For Immediate Release

The public can preview the auction items from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (CST) Friday at the same location and on the Web. Auction registration instructions and pre-bidding are available at www.txauction.com.

Among the items to be auctioned are a men’s 10-carat platinum diamond ring and a one-of-a-kind men’s Audemars Piguet watch, both recovered from drug and money laundering cases. Many more reasonably priced items are also available for sale.

Proceeds from U.S. Marshals’ auctions are used to compensate victims of crime and fund law enforcement initiatives. In addition, the funds are often shared with state and local law enforcement agencies that participated in the investigations leading to the forfeiture of the assets. The items up for auction once belonged to individuals and companies found guilty of crimes and ordered by a court of law to forfeit ill-gotten gains from their criminal activities.

The U.S. Marshals Service is the primary custodian of seized and forfeited property for the Department of Justice’s Asset Forfeiture Program. More than 8,400 items of forfeited property are sold annually with gross sales in excess of $100 million.

Asset Forfeiture Program participants include the U.S. Marshals Service; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the FBI; United States Attorneys' Offices; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the Food and Drug Administration; the Department of Agriculture; the Department of State; and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.  

Additional information about the U.S. Marshals can be found at http://www.usmarshals.gov.