Trafficking Victim Obtains Novel Reversal of DOJ Rejection of Request for Funds Seized From Captors

A team from Paul, Weiss, in conjunction with the New York City Bar Justice Center, successfully appealed a denial by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) of a remission petition recently enacted under 28 C.F.R. § 9. Our client was smuggled into this country under false pretenses and forced to engage in prostitution for years against her will. After federal prosecutors successfully convicted her captors of several crimes and seized their funds in a case that attracted national media attention, our client sought to obtain part of the funds under a regulation providing for remission of seized funds to victims. The DOJ rejected this petition, claiming that another regulatory provision denying the right to those who engaged in illegal activities applied to our client. The DOJ recently reversed its earlier determination and awarded the victim her fair share of the seized funds.

Paul, Weiss's letter brief argued that the provision did not apply to forced prostitution and that the government's failure to provide our client with a portion of the funds seized from her victimizers following their criminal proceeding, as required by statute, demanded a finding in her favor.

The Paul, Weiss team included litigation associates Alexander L. Alum, Adam B. Felsenthal, and was supervised by partner Moses Silverman.