STATUTORY BASIS FOR SEIZURE AND FORFEITURE

139. Title 18, United States Code, Section 981(a)(1)(A) provides, in relevant part, that any property involved in a transaction or attempted transaction in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(2)(A) (international promotional money laundering) and 1956(h) (conspiracy to commit the same) is subject to civil forfeiture.
140. Title 18, United States Code, Section 2323(a)(1 )X(B), provides, in relevant part, that any property used, or intended to be used, in any manner or part to commit or facilitate the commission of Trafficking in Counterfeit Goods or Services (e.g., trademark infringement), in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2320, is subject to civil forfeiture to the United States government.
141. Title 18, United States Code, Section 981(b)(2) authorizes seizure of property subject to civil forfeiture based upon a warrant supported by probable cause and “obtained in the same manner as provided for a search warrant under the Federal Rules of Criminal Forfeiture.”
142. Title 18, United States Code, Section 981(b)(3) permits the issuance of a seizure warrant by a judicial officer in any district in which a forfeiture action against the property may be filed and such warrant may be executed in any district in which the property is found, and provides that the warrant may be executed in any district in which the property is found or transmitted to the central authority of a foreign state for service in accordance with any treaty or other international agreement.
143. Title 18, United States Code, Section 982(a)( 1) provides, in relevant part, that when imposing sentence on a person convicted of an offense in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(2)(A) (international promotional money laundering) and 1956(h) (conspiracy to commit the same), a court shall order that person’s property that was involved in the offense be forfeited to the United States.
144. Title 18, United States Code, Section 2323(b)(1), provides, in relevant part, that the court, in imposing sentence on a person convicted of Trafficking in Counterfeit Goods or Services (e.g., trademark infringement), in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2320, an offense under section 506 of title 17, or section 2318, 2319, 2319A, 2319B, or 2320, or chapter 90, of this title, shall order, in addition to any other sentence imposed, that the person forfeit to the United States Government any property subject to forfeiture under 18 U.S.C. § 2323(a) for that offense.
145. Title 18, United States Code, Section 982(b)(1) incorporates by reference the procedures for seizure and forfeiture in 21 U.S.C. § 853. Title 21, United States Code, Section 853() provides in relevant part that a seizure warrant for property subject to forfeiture may be sought in the same manner in which a search warrant may be issued. A court shall issue a criminal seizure warrant if it determines that the property to be seized would, in the event of a conviction, be subject to forfeiture and that a restraining order would be inadequate to assure the availability of the property for forfeiture.”
146. Neither a restraining order nor an injunction is sufficient to guarantee the availability of the SUBJECT DOMAINS for forfeiture. By seizing the SUBJECT DOMAINS and redirecting them to another website(s), the Government will prevent third parties from acquiring the name and using it to commit additional crimes. Furthermore, seizure of the SUBJECT DOMAINS will prevent third parties from continuing to access the SUBJECT DOMAINS in their present form.
147. Title 18, United States Code, Section 2323(a)(1)(B), provides, in relevant part, that any property used, or intended to be used, in any manner or part, to commit or facilitate the commission of Trafficking in Counterfeit Goods or Services (e.g., trademark infringement), in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2320, is subject to civil forfeiture. Title 18, United States Code, Section 2323(b)(1), provides, in relevant part, that the court, in imposing sentence on a person convicted of Trafficking in Counterfeit Goods or Services (e.g., trademark infringement), in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2320, shall order, in addition to any other sentence imposed, that the person forfeit to the United States Government any property subject to forfeiture under 18 U.S.C. § 2323(a).
148. Title 18, United States Code, Section 98 1(h) provides that venue for civil forfeitures brought under this section lies in the district either where the defendant owning the property is located or in the judicial district where the criminal prosecution is brought.
149. Title 18, United States Code, Section 981(b)(3) provides that a seizure warrant may be issued in any district in which a forfeiture action against the property may be filed under 28 U.S.C. § 1355(b).
150. Title 28, United States Code, Section 1355(b)(1)(A), provides that a forfeiture action or proceeding may be brought in a district court for the district in which any of the acts or omissions giving rise to the forfeiture occurred.
151. Title 21, United States Code, Section 853(1) provides that the district courts of the United States having jurisdiction to enter orders, including seizure warrants, without regard to the location of property which may be subject to criminal forfeiture under § 853.

152. As set forth above, there is probable cause to believe that the SUBJECT DOMAINS are subject to civil and criminal forfeiture because they are property involved in in the commission of violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(2)(A) (international promotional money laundering) and 1956(h) (conspiracy to commit same). Specifically, the SUBJECT DOMAINS are property involved in transactions or attempted transactions that violate 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(2)(A) (international promotional money laundering) and 1956(h) (conspiracy to commit same), done with the intent to promote the carrying on of specified unlawful activity, specifically violations of IEEPA. Further, as set forth above, there is probable cause to believe that a subset of the SUBJECT DOMAINS are subject to civil and criminal forfeiture because they are property that facilitated the commission of Trafficking in Counterfeit Goods or Services (e.g., trademark infringement), in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2320.
153. Venue for civil and criminal forfeiture is proper in this district pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 981(b)(3) and (h), 28 U.S.C. § 1355(b)(1)(A), and 21 U.S.C. § 853(1), as set forth above, as the government has venue to charge the above described international promotional money laundering, conspiracy to commit the money laundering, and trafficking in counterfeit goods or services offenses in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. In addition, as part of the money laundering conspiracy to promote violations of IEEPA, the conspirators took steps to make the SUBJECT DOMAINS available on the internet, including in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the defendants used a subset of the SUBJECT DOMAINS to commit or facilitate the commission of Trafficking in Counterfeit Goods or Services, including in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.