BACKGROUND
The Department of Justice (DOJ) Asset Forfeiture Program (AFP) plays a critical role in disrupting and dismantling illegal enterprises, depriving criminals of the proceeds of illegal activity, deterring crime, and restoring property to victims. The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) serves as the primary custodial agency of the DOJ AFP. As part of its custodial responsibilities the USMS inventories and safeguards seized property assets, deposits and reconciles funds in the Seized Asset Deposit Fund and Assets Forfeiture Fund, disburses funds to innocent owners, third parties, victims, and State, local and tribal law enforcement agencies, and procures asset management contracts to assist with the management and disposition of seized and forfeited assets. In addition, the USMS also provides vital support to U.S. Attorney's Offices and investigative agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, by assisting with pre-seizure planning and financial investigations.
As the custodian for seized property assets, the USMS manages the custody, management and disposition of seized and forfeited real property assets. Through this Program, the USMS facilitates the pre-seizure analysis, custody, management and disposition of real estate and business assets that include but are not limited to residential, commercial, industrial, land, operating businesses, promissory notes, deeds of trust, gas rights, oil rights, and mineral rights. The Program provides for coordination of valuation, title search/reports, real property inspections, real property management/repair/maintenance, and procuring licensed brokers to market and sell these assets to the general public.
Since 2020, the USMS has processed through our Real Property National Contractor, an average of 1,705 Pre-Seizure Analysis packages, an average of 202 real property assets taken into USMS custody and disposed of an average of 240 real property assets.
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)
The USMS is posting this announcement as an RFI only, for a potential solicitation to be posted on the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) website. This RFI is issued for the purpose of identifying industry vendors able and interested in demonstrating expertise in the pre-seizure assessment, custody, management, and disposition of real property and related assets. Also, this RFI is being issued to ascertain if sources exist that are capable of providing such services both nationwide and internationally for a recurring inventory of seized and forfeited real property and related assets. The Real Property National Contract requirement is anticipated to be for a base year and four (4) one-year options.
Any interested Contractor shall be located within the continental United States and have the ability to provide real property services in all 50 States, and the territories for Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. Pre-seizure assessment of international real property assets will be required on a case-by-case basis. The Contractor shall provide on-site, or remote assistance as required in support of a Performance Work Statement (PWS). All key personnel providing services shall be legally authorized to work in the United States.
If you are interested in the potential solicitation, please provide a capability statement addressing your company's ability to provide the related services. Additionally, please complete the provided pricing schedule with estimated rates (provided estimated rates are for USMS market research only and definitive, proposed rates will be required as future solicitations are published to SAM.gov. It is important that interested sources provide a capability statement and completed pricing schedule via email to ALL addresses below:
- Christopher Ottie, Contract Officer, Christopher.Ottie@usdoj.gov
- Eliana York, Secondary Contract Officer, Eliana.York@usdoj.gov
- AFP Procurement, Team Inbox, AFP.Procurement@usdoj.gov
Please submit a completed Pricing Schedule with your capability statement. Please note all cells in the provided Pricing Schedule are locked with the exception of those identified in yellow. Please do not submit a modified Pricing Schedule, only input estimated rates within the yellow cells.
In addition to a capability statement and pricing schedule, all interested parties need to ensure they have completed the initial questions to be submitted via the SurveyMonkey link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FY25_National_Real_Property
Providing your capability statement, pricing schedule, and responses to all questions does not constitute entitlement to payment, nor indirect costs, nor charges to the Government will arise as a result. The Government reserves the right to reject, in whole or in part, any company's input resulting from this RFI. In addition, you are advised that providing responses to the survey questions will not automatically include you in the acquisition process for this solicitation. All responses are due by December 20, 2024 at 11:00 am EST.
Background
The Department of Justice (DOJ) Asset Forfeiture Program (AFP) is essential for disrupting illegal enterprises, depriving criminals of their proceeds, deterring crime, and restoring property to victims.
The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) is the primary custodial agency for the DOJ AFP, responsible for managing seized property assets, reconciling funds, disbursing payments to innocent owners and law enforcement agencies, and procuring asset management contracts.
The USMS also supports U.S. Attorney’s Offices and investigative agencies with pre-seizure planning and financial investigations. The program involves the management of various real property assets including residential, commercial, industrial properties, and rights related to oil and gas.
Work Details
The contractor will provide services for the custody, evaluation, management, maintenance, and disposal of seized or forfeited real property on behalf of the USMS. Specific tasks include:
- Pre-Seizure Analysis: Assessing value, conducting title reports, evaluating contamination risks, and performing cost-benefit analyses.
- Custody: Taking physical custody of properties, securing assets, providing appraisal reports from certified appraisers, and creating comprehensive after-action reports detailing inventory and condition assessments.
- Management: Ongoing oversight of properties including maintenance tasks such as lawn care and repairs; managing tenant communications; handling rent collection; and facility management for larger commercial properties.
- Disposition: Engaging local licensed real estate agents to facilitate sales at or above fair market value.
- Legal Services: Reviewing liens against properties to ensure clear titles at disposition; assisting in preparing legal documents for forfeiture processes.
- Cloud-Based System: Maintaining a cloud-based information system for managing orders, tracking assets/projects, budgeting, and vendor bill approvals.
Place of Performance
Services will be provided nationwide across all 50 states and U.S. territories including Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. International services will be provided on a case-by-case basis.
