Raul Perez: Asset Forfeiture as an Effective Law Enforcement Tool

In this segment of AML Now, John J. Byrne, ACAMS executive vice president, sat down with Raul Perez, a retired sergeant from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, to discuss how asset forfeiture laws can be used as tools in anti-money laundering.

Raul Perez is a retired sergeant from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department where he completed a 33-year career. Twenty-one years were spent as a supervisor and for seven of those years he managed and investigated civil asset forfeiture matters.  He is thoroughly versed in all aspects of the civil asset forfeiture process as it applies to local law enforcement agencies and the delicate interaction with the federal government for joint and adoptive forfeiture actions.

During his tenure with the Sheriff’s Department, he changed the Asset Forfeiture Unit from passive to proactive.  Perez created an assertive Financial Investigative Unit which actively tracked and pursued the assets of criminal organizations. Increasing the productivity of the unit from zero to over 3 million dollars in assets seized in the first two years.  He has provided training to detectives on behalf of the California District Attorneys’ Association (CDAA) on financial and asset forfeiture investigations.