Federal Judge Wants Explanation From Texas on Local Police Export Control Actions
A judge with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas declined to allow the state of Texas to voluntarily drop a civil forfeiture lawsuit over goods seized by a local law enforcement group that aims to stop illegal exports. The state will continue litigation in a similar case in front of the same court. The federal government isn't a party in either case.
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Judge Charles Eskridge said in a Feb. 11 order that he would like to hear arguments on two cases of civil forfeiture, one involving an airplane and another involving oilfield equipment. In both cases, a Polk County Deputy Constable, Captain Beau Price, as part of the South East Texas Export Investigation Group (SETEIG), seized the goods in question. The court is now raising questions over the validity of the claims made to forfeit the property. A conference scheduled for Feb. 18 to discuss both of these cases was delayed due to weather.
SETEIG is a pilot program wherein a group of law enforcement officials in Polk County, Texas, are working in conjunction with the Department of Commerce, the Department of Homeland Security and the Houston and Galveston district attorney's offices to use the state's money laundering laws to crack down on export control violations, according to a report from a local news website. In its first 18 months, from the beginning of 2017 to July 2018, the group seized more than $1.3 million -- money that goes directly to Polk County law enforcement and, at least as of November 2019, pays Price's salary, according to an agenda from a County Commissioners Court meeting.
In the case involving oilfield equipment, Price seized 13 pallets of industrial oilfield hoses and five pallets of blowout preventers in June 2020 from TSD SRL, based on allegations that the equipment was to be used in Iran. Texas argued that the intent to ship these goods to Iran violates a Texas money laundering law and the Export Control Reform Act due to lack of an export license for the goods.
Eskridge's order said that the lawyers for Texas in the case asked on Feb. 4 that the case be dismissed with prejudice “without explanation,” prompting the request for more information. “Concern exists about the propriety of the initiation and prosecution of this type of action based on what appears to be scant evidence,” he said. “Depending upon information discerned at hearing, the Court is considering appropriate investigation of the development and prosecution of this matter.”
In regard to the aircraft, a 2005 Raytheon Aircraft Co. Hawker 800XP jet was originally detained by the Bureau of Industry and Security under claims of improper exportation. The aircraft is owned by a Texas trust agreement in the name of Texas company Global Jets but operated by a Mexican company and citizen. In the initial conference over the validity of the forfeiture claims on the jet, Price said that he thought the aircraft might be used in a Sept. 11, 2001-style attack, without evidence, prompting concern from Eskridge.
“It appears to me as though most of [the judge's] concern stemmed from the striking similarity of the allegations involving both the 'pallets' and aircraft, emanating from a small cadre of individuals, primarily in the form of Beau Price, and others associated with federal agencies such as the Bureau of Industry and Security,” a lawyer associated with one of the cases said. “Judge Eskridge was particularly concerned after he asked counsel for the State to describe the various criminal proceedings that would almost assuredly be brought against those related somehow to the aircraft and its alleged use for illegal purposes, and yet counsel was unable to describe a single criminal proceeding in that regard.”
BIS and the state's lawyers declined to comment. Polk County law enforcement did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Email ECDNews@warren-news.com for a copy of the memorandum and order.