Article 13-A. Proceeds of Crime—forfeiture · Last amended 2021 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1310 defines the terms that anchor New York's civil forfeiture scheme, including 'property,' 'proceeds of a crime,' 'claiming authority,' and the line between criminal and non-criminal defendants.
1. “Property” means and includes: real property, personal property, money, negotiable instruments, securities, or any thing of value or any interest in a thing of value.
2. “Proceeds of a crime” means any property obtained through the commission of a felony crime defined in subdivisions five and six hereof, and includes any appreciation in value of such property.
3. “Substituted proceeds of a crime” means any property obtained by the sale or exchange of proceeds of a crime, and any gain realized by such sale or exchange.
4. “Instrumentality of a crime” means any property, other than real property and any buildings, fixtures, appurtenances, and improvements thereon, whose use contributes directly and materially to the commission of a crime defined in subdivisions five and six hereof.
4-a. “Real property instrumentality of a crime” means an interest in real property the use of which contributes directly and materially to the commission of a specified felony offense.
4-b. “Specified felony offense” means:
(a)a conviction of a person for a violation of section 220.18, 220.21, 220.41, or 220.43 of the penal law, or where the accusatory instrument charges one or more of such offenses, conviction upon a plea of guilty to any of the felonies for which such plea is otherwise authorized by law or a conviction of a person for conspiracy to commit a violation of section 220.18, 220.21, 220.41, or 220.43 of the penal law, where the controlled substances which are the object of the conspiracy are located in the real property which is the subject of the forfeiture action; or
(b)on three or more occasions, engaging in conduct constituting a violation of any of the felonies defined in section 220.09, 220.16, 220.18, 220.21, 220.31, 220.34, 220.39, 220.41 or 220.43 of the penal law, which violations do not constitute a single criminal offense as defined in subdivision one of section 40.10 of the criminal procedure law, or a single criminal transaction, as defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision two of section 40.10 of the criminal procedure law, and at least one of which resulted in a conviction of such offense, or where the accusatory instrument charges one or more of such felonies, conviction upon a plea of guilty to a felony for which such plea is otherwise authorized by law; or
(c)a conviction of a person for a violation of section 220.09, 220.16, 220.34 or 220.39 of the penal law, or where the accusatory instrument charges any such felony, conviction upon a plea of guilty to a felony for which the plea is otherwise authorized by law, together with evidence which: (i) provides substantial indicia that the defendant used the real property to engage in a continual, ongoing course of conduct involving the unlawful mixing, compounding, manufacturing, warehousing, or packaging of controlled substances as part of an illegal trade or business for gain; and (ii) establishes, where the conviction is for possession of a controlled substance, that such possession was with the intent to sell it.
5. “Post-conviction forfeiture crime” means any felony defined in the penal law or any other chapter of the consolidated laws of the state.
6. [Repealed] 7. “Court” means a superior court.
8. “Defendant” means a person against whom a forfeiture action is commenced and includes a “criminal defendant” and a “non-criminal defendant”.
9. “Criminal defendant” means a person who has criminal liability for a crime defined in subdivision five of this section. For purposes of this article, a person has criminal liability when he has been convicted of a post-conviction forfeiture crime.
10. “Non-criminal defendant” means a person, other than a criminal defendant, who possesses an interest in the proceeds of a crime, the substituted proceeds of a crime or an instrumentality of a crime.
11. “Claiming authority” means the district attorney having jurisdiction over the offense or the attorney general for purpose of those crimes for which the attorney general has criminal jurisdiction in a case where the underlying criminal charge has been, is being or is about to be brought by the attorney general, or the appropriate corporation counsel or county attorney, provided that the corporation counsel or county attorney may act as a claiming authority only with the consent of the district attorney or the attorney general, as appropriate.
12. “Claiming agent” means and shall include all persons described in subdivision thirty-four of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, and sheriffs, undersheriffs and deputy sheriffs of counties within the city of New York.
13. “Fair consideration” means fair consideration is given for property, or obligation, (a) when in exchange for such property, or obligation, as a fair equivalent therefor, and in good faith, property is conveyed or an antecedent debt is satisfied, or (b) when such property, or obligation is received in good faith to secure a present advance or antecedent debt in amount not disproportionately small as compared with the value of the property, or obligation obtained.
14. “District attorney” means and shall include all persons described in subdivision thirty-two of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law and the special assistant district attorney in charge of the office of prosecution, special narcotics courts of the city of New York.
Plain-English Summary
Article 13-A lets a prosecutor sue in civil court to take property connected to a felony, apart from whatever sentence a criminal court hands down. Section 1310 sets the vocabulary the rest of the article leans on. 'Property' covers real estate, cash, securities, and any interest of value. From there the section builds outward: 'proceeds of a crime' is what a defendant gained from committing a felony, 'substituted proceeds' is what those proceeds turned into after a sale or exchange, and 'instrumentality of a crime' is property whose use helped commit one. A later addition, 'real property instrumentality of a crime,' reaches houses and buildings used for a defined set of drug felonies, paired with a detailed definition of 'specified felony offense' in subdivision 4-b that targets repeat drug sales and drug manufacturing operations.
The definitions also draw a line that shapes everything downstream: a 'criminal defendant' has been convicted of the underlying felony, while a 'non-criminal defendant' is anyone else holding an interest in the tainted property, a spouse, business partner, or landlord, for example. That distinction matters because section 1311 sets different burdens of proof for each. Section 1310 also identifies who can sue: the 'claiming authority' is ordinarily the district attorney or the attorney general, though a corporation counsel or county attorney may act in that role only with the district attorney's or attorney general's consent. The 'claiming agent' is the law enforcement officer, sheriff, or deputy who carries out the court's orders once a case is underway.
Two more definitions do quiet but steady work throughout the article. 'Fair consideration' describes what someone must have paid, in good faith, for property to avoid the presumption that they knew it was tainted, a concept section 1314 relies on when deciding whose claim to attached property wins. And 'court' is defined narrowly as a superior court, which fixes where these actions can be brought in the first place.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 'proceeds of a crime' mean under CPLR 1310?
It means property obtained through the commission of a felony described in the article's list of forfeiture crimes, including any increase in that property's value since it was obtained.
Who counts as a 'non-criminal defendant' in a forfeiture case?
Anyone who was not convicted of the underlying crime but holds an interest in the proceeds, substituted proceeds, or an instrumentality of that crime, a family member or business associate, for instance.
What is a 'claiming authority,' and can a corporation counsel act as one?
The claiming authority is ordinarily the district attorney with jurisdiction over the offense or the attorney general when the attorney general has jurisdiction; a corporation counsel or county attorney may act as claiming authority only with that district attorney's or attorney general's consent.
What is a 'real property instrumentality of a crime'?
It is an interest in real property whose use contributes directly to a 'specified felony offense,' a category defined in subdivision 4-b that covers repeated or serious drug-sale and drug-manufacturing felonies.
Does paying 'fair consideration' protect someone who bought property later tied to a crime?
Section 1310 defines fair consideration as a good-faith equivalent exchange or the satisfaction of an antecedent debt, and paying it, without knowledge the property was tainted, helps a buyer avoid the knowledge presumptions set out in section 1311.
What is the difference between a 'claiming authority' and a 'claiming agent'?
The claiming authority is the prosecutor's office that brings and controls the forfeiture action, while the claiming agent is the officer, sheriff, or deputy who executes levies, seizures, and other court orders in the case.
Amendment History
Add, L 1984, ch 669, § 1, eff Aug 1, 1984, and applicable to crimes committed on and after Aug 1, 1984; amd, L 1986, ch 8, § 1; L 1986, ch 174, § 1, eff Nov 1, 1986; L 1990, ch 655, §§ 1, 2, eff Nov 1, 1990; L 2021, ch 92, § 26, effective March 31, 2021.
Source & verification. Provision text, History, and Advisory
Committee Notes are reproduced verbatim from the Consolidated Laws of New York.
Last verified July 21, 2026.
· Official source
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