Here's how officials keep seized money secure

Strict procedures are followed to protect the integrity of money seized in crime cases, officials say.

Iowa State Patrol troopers handle seized illegal cash in a “pristine way” and record the process with the dash cameras in their patrol cars, Capt. Mike Winter said.

At least two officers accompany the money to Iowa Department of Public Safety headquarters in Des Moines, where it is stored in a safe inside a vault. The money is counted multiple times by multiple people to verify the amount.

Paperwork must be filled out showing who had custody of the money and when. Each person who has been around the money is listed.

“We always kind of err on the side of having plenty of documentation,” Winter said.

“It's overkill, actually, and that's good.”

According to Iowa law, seized cash should be used for “law enforcement purposes.” The money usually covers one-time expenses, such as overtime, training and equipment, said Dave Heuton, the Iowa Department of Public Safety official in charge of tallying the seized cash.

“We don't like to spend it on expenses that are recurring in nature, because we don't know that we're going to get more money,” Heuton said.

Seized cash stays in the vault until a judge issues a forfeiture order, which dictates how much money - if any - will be forfeited. The seizing agency, the Iowa Attorney General's Office, county attorneys offices and any other agency involved then decide how they will split the money, based on precedents.

If the case is adopted by federal authorities - about 65 percent of cases are, Heuton estimated - the U.S. Marshal's Service gets 20 percent then decides how the remaining 80 percent will be divided among the other agencies.

It takes about six months before the money from federal cases is deposited back into the state's asset forfeiture account and up to a year before cash is available from state cases.