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How A FedEx Shipping Hub Has Become A Cash Cow For Indiana

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How A FedEx Shipping Hub Has Become A Cash Cow For Indiana


Henry and Minh Cheng are jewelry wholesalers who have done business across the U.S. for over three decades, but one state they have never been to is Indiana. That hasn’t stopped Indiana from taking more than $42,000 from the couple without charging them with a crime. How did the state end up with their money? By intercepting packages at a busy FedEx shipping hub at the Indianapolis airport.

Civil forfeiture is often derided as “policing for profit,” but what is happening in Indiana hardly qualifies as policing. The hub in Indianapolis is the company’s second busiest in the U.S. Some 99,000 packages are processed per hour.

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For at least several years, police have pulled packages from conveyor belts, run K-9s over them, gotten warrants to open the parcels, and seized money when they find it. Prosecutors for Marion County then file civil forfeiture cases to keep the money. Property owners find themselves fighting for their cash in a court that could be hundreds or thousands of miles away from home.

Indiana prosecutors file these cases without alleging any specific violation of Indiana law. Instead, they say the cash is proceeds of “a violation of a criminal statute.” To get their money back, property owners have to affirmatively defend against allegations that their property is linked to a crime. It is American justice flipped on its head.

For Henry and Minh, shipping products is standard but shipping cash is out of the ordinary. They work with Asian retail jewelers across the country and had shipped gold chains to a regular customer in Virginia. The retailer was slow to submit payment, and a few months after the sale the customer said she could pay promptly in cash. So the bill would be paid right away, Henry and Minh agreed to accept the cash payment and sent her a FedEx shipping label.

The money never got to the Chengs in California. What they got instead was a civil forfeiture notice. At this stage, many people simply give up, as the cost to pay an attorney can quickly equal the amount of money lost. Some who do get a lawyer choose to cut a deal with prosecutors to get only some of their money back.

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But the Chengs were upset. They had done nothing wrong and they needed that money for their business. They found attorneys with the Institute for Justice and are fighting back in court.

However, the Chengs are not just defending their money. Their lawsuit also seeks to end Indiana’s FedEx hub scheme.

There is a lot wrong with civil forfeiture, but what Indiana is doing is unusually predatory. First, packages are deemed suspicious by police based on innocuous features. For instance, police have said a package was suspicious because it had tape on the seams. But FedEx actually tells customers to tape seams securely.

Second, getting a drug dog to alert to a package of cash is easy. At least one study showed that 90% of U.S. bills have traces of cocaine. If packages contain only money, no contraband, a dog alert doesn’t reasonably indicate the money is criminal proceeds. Every cash register in America is full of bills that would cause a dog to alert.

Third, Indiana prosecutors don’t allege what specific Indiana law is linked to the money. For the most part, the money seized is in Indiana only by happenstance. The origin and destination of the package are in other states. For Indiana to take someone’s property, it has to say what Indiana law was violated and thus justifies forfeiture.

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Indiana police and prosecutors simply aren’t interested in uncovering crimes or arresting criminals. But they like the easy money. So far, since 2022 more than $1 million has been raked in with another $1.5 million working its way through the courts.

Now the Chengs’ lawsuit will put Indiana police and prosecutors in the hot seat for how they are violating Indiana law and the federal Constitution. No one should have to effectively prove their innocence to keep the money they’ve worked hard to earn.



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Indiana

Adam Berry: Welcoming tech with open arms fosters a strong Indiana

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Adam Berry: Welcoming tech with open arms fosters a strong Indiana


Indiana’s tech sector is thriving. In recent years, the industry has brought thousands of new jobs and billions of dollars to our state economy. In my capacity as vice president of economic development and technology at the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, I help our organization serve as a leading advocate for entrepreneurship, innovation and other matters that will undoubtedly drive Indiana’s economic growth. The Indiana Chamber so believes in innovation as a catalyst that it’s one of the six pillars of our latest visioning plan for the state, Indiana Prosperity 2035.



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FBI looks into 'objects' put on breakfast of Indiana DNC delegates

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FBI looks into 'objects' put on breakfast of Indiana DNC delegates


(WISH) — “Unknown objects” were placed on breakfast food Wednesday at the hotel housing the Indiana delegation to the National Democratic Convention, police say.

One law enforcement source told CNN that authorities believe activists brought the maggots into the Fairmont Hotel, and that Chicago Police Department and the FBI in Chicago were investigating.

Several women entered the hotel and put the “unknown objects” on the tables that already had food on them, a police statement said.

“One victim was treated and released on-scene,” the police statement added.

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The DNC said in a statement that it happened about 6:45 a.m. Wednesday at a building in the 200 block of North Columbus Drive.

Fairmont Hotel spokesperson Haley Robles said in a statement, “We can confirm that a group of individuals caused a disruption at a DNC-related breakfast event at our hotel this morning. Our team acted immediately to clean and sanitize the area, ensuring that the event could continue without further incident. We maintain the highest standards of food safety and cleanliness throughout our property and have strict protocols in place to handle any disruptions.”

News reports say delegates from Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and South Dakota are staying at the hotel.

Sam Barloga of the Indiana delegation issued a statement: “The safety and well-being of our delegation is our top priority. All Americans have the right to peaceful protest, but ugly attacks like this have no place in our democracy. We thank the security team for responding swiftly.”

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Kyle Mangas’ Indiana Basketball Journey Leads To Contract With Pacers And Mad Ants

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Kyle Mangas’ Indiana Basketball Journey Leads To Contract With Pacers And Mad Ants


INDIANAPOLIS — It’s hard to separate basketball in Indiana from Kyle Mangas. The 25-year old was born in Warsaw, a smaller city in Northern Indiana. He played high school basketball at Warsaw Community High School, where he scored 1,450 points before playing collegiately at Indiana Wesleyan University.

For over 20 years, Mangas lived in the state and breathed basketball. During his time at Indiana Wesleyan, who played at the NAIA level, Mangas proved to be a tremendous talent and was named the 2020 Division II Men’s Basketball National Player of the Year.

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A player with that resume could have transferred to a more well known college basketball program, but Mangas never looked into it until after his fourth season. “I looked at [transferring] a little bit, but decided I wanted to go pro,” Mangas said. “Loved the school, and never really thought about going anywhere else.”

Turning toward professional basketball forced Mangas to consider his options, and it led to something unknown: the high-scoring wing had to leave the state of Indiana. And he didn’t exactly stay close. Mangas signed his first professional contract in the Czech Republic with USK Praha — which is over 7,000 kilometers away from Warsaw.

“I’ve been in Europe and you don’t know anyone in the crowd,” Mangas said. “It can be a little difficult at times.” The young wing spent the following season in Lithuania as a member of BC Siauliai.

Those two seasons helped Mangas grow and were a reminder that he always needed to prove himself. But he was ready to come back to the United States, and he was talking to a few teams in the NBA G League ahead of the 2023 campaign. He was prepared to make the leap back to the states.

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Then, his hometown team called. The Indiana Mad Ants, the G League affiliate for the Indiana Pacers, showed interest in Mangas. Back in 2021, Mangas worked out for the Pacers twice in the pre-draft process. This time, the organization wanted to have him in for another workout and see if he could be a good fit in their program.

Mangas, who was a Pacers and Indiana University fan as a kid, jumped at the chance. The session was with Mad Ants head coach Tom Hankins, yet Mangas felt little pressure after his overseas experience. He impressed enough to get offered a spot with the Mad Ants for the 2023-24 season, and he was suddenly back in him home base in Indiana

“It was a very easy choice for me to go with the Pacers and the Mad Ants,” Mangas said.

It ended up leading to an Exhibit 10 agreement with the Pacers, which put Mangas in the NBA for a day. He was in training camp with the to-be conference finalists, and he helped out with a few drills while meeting a few members of the team.

That transaction and one day of service gave Indiana Mangas’ G League rights, so he was waived the next day. But by signing an Exhibit 10 agreement, the Warsaw native was eligible for a bonus with the Mad Ants — and he was back in Indiana where his career started. This time, though, he was a pro.

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“Every level — high school, collegiate, now professionally — to play basketball in Indiana. I mean, that’s a dream come true in itself,” Mangas said. “It’s awesome, and to be able to come back [and] play for Pacers organizations is really cool.”

The best part of it all, by Mangas’ account, was having his friends and family in the crowd. Many Mad Ants games last year were dominated by fans of Mangas, and they made posters. He was popular locally and called his first year of experience with the Mad Ants a 10 out of 10.

That season was successful for more reasons than just being back home. He also played well and seized the opportunity. Mangas averaged 16.9 points per game for the Mad Ants last season, which was by far the best number by a player on the roster with no NBA experience. He knocked down nearly 39% of his three-point shots while attempting more than six per game, and he dished out 3.5 assists per night. He was valuable right away despite being a G League rookie.

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That all led to an impactful season. Indiana’s offensive rating was over 120 with Mangas on the floor, per RealGM, and that was one of the best figures on the team. By the end of the campaign, Mangas had moved into the starting lineup. They needed him there, and he fit well.

While the team was in Las Vegas to battle the G League Ignite in early February of this year, Mangas was rewarded for his hard work. His agent called him to let him know that he had been named to the G League Next Up Game — effectively the G League All-Star game. It was a gratifying nomination for Mangas, and it was even cooler since NBA All-Star weekend was being held in Indianapolis.

“I said, ‘yes, of course. I’ll do it’,” Mangas remembered of getting the invite. “To play in an All-Star game for the G league in Indy, I was like, ‘yes, I’m in’.”

Mangas played for Team Giraffe Stars in the event, but they fell short in the first game of the tournament-style competition. By appearing in that game, he got to attend all of the NBA All-Star weekend festivities, including the Dunk Contest and All-Star game, which took place in his home state.

He closed his G League season strong, too, which led to a playoff berth for the Mad Ants. They fell in the first round of the postseason, but Mangas proved he belonged at that level and was more than worthy of his G League spot.

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While maintaining a good relationship with the Pacers organization, Mangas decided to play for the Los Angeles Lakers during summer league back in July. He suffered an ankle injury after scoring six points and pulling in three rebounds during his only appearance with the purple and gold.

Despite the short time with another franchise, Mangas couldn’t stay away from Indiana. He’s coming back to the Pacers/Mad Ants in 2024-25 on another Exhibit 10 contract, meaning this will be the first time he plays for the same organization in consecutive seasons since becoming a pro basketball player.

“Really looking forward to coming back,” Mangas said. He enjoyed the Mad Ants coaching staff and the ability to use Indiana’s facilities, which made returning an easy choice.

Currently, the young wing is rehabbing from that aforementioned ankle injury. But he’s ready to hit the ground running in his second season within the Pacers organization. “Hope we have a really good year again and try to make a run at it. Winning the G league championship would be pretty cool,” he said. It would be a fitting chapter in an Indiana basketball story.



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