Sheriff allows law firm to profit from policing, lawsuit alleges
Miami-Dade County Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz at a U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing in Washington, D.C., on April 30, 2025. (Photo by Annabelle Gordon/Sipa USA/Sipa via AP Images)
In a lawsuit that could affect how some forfeitures are handled in Florida, the Miami-Dade County sheriff is being accused of unconstitutionally allowing a law firm to profit when police seize property and cash.
Under federal and state forfeiture law, police departments can seize money or assets, such as boats, that they think were used in crimes or purchased with ill-gotten gains.
Mobile phone distributors and retailers in Miami argue that a firm run by Israel “Izzy” Reyes—a former cop, a former prosecutor and a former judge—is representing the sheriff’s office in civil forfeiture cases and keeping 20% to 35% of the proceeds, plus an additional 5% on appeal.
According to court papers filed in October, the companies said their bank accounts were frozen last year, and more than $45.2 million was seized as as part of civil forfeiture cases handled by the firm.
An additional $2.6 billion has also been targeted for seizure, the companies alleged, according to a story by the Miami Herald.
Rosie Cordero-Stutz is the first elected sheriff in Miami-Dade County since the 1960s.
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