TSA Class Action Alleges Life Savings Seized Without Cause

A class action lawsuit has been filed against the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) by airline flyers who claim the agencies unlawfully seized a family’s life savings without cause.

Plaintiffs Rebecca Brown and her father August Terrence “Terry” Rolin say that the TSA and DEA took $82,373 from Brown, after Rolin gave her the money to pay for his medical and healthcare costs, according to the TSA class action lawsuit.

Brown says when she visited her father in Pittsburgh she planned to bring the money back home with her to open up a joint savings account. She says she placed the money in her carry-on luggage and traveled to the Pittsburgh airport on Aug. 26, 2019.

She alleges that when she was going through security, the TSA agent saw she was carrying a large amount of cash and pulled her luggage aside. She says the TSA agents told her that her luggage was going to be placed aside until law-enforcement personnel could arrive and inspect the money.

“As determined by TSA’s transportation security screening, Rebecca had no items that could threaten transportation security—weapons, explosives, or incendiaries—in her luggage or on her person. She also had no illegal drugs or any other contraband,” the TSA class action lawsuit states.

Despite this, Brown says she was questioned by a Pennsylvania state trooper and then by his supervisor regarding why she was carrying so much cash onto the plane.

She claims that after she was allowed to go to her gate she was approached by a DEA agent and further questioned about the amount of cash she was carrying. She alleges the DEA took the money because it was more than $5,000 and considered to be a “suspicious” amount under DEA policy.

The plaintiff claims the DEA has continued to hold her money and is considering it a “civil forfeiture.”  

Brown argues that her case is not unique. “What happened to them illustrates the systematic policies or practices of TSA and DEA: seizing cash from air travelers based solely on the presence of what these agencies believe to be ‘large’ or ‘suspicious’ amounts of cash,” the TSA class action lawsuit alleges.

The plaintiff claims this practice violates her Fourth Amendment rights. In addition, she says that the TSA and DEA have violated federal statutory law because the TSA cannot investigate crimes that are unrelated to transportation security.

“Rebecca was excited to use the funds to improve her aging and ailing father’s quality of life. Some of the money was immediately earmarked for urgent dental care—namely replacing Terry’s teeth and caring for his gum disease—and for fixing Terry’s old truck, which is his primary mode of transportation and is badly in need of repairs,” the class action lawsuit claims.

The plaintiff states that between 2009 and 2013, the TSA has seized more than $2 billion in currency from passengers. In addition, Brown asserts that the DEA has taken $163 million in more than 4,000 seizures.

The plaintiffs are seeking a class wide declaration that DEA’s policy violates the Fourth Amendment and an injunction which would prohibit the DEA from taking money from passengers without probable cause.

What do you think about the DEA and TSA policies of seizing money at airports? Leave a message in the comments section below.

The plaintiffs are represented by Dan Alban, Jaba Tsitsuashvili and Richard Hoover of the Institute for Justice.

The TSA DEA Money Seizure Class Action Lawsuit is Brown, et al. v. Transportation Security Administration, et al., Case No. 2:20-cv-00064, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

Read More Lawsuit & Settlement News:

Roundup Cancer Lawsuit Paused

Guardrail Beam Impales Vehicle in Tennessee Car Accident

Trader Joe’s Class Action Deal Approved at $1.3M

Nylabone Class Action Says Dog Treats Aren’t Natural