Collection Agency Sues FBI to Recover Seized Money Owed in Judgment

A collection agency that had a $608,000 judgment against a South Korean businessman is suing the FBI to recover the $46,000 that the FBI seized from the man when he was arrested for his part in the Iraqi oil-for-food scandal.

National Recovery Systems says in papers filed in Manhattan’s state Supreme Court that as of March 2000 it had a judgment against Tongsun Park of nearly $608,000. The sum represented Park’s gambling losses, plus interest, at a casino in 1999.

FBI agents arrested Park in Houston in January of this year and seized $46,000 in cash that he had on his person. The lawyer for National Recovery said that the firm is entitled to that money pursuant to the judgment they won against Park.

Christine Monaco, spokeswoman for the FBI said she could not comment specifically on National Recovery’s lawsuit, but said generally no seized funds are released until a case is resolved. She added that if the money was the proceeds of an illegal activity, the government would probably keep it.

Park was charged in April 2005 for accepting millions of dollars from the Iraqi government while he operated in this country as an unregistered agent for Iraq’s oil-for-food program. After he failed to respond to a warrant, he became a fugitive.