“To date, [Kelly] has not paid any portion of the fines imposed by the Court and still owes the entire $140,900.00,” the letter said. Prosecutors explained Kelly had “amassed nearly thirty-thousand dollars in his inmate trust account over the course of the last three years.”
The government said it took $27k which left Kelly with only $500.
Now, Kelly’s lawyer has demanded the money be returned. She accused the government of failing to follow the proper procedures before seizing the funds.
She said they never put Kelly on notice of default or filed a lien. “This Court should order the immediate return of Mr. Kelly’s funds and further sanction the office of the United States Attorney and the Bureau of Prison for seizing funds without lawful authority,” the motion reads. “The judgment in this case was entered little more than a month ago and specified that only $900 was due immediately. Without any evidence that Mr. Kelly has defaulted on payment of a fine that was only entered 35 days ago, the government was not permitted to seize Mr. Kelly’s trust funds.”