Feds took $460,000 from a Glendale mini market, filed no charges, and went silent for 20 months
Federal agents walked out of Ayala’s Mini Market in Glendale, Arizona, with about $460,000 in cash and checks, plus computers, phones and business records. Twenty months later, owner Mario Ayala has not been charged with a crime and has not gotten any of it back.
On October 20, 2026, Ayala sued the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in federal court in Phoenix. HSI is part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Institute for Justice, a nonprofit law firm, represents him.
Any business that keeps a lot of cash on hand should pay attention. The case shows how a seizure can lock up working capital for well over a year with no charge, no hearing and no clear way to object.
A raid, a promise, then silence
Agents raided the store on February 25, 2025. It was one of 19 Phoenix-area money services businesses hit that day, KTAR reported.
A money services business, or MSB, offers services like check cashing and money transfers. Many of its customers don’t have bank accounts.
The warrants listed one suspected offense, structuring. That means splitting large cash transactions into smaller ones to avoid federal reporting rules. Ayala’s attorneys say agents never showed any evidence of it.
Agents told the family they would be in touch within 30 days. The family never heard back.
“The government can’t take your stuff, disappear, and then never explain itself,” said Institute for Justice attorney Betsy Sanz.
What the lawsuit asks for
The suit argues that holding the property this long violates federal law and the Fourth Amendment, which bars unreasonable seizures. It asks the court to order the property returned and the full warrants handed over, AZFamily reported.
Civil forfeiture lets the government try to keep property tied to a suspected crime even if no one is charged. Ayala’s lawyers say the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act requires a formal notice within 60 days or the property must be returned. They say he never got that notice.
A court has not ruled on these claims yet, and neither agency has publicly explained the seizure.
Owners of cash-heavy businesses can take a few steps now.
- Keep clean records of cash deposits, required reports and customer ID checks.
- If agents seize property, keep the warrant, the list of what was taken, agent contact details and the date.
- Call a lawyer quickly, because forfeiture deadlines can be short.
“This business is my American Dream and the government took years of my hard work without telling me what I did,” Ayala said.
Now the government has to answer in court. Meanwhile, Ayala is still trying to keep the store open without the cash it runs on.
