Since April of 2013, two poker players have been battling with the state of Iowa to see $100,000 in poker winnings returned after being seized during a routine stop by state troopers. William Davis and John Newmerzhcky had visited Illinois to attend a World Series of Poker Circuit event, passing through Iowa after the event. After being pulled over, state troopers seized $100,000 in cash and the two are still fighting to retain the money they earned.
Technically the two poker players are fighting against civil asset forfeiture laws and recently had a motion in their favor. James Gritzner, a United States District Court Judge, has ruled that the defendants in the case cannot have the case dismissed. Card Player has obtained documents in the matter which show the defendants being particular law enforcement officers of Iowa as well as a private group located in Oklahoma who provides law enforcement with highway interdiction training.
Each of the poker players have stated that their livelihood has been effected by the incident and they have amassed expenses due to trying to move forward with gaining the money back. Both men are in agreement that they were only stopped by the state troopers in 2013 due to the out-of-state license plates they had on their vehicle. They state that there was no breaking of any highway laws on their part while traveling to indicate that police would need to pull them over.
A trial date has now been set for September of 2016, which means the two men will have to wait even longer to try and receive their money back. This is not the first time cash has been seized by officials without any reasoning behind the seizure. The judge’s ruling definitely helps Davis and Newmerzhycky, two poker players who just want to have their money returned to the rightful owners.
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