Japanese Pop Queen's Mom Fights DEA
Hikaru Utada's parent seeks return of $421k in seized 'drug money'
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Japanese Pop Queen's Mom Fights DEA
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Japanese Pop Queen's Mom Fights DEA -
Japanese Pop Queen's Mom Fights DEA -
Japanese Pop Queen's Mom Fights DEA -
Japanese Pop Queen's Mom Fights DEA -
Japanese Pop Queen's Mom Fights DEA -
Japanese Pop Queen's Mom Fights DEA -
Japanese Pop Queen's Mom Fights DEA -
Japanese Pop Queen's Mom Fights DEA -
Japanese Pop Queen's Mom Fights DEA -
Japanese Pop Queen's Mom Fights DEA
SEPTEMBER 27--The mother of one of Japan's biggest pop stars was recently caught with more than $400,000 in suspected drug proceeds as she tried to board a plane from New York to Las Vegas, according to federal prosecutors now seeking forfeiture of the funds. In March, screeners at JFK Airport discovered the money in the carry-on luggage of Junko Utada, whose 23-year-old daughter has been described as the Japanese Britney Spears. Hikaru Utada, pictured at right, has sold more than 40 million albums in Japan, with her debut album selling more copies than any record in the country's history. According to investigators, when Drug Enforcement Administration agents approached Junko Utada, 55, as she waited to board a March 6 America West flight, she was 'yelling into a telephone' and 'appeared extremely nervous and physically ill.' During questioning, Utada said she had just retrieved the six-figure stash from a Manhattan Mini Storage unit, adding that the money came, in part, from gambling winnings. A forfeiture complaint filed by federal prosecutors noted that the money--4149 $100 bills--was bundled, wrapped in paper, and secured with rubber bands. Some bundles were found inside 'two large plastic Ziploc bags.' Agents also recovered some Australian and Canadian currency, for a total seizure of $421,489.44, according to the September 25 complaint, a copy of which you'll find below. DEA agents reported that Utada, who 'evaded answering questions,' claimed that she planned on donating the 400 grand to a Las Vegas foster home that she had never visited and whose name she could not recall. After the money was seized, it was placed in a DEA evidence bag and agents conducted a 'canine examination of the currency with a trained drug-sniffing dog.' The animal 'alerted to the cash, indicating that it bore traces of controlled substances.' Prosecutors seeking Utada's forfeiture of the money allege that it represents proceeds of drug sales or was intended to be used to buy drugs. Through counsel, Utada, a former singer, has filed a 'claim of ownership' with the DEA for the funds and has requested that the Department of Justice institute judicial forfeiture proceedings so that disposition of the money can be litigated. (10 pages)
