|
RAPAPORT... The U.S. Department of Justice's U.S. Marshals Service is conducting a live and online simulcast auction to sell nearly 400 lots of fine jewelry, watches, gold, diamonds and other items on June 30. The auction starts at 10 a.m. (MDT) at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, with the online simulcast at www.txauction.com. A catalog with the expected price range for each item is available at that same website and a public preview is scheduled for June 29 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Denver. All items being sold were seized from federal court cases nationwide and are now forfeited to the government. The U.S. Marshals Service consolidates assets from cases nationwide and holds a large auction several times a year. Proceeds generated from the sale are used to compensate victims of crimes and supplement law enforcement programs. ''Criminals often like to spend the proceeds of their crimes on things like glitzy jewelry, watches and gold bars and coins,'' said U.S. Marshal John Kammerzell of the District of Colorado. ''When we arrest them, we take away any assets that were paid for with those ill-gotten gains. After the assets have been seized and forfeited, they are made available for public sale. People tend to have a fascination with these goods, and they like the prospect of buying from a U.S. Marshals auction and maybe even finding an unexpected bargain on some fine pieces.'' In this auction, assets were once part of the Shawn Merriman Ponzi scheme and the Sujata Sachdeva embezzlement case.
|