TheBuzz
TheBuzz
Bad guys’ loss can be
your (bar)gain onlineThe popularity of online auction sites such as eBay has taught the federal government a very profitable lesson.
For decades, various government agencies have auctioned off surplus, forfeited or seized property the old-fashioned way, but some have become hip to the online scene.
The U.S. Marshals Service has renewed its contract with Bid4Assets for a third year in order to continue online sales of a variety of high-end properties. In the past, it has sold items including a Lamborghini, sport-fishing vessels and land in Hawaii.
Online auctions have brought in millions of dollars so far, according to Len Briskman, deputy chief for business management of the Asset Forfeiture office in Wash., D.C.
In the coming fiscal year the service expects to increase its "business" with Bid4Assets' services, he said.
Not all the cars offered are as rare as the Lambo or the 1950 Bentley now listed on the site; there's also a 1971 Chevy Chevelle SS. Potential bidders will see some other extremes among the offerings, from a three-piece wood and brass bar to a 2001 Neoteric Hovercraft, which sold for $9,400.
The chop-suey mix of items can be "anything that's been forfeited," Briskman said, rattling off a list of vehicles, personal property, airplanes, houses, businesses, commercial real estate, mortgages and financial instruments.
The variety results from the wide-ranging seizures and forfeitures made by the Marshals Service.
Proceeds from illegal activity may have been used to buy an expensive vehicle, which makes the vehicle subject to forfeiture, he said. If someone is running a business and dealing drugs through it, or is engaged in other illegal activity and is laundering the money through the business, the business could wind up on the Web site, Briskman said.
"Many times proceeds go back to the victims of the cases," he said. Otherwise the money goes into a special fund.
The auction arrangement also saves taxpayer dollars, according to Bid4Assets publicist Linda Barker.
Seized or forfeited properties cost money to maintain, she said, but selling them quickly "puts these properties back in tax-producing situations where the owner is now going to pay property tax."
The service still disposes of seized and forfeited property in more traditional methods, Briskman said, but the online auctions "have proved to be a very successful way to turn over assets quicker."
On a more tactile level, the Honolulu Police Department will stage its next auction of recovered items, ranging from forfeited goods to unclaimed lost-and-found stuff, at 9 a.m. Saturday.
The mix of offerings includes jewelry, electronic equipment and a Pokemon card collection.
HPD does not auction items online and has no plans to do so, according to a department spokeswoman.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin.
Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached
at: eengle@starbulletin.com