From the document, it doesn't look like this was from simple face to face transactions using localbitcoins... it looks like he was somehow involved with running an exchange.
Yes, I was charged for simply trading Bitcoins on localbitcoins.com. It did not matter that it was face-to-face or that it was for cash. They claimed my trading activity on localbitcoins.com was a business. I claimed it was not a business. After about $300,000 and several months of negotiations by my attorney we basically agreed to disagree on whether it was a business or not and they agreed to drop all the criminal charges against me and all the civil charges against all my stuff they had seized for a one time donation to their civil asset forfeiture slush fund.
BTW the cops have always been able to and motivated to ask you if you have any cash in the car when they stop you. If you say yes and they think it is "too much" cash they can just take if from you without any charges being filed. It is then up to you to prove that the cash they took from you is totally innocent of any criminal activity. If you can prove that your cash is innocent then they might give it back to you.
I just saw that they now have a new weapon in their war on the people: not only can they seize any cash you happen to have on you they can now take all the value off any type of pre-paid card you happen to have on you or in your car:
http://boingboing.net/2016/06/09/oklahoma-cops-can-use-scanners.htmlNice.
Now you have to prove your pre-paid Appplebee's or Amazon card is innocent of criminal activity in order to get your money back!
It won't be long before they can take your phone from you during a traffic stop and see if you have a Bitcoin wallet on your phone. If you do they will then confiscate your phone and you will have to prove your Bitcoins are innocent (and your phone is innocent) before they will consider giving your phone and Bitcoin wallet back to you.
When they arrested me they took my phone, all of my Bitcoins, all my computers, etc. It was only after they dropped all the civil charges against my stuff - and I paid them the donation of cash and Bitcoins they squeezed out of me - that I got my phone and wallet back.
thread... My doubt is, how does that seize the funds from a card without needing a PIN?
I've also read that the company who makes these things gets a comission from seized funds, which I find rather "odd"...
As for the phone with Bitcoins, they risk ending up with a wallet without any funds when they eventually get to be able to spend them.