A Wisconsin man whose life savings were taken by the Wyoming Highway Patrol in March of this year will have his money returned to him.
Phil Parhamovich recently made a deal purchasing a recording studio in Madison, Wisconsin, and said he had been keeping nearly $92,000 in his vehicle for safekeeping.
Parhamovich said he was pulled over on I-80 for allegedly not staying in his lane and not wearing a seatbelt. His attorney Dan Alban said officers told Parhamovich carrying that much cash was potentially illegal and asked him to sign away his money — which he eventually did.
This past July, Alban says the state held a hearing determining the funds were abandoned property, though Parhamovich had not been notified. Alban said today’s hearing was expected to address that.
“We had a very pleasant surprise at the hearing today. We thought it’d just be a hearing about whether Phil Parhamovich gets a hearing in the future, but instead the judge ended up ruling on the merits and decided that all of the money is Phil’s and should be returned to him promptly,” Alban said.
Alban said Parhamovich gave testimony that the money was legally obtained. The judge ordered the Attorney General’s office to issue an order of their own to return Parhamovich’s money.
