How Police Used a Traffic Stop to Confiscate the Life Earnings of Man in Wisconsin


Police can take your money to line the pockets of corrupt government bureaucracies. As Phil Parhamovich found out the hard way back in March when police seized his life savings of $91,800 after getting pulled over for wearing his seatbelt improperly. 

Then came the police stop this past March. By the time it was over, police in Wyoming would take all of Parhamovich’s money — the full $91,800. Parhamovich, who has no criminal record, was not accused of or charged with a serious crime; he only got a $25 ticket for improperly wearing his seat belt and a warning for “lane use.”

But Wyoming law enforcement officers found and eventually seized the $91,800 in cash, as it was hidden in a speaker cabinet — by getting Parhamovich, under what he claims was duress, to sign away his interest in the money through a waiver.

He has since tried to get his money back. But state law enforcement officials have rejected his pleas. Responding to a request for records related to Parhamovich’s case, state officials said they consider the cash “abandoned.” The state has even moved to forfeiture the money without notifying Parhamovich of the relevant court hearing until after it happened.

Police stopping people for profit is a growing concern.

According to Parhamovich and his attorneys with the advocacy group, the Institute for Justice, this is another classic example of policing for profit and the problems it causes. Police initiated the stop for a minor traffic violation, but quickly escalated it further and further until they took a man’s life savings — all to use that money for their own law enforcement purposes.

Our Attorney General Jeff Sessions just addressed this issue, and it’s not good! Check out what he has done on the next page:

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