Lawsuit filed after FBI agents raided 1,400 deposit boxes at a US Private Vaults branch claims owners' items have still not been returned

A lawsuit was filed after FBI agents raided a Beverly Hills vault company and seized more than $86 million in cash as well as jewelry and gold from 1,400 safety deposit boxes.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the Beverly Hills branch of US Private Vaults was raided by agents in March of 2021.

The FBI and the US attorney's office in Los Angeles obtained search and seizure warrants against US Private Vaults by concealing important information from the judge who approved them.

Robert Frommer, a lawyer with the Institute for Justice, said in the court papers that the government didn't know what was in the boxes.

Many box-holders asked the FBI to return their property after the raid.

We brought suit on behalf of seven clients, but we were representing hundreds of people. He said that they have been trying to show that the government's actions violated the Fourth Amendment.

The scope of the FBI's actions is unprecedented. The FBI committed the largest armed robbery in US history.

The FBI's Los Angeles office began an investigation into the use of boxes at US Private Vaults after two years.

US Private Vaults' property was seized by the FBI. The LA Times reported that a senior FBI agent testified that the warrant didn't include a plan to permanently seize everything in every box that had at least $5,000 in cash or goods.

The FBI lied about its intentions when it claimed to only be interested in the property of the business, according to Frommer. Civil forfeiture turned these federal cops into criminals.

The warrants were executed based on allegations of widespread criminal wrongdoing, according to the FBI. There was no misrepresentation of the probable cause used to get the warrants.

The investigation was continuing after US Private Vaults pleaded guilty.

Insider did not get a response from the FBI or Department of Justice.

Frommer wants the government to destroy any information that was obtained from customers' boxes.

Unreasonable searches and seizures are protected by the 4th amendment. The government needs to show probable cause in order to get a warrant.

According to the LA Times, the lawsuit wants the FBI raid deemed unconstitutional by a district judge. Assets worth millions of dollars could be forced to be returned to box holders.