FBI Seizures From Safe Deposit Boxes Violated US Constitution: Federal Court

FBI violated the Fourth Amendment, court finds

FBI director Christopher Wray testifies before the House Homeland Security Committee in Washington, on Nov. 15, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

The FBI’s seizure of contents from safe deposit boxes during a raid on a Beverly Hills vault in 2021 violated the U.S. Constitution, a federal appeals court ruled on Jan. 23.

Agents raided U.S. Private Vaults, a business that allowed people to rent safe deposit boxes anonymously, based on the belief that criminals were using the service. The search warrant stated that agents could only open the boxes to inventory their contents and identify the owners for the return of their property.