Exhibit F - 2024-04-01 Norman Barnett (USDOJ) Ltr. to B. Gram re Rockwell Street — USA v. Thomas et al. (Dkt. 967-6, N.D. Ga.)

Record facts

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia · No. 1:20-cr-00296-JPB-CMS · Doc. 967-6 · 2024-04-15 · Docket on CourtListener

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EXHIBIT F  
Case 1:20-cr-00296-JPB-CMS     Document 967-6     Filed 04/15/24     Page 1 of 7

 
 
U.S. Department of Justice 
United States Attorney 
Northern District of Georgia 
 
 
Richard Russell Federal Building 
Telephone: (404) 581-6000 
75 Ted Turner Drive, S.W., Suite 600 
Fax: (404) 581-6181 
Atlanta, Georgia 30303 
 
 
 
April 1, 2024  
 
New Horizon Real Estate, LLC 
c/o Brooke W. Gram 
Balch & Bingham LLP 
30 Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard, N.W. 
Suite 700  
Atlanta, GA 30308 
 
 
Re: 
United States v. Charles Hill, IV, et al. 
 
Criminal Case No. 1:20-CR-00296-JPB-CMS 
 
Notice of Forfeiture for Third Party Petition 
Property: 503-505 Rockwell Street, S.W., Atlanta, Georgia [Parcel ID No.: 14-0086-
0007-075-3]  
 
Dear Ms. Gram: 
 
 
Thank you for your correspondence. This letter is to notify you that the United States District Court 
for the Northern District of Georgia has ordered the property described above and in the enclosed 
Preliminary Order of Forfeiture forfeited to the United States, subject to any claims of interest by third 
parties.    
 
 
Title 21, United States Code, Section 853(n) provides the exclusive mechanism for any person, 
other than the defendant, to assert a legal interest in property which has been ordered forfeited to the United 
States. To obtain relief from a preliminary order of forfeiture, a petitioner must prove either: (1) at the time 
of the acts giving rise to the forfeiture of the subject property, they held some interest superior to the interest 
of the defendant, see 21 U.S.C. § 853(n)(6)(A), or (2) that the petitioner was a bona fide purchaser for value 
who purchased an interest in the subject property without cause to believe that the property was subject to 
forfeiture. See 21 U.S.C. § 853(n)(6)(B). United States v. Soreide, 461 F.3d 1351, 1354-55. (11th Cir. 2006).  
 
 
The United States does not agree to release the lis pendens, which was recorded in the Superior 
Court of Fulton County, Georgia on May 6, 2021. Notably, the lis pendens was recorded and the Consent 
Preliminary Order of Forfeiture was issued prior to the above-referenced property’s conveyance to New 
Horizon Real Estate, LLC in October 2021. See, e.g., United States v. Suarez, 716 F. App’x 937, 938 (11th 
Cir. 2018) (the Court, applying Florida law, determined that purchaser of property for value, after 
government had recorded a lis pendens against property and district court had entered a preliminary order 
of forfeiture, did not qualify as a bona fide purchaser for value because purchaser had constructive notice 
of a defect in title); See Brock v. Yale Mortgage Corp., 287 Ga. 849 (2010) ("[a] bona fide purchaser for 
value is protected against outstanding interests in land of which the purchaser has no notice."); Kitchings v. 
Ameris Bank, 309 Ga. App. 837 (2011)(“To qualify as a bona fide purchaser for value without notice, a 
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Page 2 
 
Revised 12/28/2023 
 
party must have neither actual nor constructive notice of the matter at issue. . . . A purchaser of land is 
charged with constructive notice of the contents of a recorded instrument within its chain of title.”).  
 
 
If your client has an interest in the above-referenced property and wishes to contest the forfeiture, 
they must, pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 853(n)(2), file a petition within thirty days of receiving this letter with 
the Clerk of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia at 75 Ted Turner Drive, 
S.W., Suite 2211, Atlanta, Georgia 30303.  They must also send a copy of the petition to me at the U.S. 
Attorney’s Office, 75 Ted Turner Drive, S.W., Suite 600, Atlanta, Georgia 30303.   
 
 
Please note that such petition must be signed by the petitioner under penalty of perjury and shall 
set forth the nature and extent of the petitioner’s right, title, or interest in the property, the time and 
circumstances of the petitioner’s acquisition of the right, title, or interest in the property, any additional 
facts supporting the petitioner’s claim, and the relief sought. 21 U.S.C. § 853(n)(3). 
 
Please contact me if you have any questions. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sincerely, 
 
RYAN K. BUCHANAN 
United States Attorney 
/s/ Norman L. Barnett 
NORMAN L. BARNETT 
Assistant United States Attorney 
 
Enclosure:  Consent Preliminary Order of Forfeiture 
Case 1:20-cr-00296-JPB-CMS     Document 967-6     Filed 04/15/24     Page 3 of 7

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA 
ATLANTA DIVISION 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
Criminal Action No. 
v. 
CHARLES HILL, IV 
1:20-CR-00296-JPB-CMS 
CONSENT PRELIMINARY ORDER OF FORFEITURE 
Charles Hill, IV, having pied guilty to Count Twenty-Five of the Second 
Superseding Indictment, pursuant to which the United States sought forfeiture 
of certain property under 18 U.S.C. § 982(a)(2), and the  Court having determined 
that the property described below is subject to forfeiture pursuant thereto, that 
the Government has established the requisite nexus between said property and 
the offense charged in Count Twenty-Five the Second Superseding Indictment and 
the Defendant having consented to this Consent Preliminary Order of 
Forfeiture becoming final as to him, being made a part of his sentence and being 
included in the judgment against him; 
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Charles Hill, IV, shall forfeit to the United 
States the following property pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §§ 982(a)(2): 
#503-505 ROCKWELL STREET, S.W., FULTON COUNTY 
ATLANTA GEORGIA 
[Parcel ID No.: 14-0086-0007-075-3] 
All that tract or parcel of land lying and being in Land Lot 86 of the 14th 
District, Fulton County, Georgia, as per survey of property of C.G. Aycock 
and the B-X Corporation, dated May 4, 1949, by Harold L. Bush, Reg. 
Surveyor and more particularly described as follows: Beginning at a point 
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on the North side of Rockwell Street (60.2) feet West of Northwest Comer 
of Rockwell and Coleman Streets at an iron pin; thence Northerly (75) feet 
to an iron pin and the South side of a (10) foot alley; thence West (34) feet to 
an iron pin; thence Southerly (75) feet to an iron pin and the North side of 
Rockwell Street; thence Easterly along the North side of Rockwell street 
(35.2) feet to an iron pin and the point of beginning. The same being 
improved property known as #503-505 Rockwell Street, S.W. according to 
the present system of numbering houses in the City of Atlanta, Georgia. 
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that upon entry of this order, the United States 
Attorney General, or his designee, is authorized to seize the property in 
accordance with Fed. R. Crim. P. 32.2(b)(3). 
The United States shall publish notice of this Order and its intent to dispose 
of the property in accordance with Fed. R. Crim. P. 32.2(b)(6) and in such a manner 
as described in Supplemental Rule G(4)(a)(iii) and (iv) of the Federal Rules of Civil 
Procedure. The United States shall send written notice, in accordance with 
Supplemental Rule G(4)(b)(iii)-(v), to any person who reasonably appears to be a 
potential claimant with standing to contest the forfeiture of the above-listed 
property in the ancillary proceeding. 
Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 853(n)(2), as incorporated by 18 U.S.C. § 982(b)(l), 
any person, other than the named Defendant, asserting a legal interest in the 
property may within thirty days of the final publication of the notice or their 
receipt of the notice, whichever is earlier, petition the Court for a hearing without 
a jury to adjudicate the validity of their alleged interest in the property and for an 
amendment to the order of forfeiture. Any petition filed by a third party asserting 
an interest in the property shall be signed by the petitioner under penalty of 
2 
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perjury and shall set forth the nature and extent of the petitioner's right, title or 
interest in the property, the time and circumstance of the petitioner's acquisition 
of the right, title, or interest and any additional facts supporting the petitioner's 
claim and the relief sought. 
After the disposition of any motion filed under Fed. R. Crim. P. 32.2(c)(l)(A) 
and before a hearing on the petition, discovery may be conducted in accordance 
with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure upon a showing that such discovery is 
necessary or desirable to resolve factual issues. 
The United States shall have clear title to the property following the Court's 
disposition of all third-party interests or, if none, following the expiration of the 
period provided in 21 U.S.C. § 853(n)(2) for the filing of the third-party petitions. 
The Court shall retain jurisdiction to enforce this order and to amend it as 
necessary, pursuant to Fed. R. Crim. P. 32.2(e). 
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, pursuant to Fed. R. Crim. P. 32.2(b)(4), this 
Preliminary Order of Forfeiture is hereby final as to the Defendant but remains 
preliminary as to third parties until the ancillary proceeding is concluded under 
Rule 32.2(c). 
3 
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SO ORDERED this 6th day of October, 2021.
Submitted by: 
/ s / Tai C. Chaiken 
Tai C. Chaiken 
Assistant United States Attorney 
4 
Attorney for Defendant 
Georgia Bar No. 634075 
The Secret Firm 
1691 Phoenix Blvd, Ste. 390 
Atlanta, GA 30349 
( 404) 798-5200
asecret@thesecretfirm.com
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