Store Owner Targeted in Civil Forfeiture Racket Is Getting His Money Back

When convenience store owner Lyndon McClellan had his life savings confiscated by the IRS, he had no idea why they were targeting him. He was unaware that depositing less than $10,000 dollars into his bank account was a red flag for money laundering, and it wound up costing him his entire life savings, a total of $107,000.

But after a massive public outcry, McClellan is having his money returned. A short video documenting his plight went viral on social media, and now the IRS is backing down from their previous stance. They initially offered to return half of his money if he would drop the case against them, but the video seems to have forced the IRS to cry uncle. They claim they’re returning the money due to policy changes made several months ago which would prevent these civil forfeiture tactics from harming innocent business owners. In reality, they’re probably returning the cash because their arbitrary bullying of this man was starting to make them look bad.

Unfortunately for McClellan, a large chunk of that money is gone for good. It cost him a total of $22,000 to hire a lawyer and an accountant to audit his business and negotiate with the government. They’re not offering to reimburse these costs or the interest on his savings. Still, he’s glad he took a stand. “What’s wrong is wrong, and what the government did here is wrong…I just hope that by standing up for what’s right, it means this won’t happen to other people.”