New York statute
N.Y. Penal Law § 480.05 — Felony controlled substance offenses; forfeiture
Current through 2026 legislative session (LBDC text via OpenLegislation as of 2026-07-17)
Part of Article 480: Criminal Forfeiture - Felony Controlled Substance Offenses, New York Penal Law.
Full text of N.Y. Penal Law § 480.05
Statutory text current through the 2026 legislative session (LBDC text via OpenLegislation as of 2026-07-17). This publication reproduces the text of the Consolidated Laws of New York as provided by the New York State Senate's Open Legislation service (Legislative Bill Drafting Commission statutory text); it is not the official statutes of the State of New York.
480.05 Felony controlled substance offenses; forfeiture.
1. When any person is convicted of a felony offense, the following
property is subject to forfeiture pursuant to this article:
(a) any property constituting the proceeds or substituted proceeds of
such offense, unless the forfeiture is disproportionate to the
defendant's gain from or participation in the offense, in which event
the trier of fact may direct forfeiture of a portion thereof; and
(b) any property constituting an instrumentality of such offense,
other than a real property instrumentality of a crime, unless such
forfeiture is disproportionate to the defendant's gain from or
participation in the offense, in which event the trier of fact may
direct forfeiture of a portion thereof.
2. When any person is convicted of a specified offense, the real
property instrumentality of such specified offense is subject to
forfeiture pursuant to this article, unless such forfeiture is
disproportionate to the defendant's gain from or participation in the
offense, in which event the trier of fact may direct forfeiture of a
portion thereof.
3. Property acquired in good faith by an attorney as payment for the
reasonable and bona fide fees of legal services or reimbursement of
reasonable and bona fide expenses related to the representation of a
defendant in connection with a civil or criminal forfeiture proceeding
or a related criminal matter, shall be exempt from a judgment of
forfeiture. For purposes of this subdivision, "bona fide" means that the
attorney who acquired such property had no reasonable basis to believe
that the fee transaction was a fraudulent or sham transaction designed
to shield property from forfeiture, hide its existence from governmental
investigative agencies, or was conducted for any purpose other than
legitimate.
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This reference is informational and is not legal advice.