Case 1:15-cv-00021-RJA Document 1 Filed 01/06/15 Page 1 of 7

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff,

-v$3,049.00 UNITED STATES CURRENCY,

Defendant.
_____________________________________________
VERIFIED COMPLAINT FOR FORFEITURE
The United States of America, by its attorney, William J. Hochul, Jr., United States
Attorney for the Western District of New York, Richard D. Kaufman, Assistant United
States Attorney, of counsel, for its verified complaint herein alleges as follows:

CAUSE OF ACTION
1.

This is an action in rem for the forfeiture of $3,049.00 United States currency,

hereinafter referred to as defendant currency, seized from JERMAINE ELLISON,

pursuant to the provisions of Title 21, United States Code, Section 881(a)(6).

2.

This Court has subject matter jurisdiction of this action pursuant to the

provisions of Title 28, United States Code, Sections 1345 and 1355(a), in rem jurisdiction
pursuant to Title 28, United States Code, Sections 1355(b) and 1355(d). Venue is properly
premised in the Western District of New York pursuant to Title 28, United States Code,
Section 1395.

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3.

On June 4, 2014, officers did seize the defendant currency from JERMAINE

ELLISON incident to a traffic stop conducted in Buffalo, New York.

The defendant

currency was seized upon the basis that it was furnished, or intended to be furnished in
exchange for a controlled substance, is proceeds traceable to exchanges of controlled
substances and/or had otherwise been used to facilitate a violation of Title 21, United States
Code, Subchapter I of Chapter 13, Section 801 et. seq. Therefore, the defendant currency is
subject to forfeiture pursuant to Title 21, United States Code, Section 881(a)(6), and was
placed in and remains in the custody of the United States Marshals Service in Buffalo, New
York.

SEIZURE OF THE DEFENDANT CURRENCY

4.

On June 4, 2014, officers from the Buffalo Police Department stopped a

vehicle with South Carolina license plates which were registered to Hertz, LLC., at a
random checkpoint in Buffalo, NY. The driver was identified as JERMAINE ELLISON,
and there was also a female passenger in the vehicle. ELLISON advised officers that he did
not have a valid license and he was not listed on the vehicles rental agreement. Officers
asked ELLISON to exit the vehicle, and he was then observed reaching into his pocket and
attempting to discard a plastic baggie. Officers recovered the plastic baggie and found that it
contained less than an eighth of an ounce of crack cocaine.

5.

Officers searched the vehicle and recovered a digital scale containing cocaine

residue from within the pocket of the drivers side door. A search of ELLISONs person
was conducted, and the defendant currency was found within his pants pocket. When
2

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asked about the source of the currency, ELLISON at first would not tell officers where it
was from, and later claimed that he was holding it for his girlfriend.

6.

JERMAINE ELLISON was arrested and charged with the following New

York State Penal Law violations: misdemeanor Criminal Possession of a Controlled

Substance- 7th Degree (NYS PL 220.03); misdemeanor Criminal Use of Drug Paraphernalia2nd Degree (NYS PL 220.50 SUB 03); misdemeanor Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle (NYS
PL 165.05 SUB 01); misdemeanor Obstruction of Governmental Administration- 2nd Degree
(NYS PL 195.05); and driving without a license (VTL 0509 SUB 01). Charges are still
pending at the time of this complaint.

7.

Cash is the almost exclusive medium of exchange among drug dealers. The

defendant currency was found in ELLISONs pocket in the following denominations:

2111122514-

One hundred dollar bills;

Fifty dollar bills;
Twenty dollar bill;
Ten dollar bills;
Five dollar bills; and
One dollar bills.

The abundance of smaller bills is significant in that law enforcement believes, due to
previous investigations and experience, that the predominance of these bills is characteristic
of currency received by drug distributers from their customers and provided to them by their
suppliers, as payment for past or future deliveries of controlled substances.

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CRIMINAL AND EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

8.

JERMAINE ELLISON was unemployed at the time of this incident, and has

a lengthy criminal history.

In 2004, ELLISON was convicted of Attempted Drug

Possession- 5th Degree at the age of 17, after being arrested while in possession of
approximately 3.5 grams of cocaine. He was sentenced to six (6) months in prison and five
(5) years of probation. In 2007, ELLISON was charged with multiple charges including
felony Robbery- 1st Degree: Theft Armed with a Deadly Weapon. The arrest was as a result
of an undercover gun buy turned heist which involved ELLISON and two others, where an
individual working undercover for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives was ultimately shot and wounded. All three men were subsequently indicted by
a federal grand jury. ELLISON was later convicted on a federal Robbery charge, and was
sentenced to 41 months in prison and five (5) years supervised release. In 2013, ELLISON
was arrested and charged with felony Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance with
Intent to Sell- 3rd Degree and misdemeanor drug possession, after a search of his residence
by officers revealed approximately a half-dozen different prescription drugs 1, digital scales
and drug packaging.

The search warrant was executed as a result of an ongoing

investigation into his drug activities, which included controlled purchases of cocaine made
from ELLISON at his residence. He was later convicted upon a plea of guilty to the
misdemeanor drug possession charge and was sentenced to time served.

9.

During the 2013 search warrant and arrest, officers also recovered $16,808.00

United States currency from JERMAINE ELLISONs residence, and initiated federal
1

1 Fentanyl patch, 43 blue Alprazolam tablets, 10 yellow Clonazepam tablets, and 1 white oval Watson brand pill
were recovered during the search.

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forfeiture proceedings pursuant to Title 21, United States Code, Section 881(a)(6). Of that
total amount, $5,260.00 was located in a dresser drawer, $1,548.00 was within a pocket of a
pair of pants belonging to ELLISON, and $10,000.00 was located in a black BeBe bag in
a bedroom. The currency was found to be in smaller denominations including 430- $20
bills, 102- $10 bills and 527- $5 bills, and a K9 search resulted in a positive alert on the
currency fort the presence of narcotics. The $16,808.00 was not claimed after noticing of all
parties and internet publication, and it was ultimately administratively forfeited to the
United States.

INITIATION OF JUDICIAL ACTION

10.

On or about October 16, 2014, JERMAINE ELLISON, through his attorney

Herbert L. Greenman, Esq., submitted a claim to the Drug Enforcement Administration to

halt the administrative forfeiture proceedings against the defendant currency in favor of
judicial forfeiture proceedings.

CONCLUSION AND REQUESTS FOR RELIEF

11.

Based on all of the forgoing facts, the circumstances surrounding these facts,

and the experience and training of officers involved, there is cause to believe by a
preponderance of the evidence that the defendant currency was furnished or intended to be
furnished in exchange for a controlled substance, are proceeds traceable to such exchanges,
and/or were used or intended to be used to facilitate a violation of Title 21, United States
Code, Subchapter I of Chapter 13, Section 801 et. seq., and as such is seized and forfeitable
pursuant to Title 21, United States Code, Section 881(a)(6).
5

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WHEREFORE, the United States of America respectfully requests:

(1) that an arrest warrant in rem be issued for the arrest of the defendant
currency;
(2) that all persons having any interest therein be cited to appear herein and
show cause why the forfeiture not be decreed;
(3) that a judgment be entered declaring the defendant currency be
condemned and forfeited to the United States of America for disposition in
accordance with the law;
(4) that the Court grant such order and further relief as deemed just and
proper.

DATED:

Buffalo, New York, January 6, 2015.

WILLIAM J. HOCHUL, JR.

United States Attorney
BY:

s/RICHARD D. KAUFMAN
Assistant United States Attorney
United States Attorneys Office
Western District of New York
138 Delaware Avenue
Buffalo, New York 14202
716-843-5871
richard.kaufman@usdoj.gov

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STATE OF NEW YORK

COUNTY OF ERIE
CITY OF BUFFALO

)
)
)

SS:

I, Daniel Redmond, being duly sworn, deposes and says:

I am a Task Force Officer currently assigned to the Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA) in the Western District of New York. I am also assigned to the
DEAs files on the investigation of the $3,049.00 United States Currency seized from
JERMAINE ELLISON. The facts alleged in the Verified Complaint for Forfeiture are true
to the best of my knowledge and belief, and were obtained during the course of the
investigation of the defendant currency from the official files of the Buffalo Police
Department and Drug Enforcement Administration, and provided to the officials of the
United States Department of Justice, United States Attorneys Office.

s/DANIEL REDMOND
TASK FORCE OFFICER
DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINSTRATION

Subscribed and sworn to before

me this 6th day of January 2015.

Annette M. Skinner
Notary Public
ANNETTE M. SKINNER
Notary Public, State of New York
Qualified in Erie County
My Commission Expires: 05-28-2017