I wonder…what happens if the cop asks if s/he can search your car, and you say no?
My understanding is that they must have a valid reason for doing so. But clearly, it doesn’t always work that way.
My other thought was this: I rarely if ever have my GCs/MOs just sitting in the car, or even in the glove compartment. I keep them in my purse. Which, of course, I’d grab as I exited the car, so as to have my phone available to start videoing the procedure for evidence.
Billy Bob says
There are a great many laws that it is ok to ignore.