Case 3:20-cv-07811-VC Document 1 Filed 11/05/20 Page 1 of 8

1
DAVID L. ANDERSON (CABN 149604)
2 United States Attorney

3 HALLIE HOFFMAN (CABN 210020)

Chief, Criminal Division
4
DAVID COUNTRYMAN (CABN 226995)
5 CHRIS KALTSAS (NYBN 5460902)
CLAUDIA QUIROZ (CABN 254419)
6 WILLIAM FRENTZEN (LABN 24421)
Assistant United States Attorneys
7
450 Golden Gate Avenue, Box 36055
8 San Francisco, California 94102-3495
Telephone: (415) 436-7303
9 FAX: (415) 436-7234
[email protected]
10
Attorneys for United States of America
11

12 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

13 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

14 SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION

15
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) CASE NO.
16 )
Plaintiff, ) COMPLAINT FOR FORFEITURE
17 )
v. )
18 )
Approximately 69,370 Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin )
19 Gold (BTG), Bitcoin SV (BSV), and Bitcoin )
Cash (BCH) seized from )
20 1HQ3Go3ggs8pFnXuHVHRytPCq5fGG8Hbh; )
)
21 )
Defendant. )
22 )

23
NATURE OF THE ACTION
24
1. This is a judicial forfeiture action, as authorized by 18 U.S.C. §§ 981(a)(1)(A),
25
981(a)(1)(C), 981(b), and 21 U.S.C. § 881(a)(6), involving the seizure of the following property:
26
• Approximately 69,370.22491543 Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Gold (BTG), Bitcoin SV (BSV),
27
Bitcoin Cash (BCH), obtained from 1HQ3Go3ggs8pFnXuHVHRytPCq5fGG8Hbh;
28

COMPLAINT FOR FORFEITURE

 Case 3:20-cv-07811-VC Document 1 Filed 11/05/20 Page 2 of 8

1 (hereinafter, collectively, the “Defendant Property”), as property constituting, or derived from, any

2 proceeds of 18 U.S.C. § 371 (Conspiracy), 18 U.S.C. § 1030(a)(2) and (a)(4) (Computer Hacking),

3 property furnished or intended to be furnished by a person in exchange for a controlled substance, or

4 money traceable to such an exchange, or money used or intended to be used to facilitate such a violation

5 (Narcotics Sales), and property involved in violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1956 and 1956(h) (Money

6 Laundering and Conspiracy), and thereby forfeitable pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §§ 981(a)(l)(A), 981(a)(1)(C),

7 981(b), and 21 U.S.C. § 881.

8 JURISDICTION AND VENUE

9 2. This Court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1345 and 1355(a), and 18 U.S.C. §§
10 981(a)(l)(A), 981(a)(1)(C), 981(b), and 21 U.S.C. § 881.

11 3. Venue is proper because the defendant currency was seized in the Northern District of
12 California. 28 U.S.C. §§ 1355(b) and 1395.

13 4. Intra-district venue is proper in the San Francisco Division within the Northern District of
14 California.

15 PARTIES
16 5. Plaintiff is the United States of America.
17 6. The Defendant Property is approximately 69,370.22491543 Bitcoin (BTC),
18 69,370.10730857 Bitcoin Gold (BTG), 69,370.10710518 Bitcoin SV (BSV), and 69,370.12818037

19 Bitcoin Cash (BCH), obtained from 1HQ3Go3ggs8pFnXuHVHRytPCq5fGG8Hbh on or about

20 November 3, 2020.

21 FACTS
22 7. From 2011 until October 2013, when it was seized by law enforcement, Silk Road was the

23 most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace on the Internet, serving as a sprawling black

24 market bazaar where unlawful goods and services, including illegal drugs of virtually all varieties, were

25 bought and sold regularly by the site’s users. While in operation, Silk Road was used by thousands of

26 drug dealers and other unlawful vendors to distribute hundreds of kilograms of illegal drugs and other

27 unlawful goods and services to well over 100,000 buyers, and to launder hundreds of millions of dollars

28 derived from these unlawful transactions.

COMPLAINT FOR FORFEITURE

 Case 3:20-cv-07811-VC Document 1 Filed 11/05/20 Page 3 of 8

1 8. For example, contemporaneous with its seizure, there were nearly 13,000 listings for

2 controlled substances on the website‚ listed under the categories “Cannabis‚” “Dissociatives,” “Ecstasy‚”

3 “Intoxicants,” “Opioids‚” “Precursors‚” “Prescription,” “Psychedelics‚" and “Stimulants‚” among others.

4 Clicking on the link for a particular listing brings up a picture and description of the drugs being offered

5 for sale, such as “HIGH QUALITY #4 HEROIN ALL ROCK” or “5gr UNCUT Crystal Cocaine!!”.

6 9. During its operation, law enforcement agents made over 100 individual undercover

7 purchases of controlled substances from Silk Road vendors. The substances purchased in these

8 undercover transactions have been various Schedule I and II drugs, including ecstasy‚ cocaine, heroin‚

9 LSD, and others. Samples of these purchases were laboratory-tested and have typically shown high purity
10 levels of the items that were advertised by Silk Road. Based on the postal markings of the packages in

11 which the drugs arrived, these purchases appear to have been filled by vendors located in over ten

12 different countries‚ including the United States. Law enforcement agents also made undercover

13 purchases of hacking services on Silk Road, including purchases of malicious software such as password

14 stealers and remote access tools.

15 10. Contemporaneous with the seizure of Silk Road, there were 159 listings on the site under
16 the category “Services.” Most concerned computer services: for example, one listing was by a vendor to

17 hack into Facebook‚ Twitter, and other social networking accounts of the customer's choosing‚ offering

18 that “You can Read, Write‚ Upload‚ Delete‚ View All Personal Info”; another offered tutorials teaching

19 “22 different methods” for hacking ATM machines. Other listings offered services that were likewise

20 criminal in nature. For example‚ one listing was for “HUGE Blackmarket Contact List,” which described

21 lists of “connects” for “Services” such as “Anonymous Bank Accounts,” “Counterfeit Bills

22 (CAD/GBP/EUR/USD),” “Firearms + Ammunition‚” “Stolen Info (CC [credit card], Paypal)‚” and

23 “Hitmen (10+ countries).”

24 11. The only form of payment accepted on Silk Road was Bitcoin.

25 12. All told, Silk Road generated sales revenue totaling over 9.5 million Bitcoin, and collected

26 commissions from these sales totaling over 600,000 Bitcoin.

27 13. Silk Road used a so-called “tumbler” to process Bitcoin transactions in a manner designed

28 to frustrate the tracking of individual transactions through the Blockchain. According to the Silk Road

COMPLAINT FOR FORFEITURE

 Case 3:20-cv-07811-VC Document 1 Filed 11/05/20 Page 4 of 8

1 wiki web page‚ Silk Road’s tumbler “sends all payments through a complex‚ semi-random series of

2 dummy transactions‚ . . . making it nearly impossible to link your payment with any coins leaving the

3 site.” In other words‚ if a buyer makes a payment on Silk Road, the tumbler obscures any link between

4 the buyer’s Bitcoin address and the vendor’s Bitcoin address where the Bitcoins end up—making it

5 fruitless to use the Blockchain to follow the money trail involved in the transaction‚ even if the buyer’s

6 and vendor’s Bitcoin addresses are both known. The only function served by Silk Road’s implementation

7 of such “tumblers” is to assist with the laundering of criminal proceeds.

8 14. In February 2015, a federal jury convicted Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht on seven

9 counts including conspiracy to distribute narcotics and money laundering. Ulbricht had moved to San
10 Francisco, within the Northern District of California, prior to his arrest and was operating Silk Road from

11 the Northern District of California. He was arrested in San Francisco and processed through the United

12 States District Court for the Northern District of California before being removed to the Southern District

13 of New York for prosecution.

14 15. In 2020, law enforcement officers used a third party bitcoin attribution company to
15 analyze Bitcoin transactions executed by Silk Road. From this review they observed 54 transactions that

16 were sent from Bitcoin addresses controlled by Silk Road, to two Bitcoin addresses:

17 1BADznNF3W1gi47R65MQs754KB7zTaGuYZ and 1BBqjKsYuLEUE9Y5WzdbzCtYzCiQgHqtPN

18 totaling 70,411.46 BTC (valued at approximately $354,000 at the time of transfer).

19 16. The individual amounts that were transferred were mainly round Bitcoin amounts and

20 close together in time. For example, 10 of the transfers occurred at approximately 3:59 a.m. and each

21 transfer was for exactly 2,500 Bitcoin. This pattern of withdrawals and the amount that was withdrawn

22 was not typical for a Silk Road user. Specifically, a review of other withdrawals from Silk Road revealed

23 Bitcoin amounts that were mostly less than 100 Bitcoin. These 54 transactions were not noted in the Silk

24 Road database as a vendor withdrawal or a Silk Road employee withdrawal and therefore appear to

25 represent Bitcoin that was stolen from Silk Road.

26 17. On approximately April 9, 2013, the Bitcoin addresses that received the 70,411.46 Bitcoin

27 from Silk Road sent 69,471.082201 (approximately $14 million at the time of transfer) to

28 1HQ3Go3ggs8pFnXuHVHRytPCq5fGG8Hbhx (hereafter “1HQ3”).

COMPLAINT FOR FORFEITURE

 Case 3:20-cv-07811-VC Document 1 Filed 11/05/20 Page 5 of 8

1 18. On approximately April 23, 2015, 1HQ3 sent 101 Bitcoin (approximately $23,700) to

2 BTC-e, a company that provided Bitcoin related services and operated as an unlicensed cryptocurrency

3 exchange. In January 2017, BTC-e and a Russian operator of BTC-e were indicted in the Northern

4 District of California for operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and for money laundering

5 through the exchange.

6 19. Between April 2015 and November 2020, the remainder of the funds, 69,370.082201

7 BTC, remained in 1HQ3. 1 As of November 3, 2020, 1HQ3 had a balance of 69,370.22491543 Bitcoin

8 (valued at approximately $1 Billion as of November 4, 2020).

9 20. In August 2017, Bitcoin split into two cryptocurrencies, commonly known as a hard fork.
10 Hard fork coin splits are created via changes of the blockchain rules and share a transaction history with

11 Bitcoin up to the time of the split. The first hard fork split occurred on August 1, 2017, resulting in the

12 creation of Bitcoin Cash (BCH). When this split occurred, any Bitcoin address that had a Bitcoin balance

13 now had the same balance on the Bitcoin blockchain and on the Bitcoin Cash blockchain. A search for

14 1HQ3 on the Bitcoin Cash blockchain revealed a balance of approximately 69,370.12818037 BCH prior

15 to the Government’s seizure. Much like the aforementioned hard fork of Bitcoin and BCH, there were

16 subsequent hard forks of Bitcoin that resulted in the creation of Bitcoin Gold (BTG) and Bitcoin SV

17 (BSV). Review of the BTG and BSV blockchains revealed that 1HQ3 held a balance of

18 69,370.10730857 BTG and 69,370.10710518 BSV prior to the Government’s seizure.

19 21. Individual X, whose identity is known to the government, was determined to have been

20 involved in a transaction that related to 1HQ3.

21 22. According to an investigation conducted by the Criminal Investigation Division of the

22 Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California,

23 Individual X was the individual who moved the cryptocurrency from Silk Road. According to the

24 investigation, Individual X was able to hack into Silk Road and gain unauthorized and illegal access to

25 Silk Road and thereby steal the illicit cryptocurrency from Silk Road and move it into wallets that

26
1
Because Bitcoin addresses are public, individuals are able to identify Bitcoin addresses with
27
large balances. Individuals will often send minimal amounts of Bitcoin to these addresses for unknown
28 reasons. For example, on November 3, 2020, 1HQ3 received 0.00010999 bitcoin (approximately $1.51)
from an unknown individual.

COMPLAINT FOR FORFEITURE

 Case 3:20-cv-07811-VC Document 1 Filed 11/05/20 Page 6 of 8

1 Individual X controlled. According to the investigation, Ulbricht became aware of Individual X’s online

2 identity and threatened Individual X for return of the cryptocurrency to Ulbricht. Individual X did not

3 return the cryptocurrency but kept it and did not spend it.

4 23. On November 3, 2020, Individual X signed a Consent and Agreement to Forfeiture with

5 the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of California. In that agreement, Individual X, consented to

6 the forfeiture of the Defendant Property to the United States government.

7 24. On November 3, 2020, the United States took custody of the Defendant Property from

8 1HQ3.

9 VIOLATION
10 The United States incorporates by reference the allegations in paragraphs one through 24 as
11 though fully set forth.

12 Title 18, United States Code, Section 981(a)(1)(A) provides for civil and criminal forfeiture of
13 any property, real or personal, involved in a transaction or attempted transaction in violation of Title 18,

14 United States Code, Sections 1956, 1957, or 1960, and any property traceable to such property.

15 Title 18, United States Code, Section 981(a)(1)(C) provides for the civil forfeiture of any property,
16 real or personal, which constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to any offense constituting a

17 “specified unlawful activity” or a conspiracy to commit such offense. Title 18, United States Code, Sections

18 1956(c)(7) and 1961(1) define specified unlawful activity to include Computer Hacking, in violation of Title

19 18, United States Code, Section 1030, and conspiracy to commit Computer Hacking.

20 Title 21, United States Code, Section 881(a)(6) provides for the forfeiture of all moneys,

21 negotiable instruments, securities, or other things of value furnished or intended to be furnished by any

22 person in exchange for a controlled substance or listed chemical, all proceeds traceable to such an

23 exchange and all money used or intended to be used to facilitate any violation of Subchapter I, Chapter

24 13, Subchapter I of Title 21 United States Code.

25 In light of the foregoing, and considering the totality of the circumstances, there is probable cause

26 to believe that the Defendant Property represents proceeds traceable to computer hacking in violation 18

27 U.S.C. § 1030(a) and conspiracy in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371. As such, the Defendant Property is

28 forfeitable pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(l)(C). Additionally, there is probable cause to believe that the

COMPLAINT FOR FORFEITURE

 Case 3:20-cv-07811-VC Document 1 Filed 11/05/20 Page 7 of 8

1 Defendant Property represents property traceable to narcotics trafficking. As such, the Defendant

2 Property is forfeitable pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 881(a)(6). To the extent the Defendant Property includes

3 funds that did not originate as proceeds from the illegal activities discussed herein, those funds were

4 “involved in” money laundering in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956 because they were comingled with and

5 used to conceal and disguise the nature, location, source, ownership or control of the criminal proceeds,

6 or were involved in a conspiracy to launder such proceeds. Accordingly, the Defendant Property is

7 forfeitable pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §§ 981(a)(l)(A) and 981(b).

8 WHEREFORE, plaintiff United States of America requests that due process issue to enforce the

9 forfeiture of the Defendant Property; that notice be given to all interested parties to appear and show
10 cause why forfeiture should not be decreed; that judgment of forfeiture be entered; that the Court enter

11 judgment forfeiting the Defendant Property; and that the United States be awarded such other relief as

12 may be proper and just.

13

14 DATED: 11/5/2020
Respectfully submitted,
15 DAVID L. ANDERSON
United States Attorney
16

17
__/s/ David Countryman____________
18 DAVID COUNTRYMAN
CHRIS KALTSAS
19 CLAUDIA QUIROZ
WILLIAM FRENTZEN
20
Assistant United States Attorneys
21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

COMPLAINT FOR FORFEITURE

Case 3:20-cv-07811-VC Document 1 Filed 11/05/20 Page 8 of 8
JS-CAND 44 (Rev. 10/2020) Case 3:20-cv-07811-VC Document 1-1 Filed 11/05/20 Page 1 of 2
CIVIL COVER SHEET
The JS-CAND 44 civil cover sheet and the information contained herein neither replace nor supplement the filing and service of pleadings or other papers as required by law,
except as provided by local rules of court. This form, approved in its original form by the Judicial Conference of the United States in September 1974, is required for the Clerk of
Court to initiate the civil docket sheet. (SEE INSTRUCTIONS ON NEXT PAGE OF THIS FORM.)
I. (a) PLAINTIFFS DEFENDANTS
Approximately 69,370 Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Gold (BTG), Bitcoin SV (BSV), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) seized from
United States of America 1HQ3Go3ggs8pFnXuHVHRytPCq5fGG8Hbh

(b) County of Residence of First Listed Plaintiff County of Residence of First Listed Defendant
(EXCEPT IN U.S. PLAINTIFF CASES) (IN U.S. PLAINTIFF CASES ONLY)
NOTE: IN LAND CONDEMNATION CASES, USE THE LOCATION OF
THE TRACT OF LAND INVOLVED.
(c) Attorneys (Firm Name, Address, and Telephone Number) Attorneys (If Known)
AUSA David Countryman
450 Golden Gate Avenue, 9th floor, San Francisco, CA 94012

II. BASIS OF JURISDICTION (Place an “X” in One Box Only) III. CITIZENSHIP OF PRINCIPAL PARTIES (Place an “X” in One Box for Plaintiff
(For Diversity Cases Only) and One Box for Defendant)
PTF DEF PTF DEF
1 U.S. Government Plaintiff 3 Federal Question Citizen of This State 1 1 Incorporated or Principal Place 4 4
(U.S. Government Not a Party)
of Business In This State
Citizen of Another State 2 2 Incorporated and Principal Place 5 5
2 U.S. Government Defendant 4 Diversity of Business In Another State
(Indicate Citizenship of Parties in Item III)
Citizen or Subject of a 3 3 Foreign Nation 6 6
Foreign Country

IV. NATURE OF SUIT (Place an “X” in One Box Only)

CONTRACT TORTS FORFEITURE/PENALTY BANKRUPTCY OTHER STATUTES
110 Insurance PERSONAL INJURY PERSONAL INJURY 625 Drug Related Seizure of 422 Appeal 28 USC § 158 375 False Claims Act
120 Marine Property 21 USC § 881 423 Withdrawal 28 USC 376 Qui Tam (31 USC
310 Airplane 365 Personal Injury – Product
130 Miller Act Liability 690 Other § 157 § 3729(a))
315 Airplane Product Liability
140 Negotiable Instrument 367 Health Care/ LABOR PROPERTY RIGHTS 400 State Reapportionment
320 Assault, Libel & Slander
150 Recovery of Pharmaceutical Personal 410 Antitrust
330 Federal Employers’ 710 Fair Labor Standards Act 820 Copyrights
Overpayment Of Injury Product Liability 430 Banks and Banking
Liability 720 Labor/Management 830 Patent
Veteran’s Benefits 368 Asbestos Personal Injury 450 Commerce
340 Marine Relations 835 Patent─Abbreviated New
151 Medicare Act Product Liability
345 Marine Product Liability 740 Railway Labor Act Drug Application 460 Deportation
152 Recovery of Defaulted PERSONAL PROPERTY 470 Racketeer Influenced &
350 Motor Vehicle 751 Family and Medical 840 Trademark
Student Loans (Excludes 370 Other Fraud Corrupt Organizations
355 Motor Vehicle Product Leave Act 880 Defend Trade Secrets
Veterans) 371 Truth in Lending
Liability 790 Other Labor Litigation Act of 2016 480 Consumer Credit
153 Recovery of 380 Other Personal Property
360 Other Personal Injury 791 Employee Retirement 485 Telephone Consumer
Overpayment SOCIAL SECURITY
Damage Income Security Act Protection Act
of Veteran’s Benefits 362 Personal Injury -Medical 861 HIA (1395ff)
Malpractice 385 Property Damage Product 490 Cable/Sat TV
160 Stockholders’ Suits Liability IMMIGRATION 862 Black Lung (923) 850 Securities/Commodities/
190 Other Contract 462 Naturalization 863 DIWC/DIWW (405(g)) Exchange
CIVIL RIGHTS PRISONER PETITIONS
195 Contract Product Liability Application 864 SSID Title XVI
440 Other Civil Rights 890 Other Statutory Actions
HABEAS CORPUS 465 Other Immigration
196 Franchise 865 RSI (405(g)) 891 Agricultural Acts
441 Voting 463 Alien Detainee Actions
REAL PROPERTY 442 Employment FEDERAL TAX SUITS 893 Environmental Matters
510 Motions to Vacate
210 Land Condemnation 443 Housing/ Sentence 870 Taxes (U.S. Plaintiff or 895 Freedom of Information
Accommodations Defendant) Act
220 Foreclosure 530 General
445 Amer. w/Disabilities– 871 IRS–Third Party 26 USC 896 Arbitration
230 Rent Lease & Ejectment 535 Death Penalty
Employment § 7609 899 Administrative Procedure
240 Torts to Land OTHER
446 Amer. w/Disabilities–Other Act/Review or Appeal of
245 Tort Product Liability 540 Mandamus & Other Agency Decision
290 All Other Real Property 448 Education
550 Civil Rights 950 Constitutionality of State
555 Prison Condition Statutes
560 Civil Detainee–
Conditions of
Confinement

V. ORIGIN (Place an “X” in One Box Only)

1 Original 2 Removed from 3 Remanded from 4 Reinstated or 5 Transferred from 6 Multidistrict 8 Multidistrict
Proceeding State Court Appellate Court Reopened Another District (specify) Litigation–Transfer Litigation–Direct File

VI. CAUSE OF Cite the U.S. Civil Statute under which you are filing (Do not cite jurisdictional statutes unless diversity):
Title 18, United States Code, Sections 981(a)(1)(A) and (C), Title 18, United States Code, Section 982(a), Title 21, United States Code, Section 881(a)(6)
ACTION
Brief description of cause:
Money Laundering and Drug related forfeiture
VII. REQUESTED IN CHECK IF THIS IS A CLASS ACTION DEMAND $ CHECK YES only if demanded in complaint:
COMPLAINT: UNDER RULE 23, Fed. R. Civ. P. JURY DEMAND: Yes No

VIII. RELATED CASE(S), JUDGE DOCKET NUMBER

IF ANY (See instructions):
IX. DIVISIONAL ASSIGNMENT (Civil Local Rule 3-2)
(Place an “X” in One Box Only) SAN FRANCISCO/OAKLAND SAN JOSE EUREKA-MCKINLEYVILLE

DATE 11/05/2020 SIGNATURE OF ATTORNEY OF RECORD /S/ David B. Countryman

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JS-CAND 44 (rev. 10/2020) Case 3:20-cv-07811-VC Document 1-1 Filed 11/05/20 Page 2 of 2

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ATTORNEYS COMPLETING CIVIL COVER SHEET FORM JS-CAND 44

Authority For Civil Cover Sheet. The JS-CAND 44 civil cover sheet and the information contained herein neither replaces nor supplements the filings and
service of pleading or other papers as required by law, except as provided by local rules of court. This form, approved in its original form by the Judicial
Conference of the United States in September 1974, is required for the Clerk of Court to initiate the civil docket sheet. Consequently, a civil cover sheet is
submitted to the Clerk of Court for each civil complaint filed. The attorney filing a case should complete the form as follows:
I. a) Plaintiffs-Defendants. Enter names (last, first, middle initial) of plaintiff and defendant. If the plaintiff or defendant is a government agency, use
only the full name or standard abbreviations. If the plaintiff or defendant is an official within a government agency, identify first the agency and
then the official, giving both name and title.
b) County of Residence. For each civil case filed, except U.S. plaintiff cases, enter the name of the county where the first listed plaintiff resides at the
time of filing. In U.S. plaintiff cases, enter the name of the county in which the first listed defendant resides at the time of filing. (NOTE: In land
condemnation cases, the county of residence of the “defendant” is the location of the tract of land involved.)
c) Attorneys. Enter the firm name, address, telephone number, and attorney of record. If there are several attorneys, list them on an attachment, noting
in this section “(see attachment).”
II. Jurisdiction. The basis of jurisdiction is set forth under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a), which requires that jurisdictions be shown in
pleadings. Place an “X” in one of the boxes. If there is more than one basis of jurisdiction, precedence is given in the order shown below.
(1) United States plaintiff. Jurisdiction based on 28 USC §§ 1345 and 1348. Suits by agencies and officers of the United States are included here.
(2) United States defendant. When the plaintiff is suing the United States, its officers or agencies, place an “X” in this box.
(3) Federal question. This refers to suits under 28 USC § 1331, where jurisdiction arises under the Constitution of the United States, an amendment
to the Constitution, an act of Congress or a treaty of the United States. In cases where the U.S. is a party, the U.S. plaintiff or defendant code
takes precedence, and box 1 or 2 should be marked.
(4) Diversity of citizenship. This refers to suits under 28 USC § 1332, where parties are citizens of different states. When Box 4 is checked, the
citizenship of the different parties must be checked. (See Section III below; NOTE: federal question actions take precedence over diversity
cases.)
III. Residence (citizenship) of Principal Parties. This section of the JS-CAND 44 is to be completed if diversity of citizenship was indicated above.
Mark this section for each principal party.
IV. Nature of Suit. Place an “X” in the appropriate box. If the nature of suit cannot be determined, be sure the cause of action, in Section VI below, is
sufficient to enable the deputy clerk or the statistical clerk(s) in the Administrative Office to determine the nature of suit. If the cause fits more than
one nature of suit, select the most definitive.
V. Origin. Place an “X” in one of the six boxes.
(1) Original Proceedings. Cases originating in the United States district courts.
(2) Removed from State Court. Proceedings initiated in state courts may be removed to the district courts under Title 28 USC § 1441. When the
petition for removal is granted, check this box.
(3) Remanded from Appellate Court. Check this box for cases remanded to the district court for further action. Use the date of remand as the filing
date.
(4) Reinstated or Reopened. Check this box for cases reinstated or reopened in the district court. Use the reopening date as the filing date.
(5) Transferred from Another District. For cases transferred under Title 28 USC § 1404(a). Do not use this for within district transfers or
multidistrict litigation transfers.
(6) Multidistrict Litigation Transfer. Check this box when a multidistrict case is transferred into the district under authority of Title 28 USC
§ 1407. When this box is checked, do not check (5) above.
(8) Multidistrict Litigation Direct File. Check this box when a multidistrict litigation case is filed in the same district as the Master MDL docket.
Please note that there is no Origin Code 7. Origin Code 7 was used for historical records and is no longer relevant due to changes in statute.
VI. Cause of Action. Report the civil statute directly related to the cause of action and give a brief description of the cause. Do not cite jurisdictional
statutes unless diversity. Example: U.S. Civil Statute: 47 USC § 553. Brief Description: Unauthorized reception of cable service.
VII. Requested in Complaint. Class Action. Place an “X” in this box if you are filing a class action under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23.
Demand. In this space enter the actual dollar amount being demanded or indicate other demand, such as a preliminary injunction.
Jury Demand. Check the appropriate box to indicate whether or not a jury is being demanded.
VIII. Related Cases. This section of the JS-CAND 44 is used to identify related pending cases, if any. If there are related pending cases, insert the docket
numbers and the corresponding judge names for such cases.
IX. Divisional Assignment. If the Nature of Suit is under Property Rights or Prisoner Petitions or the matter is a Securities Class Action, leave this
section blank. For all other cases, identify the divisional venue according to Civil Local Rule 3-2: “the county in which a substantial part of the
events or omissions which give rise to the claim occurred or in which a substantial part of the property that is the subject of the action is situated.”
Date and Attorney Signature. Date and sign the civil cover sheet.