The FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration raided a modest safety deposit placed in a Beverly Hills strip mall and seized what they labeled “ill-gotten wealth.”
On March 22, the agents raided the US Private Vaults, Inc. and discovered unspecified numbers of weapons and stacks of “$100 bills” as well as fentanyl and OxyContin.
Inside a single deposit box, the agents found $1 million in cash. The finding prompted federal authorities to charge the US Private Vaults with three counts of conspiracy.
The safety deposit shared its location with a jewel store and detectives said both businesses helped criminals in money laundering and converting bills to gold.
However, the US Private Vaults had some “honest citizens to whom the government wishes to return their property,” the US Attorney’s Office said.
“But the majority of the box holders are criminals who used USPV’s anonymity to hide their ill-gotten wealth.”
