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Identity recovery

Restoring credit and records after identity theft.

CRIM-01 · 01

Identity Theft Recovery: Reports, Credit Freezes, Disputes, and Documentation

9 MIN · CRIM

Identity theft recovery is a sequence, not a checklist. Each step produces the document or the report that unlocks the legal right used in the step after it.

The FTC identity theft report generated at identitytheft.gov is the key document; several federal rights are unavailable without it.
Credit bureaus must block information resulting from identity theft within four business days of a complete request under FCRA Section 605B.
Security freezes have been free nationwide for every consumer since the 2018 federal law, including freezes for children and protected consumers.

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CRIM-08 · 02

Asset Forfeiture: Civil, Criminal, and How Seized Property Is Reclaimed

8 MIN · CRIM

Civil forfeiture proceeds against the property rather than a person, which is why an owner charged with nothing can still lose a car or a bank balance. This brief maps the three routes and their deadlines.

Civil forfeiture is an action against the property itself, so the owner's innocence is a defence to be raised rather than a reason the case cannot start.
The Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act puts the burden on the government, creates an innocent-owner defence, and sets deadlines both sides must meet.
Criminal forfeiture is part of a sentence, requires notice in the charging document, and gives third parties a separate ancillary proceeding.

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