What legal steps must New York prosecutors follow to seize assets after a civil judgment?

1. Identify assets and use information subpoenas to locate them

Before any restraint or levy can be issued, the judgment creditor—or the prosecutor in a forfeiture case—must identify the debtor’s assets: bank and brokerage accounts, vehicles, payroll sources and other property; New York practice routinely uses an “information subpoena” served on the debtor or third parties to force disclosure of asset locations and employment information ^{[7] [2] [1]}.

2. Obtain an execution and restraining notice to freeze or seize assets

Once assets are known, the enforcement officer requests a court execution; that execution permits service of restraining notices (often on banks or other “garnishees”) that immediately freeze funds or receivables, or permits a levy by seizure of tangible property that an officer can physically take and later sell at execution sale ^{[1] [8]}.

3. Choose the enforcement device: garnishment, levy, lien, or license suspension

New York law offers multiple enforcement tools: wage or bank account garnishment (income execution), levy and seizure of deliverable tangible items, liens on real property, and administrative steps like suspension of vehicle registration or business licenses when authorized—each device has different procedures and targets and some require additional filings or docketing ^{[2] [1] [4]}.

4. Respect statutory exemptions and procedural protections

Not all property can be taken; exemptions under New York law (for example CPLR §5205 and related provisions) protect certain wages and personal property, and claimants can assert exemptions or contest levies in court, meaning seizures often require careful pre‑levy work and may be reversed if improper ^{[2] [1]}.

5. Differentiate ordinary judgment enforcement from prosecutorial forfeiture

When prosecutors pursue property tied to criminal activity they cannot always rely on standard civil execution alone: state practice often requires a separate civil forfeiture action under Article 13‑A (or inclusion of forfeiture as part of a plea), with the claiming authority required to show traceability to alleged criminal activity and follow the distinct statutory framework and reporting rules for forfeiture ^{[3] [6] [9]}.

6. Practical mechanics: marshals, sheriffs, costs, and docketing for real estate

City marshals and county sheriffs execute levies and sales but have limits—the marshal may levy only personal property and cannot sell real property without proper Supreme Court docketing—sheriffs will not act until fees are paid and often require creditors to supply precise account numbers, vehicle registrations or other locating details; for a civil court judgment to work against real property it generally must be docketed in the appropriate Supreme Court ^{[5] [7] [4]}.

7. Where controversy and discretion appear: resource choices and federal overlaps

District attorneys may decline costly civil forfeiture suits in favor of plea‑condition forfeiture or asking federal partners to adopt seizures; federal forfeiture follows different administrative timelines (CAFRA) and can be invited when state resources are limited, meaning the path to actual asset forfeiture frequently reflects prosecutorial priorities as much as statutory power ^{[9] [10]}.

8. Reporting limits and what this reporting does not show

Public guidance and practice notes describe the procedural tools and statutory constraints, but the available sources do not provide a step‑by‑step judicial checklist used in every prosecutor’s office nor empirical data on how often each device is used in practice; where discretion exists—whether to file a forfeiture suit, seek a plea stipulation, or refer to federal authorities—those decisions are driven by local policy and resources rather than a single uniform protocol ^{[3] [9]}.