Indiana
California man who had $42K seized at Indiana FedEx facility gets money back after legal fight
LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Millions of packages move across the country every single day. Many of those go through the FedEx facility in Indianapolis. That’s where they can get taken – not by thieves but by local law enforcement.
“I am just totally stunned that this can happen in America,” California jewelry wholesaler Henry Cheng told Eyewitness News about how he had tens of thousands of dollars seized by another state.
He didn’t want to be identified on camera because he says robbers often target him to steal his merchandise. In this case, he sold items to a client in Virginia. The client sent him $42,000 in a FedEx package. It was stopped in Indianapolis.
“The next thing I know is the police and the prosecutor is forfeiting my money, saying that based solely on suspicions, they didn’t even name the crime that I’ve committed, because I know I have not committed any crime,” Cheng said.
The practice of civil forfeiture is legal and common. It allows local governments to seize property suspected to be involved in criminal activity. Property can be seized without a conviction or charges.
Cheng called police and the prosecutor’s office in Indianapolis and says they wouldn’t give him a reason why the money was taken. He showed authorities the receipt for the sale. He was told it didn’t matter.
“You can get your money back, but you got to go to court,” Cheng said he was told.
A public interest law firm called the Institute for Justice took up the case and filed a lawsuit.
“Civil forfeiture really is one of the greatest threats to property rights in the nation today,” said Sam Gedge, a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice. “It lets governments across the nation take people’s cash, their cars, their homes, without ever convicting them of a crime, without charging them with a crime.”
The Indianapolis FedEx hub is the second largest in the United States, and attorneys claim law enforcement in Indiana is using that to profit because it can keep a large part of the money.
In the affidavit for probable cause, it states one of the reasons the parcel was deemed suspicious and pulled for inspection is simply because it was shipped to California.
“So they describe California as a quote, a source state, a source state for drugs,” Gedge said.
The affidavit in this case adds several other reasons for the package being suspicious: the seams were secured with tape, it was dropped off at a FedEx shipping center. It also states that it contained $100 bills, $50 bills and $20 bills. It claims those denominations are consistent with illegal activities.
“They simply say that there’s been, quote, a violation of a criminal statute. They don’t tell you what criminal statute. They don’t tell you what violation and really it is just a numbers game,” Gedge said.
A numbers game that adds up to a lot of money. Gedge says the prosecutors’ office in Marion County, Indiana has stopped more than 130 packages over the last two years and seized about $2.5 million.
“Oftentimes, to travel to Indiana, if you live in California, to try to litigate a civil forfeiture action, it may very well cost more to hire a lawyer to defend yourself than the amount of money at stake,” Gedge said.
Now after several lawsuits and questions from Eyewitness News and others, Cheng is getting back his money.
“The state came back and said ‘OK, now that we know the full story we’re willing to give the money back,’” Gedge said.
Gedge adds that the government always knew the full story. Nothing changed in the last few months. He said the evidence was always there.
“For people who are willing to lawyer up and spend months filing in the courts and incurring all this time and resources trying to defend their property, sometimes the government just gives up, but of course, a lot of people can’t afford to do that,” Gedge said.
“A lot of people don’t have the good fortune to have free lawyers, and for those people, the government tends not to be quite as ready to give people’s property back,” he added.
Attorneys say the return of the money will not end the case. They counter-sued with a class action lawsuit over the constitutionality of the process used to seize and forfeit assets.
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INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament’s Final Four is set.
Four teams have advanced to the Final Four and will compete for the national championship this upcoming weekend in Indianapolis.
The two national semifinal matchups will take place on Saturday. Tip times for the two games have been announced:
- 6:09 p.m. EDT – No. 3 seed Illinois vs. No. 2 seed UConn
- 8:49 p.m. EDT – No. 1 seed Michigan vs. No. 1 seed Arizona
The winners of Saturday’s games will then play in the National Championship Game on Monday, April 6.
Each game will take place inside Lucas Oil Stadium.
INDIANAPOLIS — Hundreds of Hoosiers gathered at the Indiana Statehouse Saturday morning as part of nationwide ‘No Kings’ events to voice their concerns about the current administration.
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Hundreds gather at Indiana State Capitol for ‘No Kings’ protest
“I’m out here today because what’s happening in our government is completely trash,” Donna Sipes told WRTV. “It’s wrong. We need to do something about it.”
“I’m tired of every single day when the TV comes on to see what stupid thing he’s done next,” Lindi Marti said.
WRTV
Attendees noted the growing popularity of the demonstrations.
“This is my fourth one to come to. I didn’t come to all of them when it was really cold, but I’m glad to see that they are getting a lot more people out here every time,” Marti added. “It seems like there’s more and more coming.”
Demonstrators highlighted specific foreign policy concerns, including the administration’s handling of the war in Iran.
“We’re bombing the heck out of them. We’re killing civilians,” Marti’s husband said. “We’re getting ready to send our Marines.”
WRTV
Others focused on the administration’s handling of immigration.
“That’s what I’m concerned about,” Reverend Kenny Little told WRTV. “Little kids, they’re taking them away from their family. And I’m just one of those people, I think everyone got rights.”
Indiana medical students also attended the rally to speak out against changes to the healthcare system.
“We’re really worried about the attacks on the health care system in general, but with Medicaid… current estimates range from anywhere from 325,000 to 450,000 Hoosiers will lose coverage by 2032,” Wade Catt said with concern.
WRTV
With midterm elections approaching later this year, attendees emphasized the importance of now taking action at the ballot box.
“If we don’t vote, then things are gonna not, they’re gonna stay the same,” a protester said.
Meanwhile, Indiana Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith says he’s happy to see Hoosiers exercise their First Amendment right to protest.
However, he takes issue with the idea that President Trump is acting like a king. Beckwith says the fact that people have the freedom to protest is proof that the president is not acting like a tyrant.
He acknowledges that bridging the gap between the sides is probably an uphill battle, but believes communication is key.
“I think when you sit down with people face to face, you’re confronted with humanity. There’s another human sitting across that table from you and talking to you. And so, all I have to say, I think that’s probably the thing I would encourage all Hoosiers to do is say, ‘Hey, if you don’t agree with somebody or if you don’t like somebody, why don’t you try grabbing coffee with them? And give it 30 minutes, and just see what happens.’ I bet most of the time people will walk away with a much softer heart and spirit towards that person before they came in,” Beckwith said.
Beckwith is currently on a 92-county tour of the state. He says all sides are welcome to attend his events.
__
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Police say one “young man” is dead after a shooting at the 1200 block of Rue Rabelais at about 7:19 p.m. according to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
That is near the intersection of 56th Street and Binford Boulevard.
Police say the victim was taken to Riley Hospital where he later died. Investigators say they are still working to identify the victim.
There was no known information about a suspect. Police did say that they believe this is a targeted incident.
There was no other information immediately available.
This story has been updated with information from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
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