Sandra Day O’Connor U.S. Courthouse — Site of Federal Property Return Request
Federal agents seized about $460,000 in cash and checks, as well as phones, computers and business records, from Mario Ayala’s Glendale convenience store on Feb. 25, 2025. Ayala was in Mexico with his dying father at the time. More than a year and a half later, he has not recovered the property and has not been charged with a crime.
Homeland Security Investigations and the IRS raided Ayala’s Mini Market and 18 other Phoenix-area money-services businesses that day, KTAR News reported. According to the station, the search warrants identified structuring—breaking up cash transactions to evade federal reporting requirements—as the sole suspected offense. Ayala has not been charged in connection with the case…