by Michael Mata
The life insurance policies taken out by San Bernardino terrorist shooter Syed Rizwan Farook, which have a combined worth of $275,000, are subject to government seizure, a federal judge has ruled. The two policies—the first worth $25,000 and the second worth $250,000—listed Farook’s mother, Rafia Farook, as the beneficiary.
Instead of going to the beneficiary, the money has been deposited with the court clerk, where it will remain until further orders. According to court documents, the money was deposited in June by the insurance company, which had separately challenged the payout of the claims.
On August 5, US District Judge Jesus G. Bernal ruled that the forfeiture could be disputed with a claim filed within 35-60 days, depending on the type of notice received about the order.
Federal prosecutors filed a lawsuit against Farook’s family on May 31, 2016, which allowed them to seize the proceeds of the two life insurance policies as well as the policies. The following June, Minnesota Life Insurance alleged that Rafia Farook was aware of her son’s planned terrorist attack and should not be entitled to the benefits from both policies. Bernal’s ruling was not on the Minnesota Life Insurance lawsuit, but was on the federal lawsuit filed in May.
The Los Angeles US Attorney’s Office’s civil asset forfeiture lawsuit stated that the government wanted to use the insurance money to benefit the surviving victims of the terrorist attack as well as the family members of those who’d died.
Rafia Farook was living in an apartment in Redlands with her son and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, when the terrorist attack occurred on December 2, 2015, at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California. The attack killed 14 people and seriously wounded 22. It was the deadliest terrorist attack on US soil until the Orlando nightclub shooting on June 12, 2016.
