The owner of a trucking company has gotten back from the government the nearly $40,000 federal agents took from him years ago at an airport. The Institute for Justice explains the money, actually $39,500, has been returned to small business owner Jerry Johnson. The cash was confiscated when he was at the Phoenix, Arizona, airport in 2020. There was no reason for the confiscation, except that he was carrying money, the report said. "Jerry flew to Phoenix with the goal of purchasing a semi-truck for his Charlotte, North Carolina, trucking company in August 2020. At baggage claim, Jerry was questioned by police and his money was seized and subjected to civil forfeiture. An Arizona trial court ruled that he failed to prove the cash was his and, therefore, he could not contest the civil forfeiture of his money. IJ took over Jerry’s case on appeal and in May 2022 the Arizona Court of Appeals held that the lower court’s ruling violated Jerry’s right to due process and that his case needed to be more carefully considered," the IJ said.
