Online_sale_SOW.docx

Online Sales-Statement of Work

ONLINE SALES-STATEMENT OF WORK

1. BACKGROUND

The United States Marshals Service is the nation’s oldest and most versatile federal law enforcement agency. Among the many critical law enforcement services provided by the agency, USMS is responsible disposing of seized and forfeited assets acquired by criminals through illegal activities. The USMS Asset Forfeiture Division plays a critical role in identifying and evaluating assets that represent the proceeds of crime as well as efficiently managing and selling seized and forfeited assets. This requirement for disposition services will assist in minimizing the amount of time an asset remains in inventory and maximize the net return to the Government.

2. INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this Statement of Work is to provide online auction disposal services for forfeited assets for the United States Marshals Service (USMS) Asset Forfeiture Division (AFD). Assets falling under the program include but are not limited to:

a) Real Property: land, residential and commercial property

b) Personal Property: vehicles, vessels, aircraft and other misc. personal property

c) Intangible Assets: liquor licenses, leasehold interests, trademarks, patents, copyrights, websites, domain names, and any other intellectual property rights

d) Other Intangibles: Promissory Notes to include mortgages receivable or deeds of trust, and other similar rights in collateral, both recorded and unrecorded.

3. DEFINITIONS AND TERMS

a) ASSET FORFEITURE DIVISION HEADQUARTERS (AFD HQ): Asset Forfeiture Division headquarters personnel responsible for coordinating online sales with contractor and the district

b) “AS IS, WHERE IS”: Assets will be sold with no warranty or guarantee whatsoever. Assets are to be purchased exactly as they appear at auction. They will be sold based on their appearance only. “As is” is a disclaimer of warranties or representations. “Where is” denotes that a buyer takes the assets as found and must remove it from the point of sale. This language shall be noted in all publications and electronic advertisements

c) CATS ID: The government’s complete asset identification number used to track the asset in the Consolidated Asset Tracking System (CATS)

d) CONTRACTING OFFICER’S REPRESENTATIVE (COR): A government employee who is given the role in the technical monitoring and administrative aspects of a contract. The COR is designated in writing by the CO

e) CONTRACTING OFFICER (CO): A person with the authority to enter into, administer, and/or terminate contracts and make related determinations and findings

f) ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER (EFT): The electronic transfer of money from one bank account to another, either within a single financial institution or across multiple financial institutions, through computer-based systems and without the direct intervention of bank staff

g) TASK ORDER (TO): An order placed by the CO requesting specific services under the contract

h) USM-621(Forfeited Property Sales Certification): A form that all buyers are required to read and sign for all forfeited property sales by USMS

4. REQUIREMENTS

a) All auctions will be hosted online at the vendor’s secured website

b) The contractor's internet website shall clearly state that the contractor is conducting sales of forfeited assets on behalf of the USMS, except where indicated otherwise in the instructions from the CO.

c) The contractor is required to market and advertise assets for sale to maximize exposure and gain public interest in the sale prior to the auction

a) Contractor’s website shall provide bidders with sales schedules and, if applicable, clear color photographs with descriptions of the items available for sale

b) Contractor shall send COR the link to their website for additional posting of advertisement on the USMS website.

c) Contractor SHALL NOT DISCLOSE CATS ID number in any advertisement.

d) Contractor shall clearly state in all advertisements that all forfeited assets are sold “AS IS, WHERE IS”

e) Contractor shall state that buyer is responsible to arrange pickup and removal of sold property, except in the case of intangible assets. All property must be removed within 10 business days from the date and time of award sales notification for the successful buyer. If property has not been pickup within the timeline set forth in the auction, buyer will incur storage fees that must be paid prior to release

f) The contractor shall have a back-up plan for receiving bids and notifying prospective bidders should the website become unavailable (e.g. a toll free 1-800 number)

g) The COR reserves the right to request update/revision/removal of any assets for sale at any time.

h) The Contractor shall provide staffing to include administrative support for collection of sale proceeds, online sales process and preparation of all documentation

i. The contractor shall be responsible for registration, bid deposit collection, completion of sales documentation, and, if applicable, the refund process

i) Contractor shall conduct direct mailings to all inclusive parties list

j) Contractor shall maintain an all-inclusive interested parties list for direct advertising purposes.

a. This list should include but not be limited to all potential bidders, all incoming phone and email inquiries

b. This list shall include persons or representatives of businesses who have expressed an interest in the asset(s) through directly contacting the USMS.

5. RFQ PROCESS

a) AFD HQ will send the contractor a Request For Quote (RFQ) which includes the Program Information Package (PIP) for property that is to be sold. PIP need not be provided for intangible assets.

b) The contractor shall provide, when requested, comprehensive marketing plans for the individual assets

c) The contractor shall review and complete the RFQ with their proposed commission rate and send to AFD HQ within the indicated timeframe referenced on the email request

a. If the contractor does not intend to bid on the property, than the contractor shall reply back to AFD HQ of their intent not to bid.

d) Once approved, AFD HQ will provide written authorization for disposal via a task order from the CO. Once the task order is received by the contractor than the sale may commence. AFD HQ shall notify the contractor if they did not submit a winning bid

6. SALES PROCESS

a) The contractor shall coordinate with the respective district office and AFD HQ for the designated viewing period(s)

b) The contractor shall submit a draft of the auction sale link within three(3) business days of the task order receipt or as directed by AFD HQ. The draft should include but is not limited to:

i. Viewing date/time

ii. Bid opening and closing /date time

iii. Bid deposit determined by COR if applicable

iv. Asset description

v. Multiple photos if applicable

vi. Other sale documents (i.e. sample contract, forfeited sales certification)

vii. Request for proof of financial resources to close on the purchase

a) The contractor shall determine, with COR concurrence, the best method of bid deposit collection.

b) Terms and Condition of sales must show that bid deposits will be forfeited if balance of successful bid is not received in the timeframe set forth in auction

f) The contractor shall conduct all sales in accordance with all applicable Federal, State, and Local laws, regulations, and ordinances

g) Under no circumstances will public bidders be charged a Processing Fee, Admission Fee, or any other charges or fees, other than the bid price tendered by the winning bidder (where applicable including the bid deposit).

h) Unless authorized in advance by the COR with written approval from USMS Headquarters, the public bidders will not be charged a Buyer’s Premium Fee. If a Buyer’s Premium Fee is approved by AFD, then no commission shall be billed for those assets

i) The contractor shall post the Sales Terms and Conditions, USMS Forfeited Sales Certification (USM-621) and any other applicable forms on the website

j) The Sales Terms and Conditions shall fully define the bid process, the purchaser’s bid deposit, pickup/transportation process and sales proceeds close out process.

k) The USMS reserves the right to remove any item from an auction at any time prior to sale and reserves the right to reject any and all bids for an item for any reason

l) The contractor shall not charge the Government any sales fees, commission, etc., for an asset which is not sold

m) The contractor shall receive and be responsible for all money collected during the auction

n) The USMS will not be responsible for money that is lost, stolen, received in error, or misapplied while in the hands of the contractor

o) The following persons shall be prohibited from purchasing property through the U.S. Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture Program and are also, therefore, barred from placing bids to buy such property:

U.S. Department of Justice employees, including U.S. Marshals Service employees, as further restricted below;

i. Employees of the Asset Forfeiture Division, U.S. Marshals Service, and other U.S. Marshals Service employees directly involved with the Asset Forfeiture Program, and their immediate family members, defined as any persons residing in the same household as the employee, whether or not related by blood or marriage; spouses; parents; parents‐in‐law; grandparents; siblings; aunts and uncles; first cousins; and all their spouses;

ii. Employees of any state or local governmental agency who, directly or indirectly, perform duties associated with the seizure and forfeiture of property by the U.S. Department of Justice, and/or which participates in the U.S. Department of Justice Equitable Sharing Program;

iii. Contractors, sub‐contractors and the employees of contractors and sub‐contractors of the Asset Forfeiture Division, U.S. Marshals Service, who provide contract/management services for personal and real properties and complex assets;

iv. Anyone acting in concert with or on behalf of any of the above persons; and

v. Persons related to the defendant(s) either through familial, business, financial oer personal ties.

Special circumstances may rebut the presumption, i.e., supersede the above determination, that someone is or is not a prohibited purchaser in one or more of the above categories, as determined by the USMS and the relevant U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO), with the concurrence of its Ethics Officer, Office of General Counsel

7. POST AUCTION PROCESS

a) The contractor shall notify AFD HQ and the district office within one (1) business day after the auction concludes. The post auction sale results shall include at a minimum:

i. Date of auction closing

ii. USMS District Office name and/or abbreviation

iii. CATS ID and item number

iv. Descriptions of the asset

v. Auction lot number

vi. Final sales price of asset

vii. Commission rate of the asset

viii. Commission amount to be charged for the asset(s)

b) The contractor shall be responsible for the execution of the sale documents such as the bill of sale, purchaser’s receipt, real property contract and USM-621 and should be provided to the USMS

c) Contractor shall not be responsible for the completion of the SF-97 for the sale of vehicles

d) The contractor shall issue a receipt or bill of sale to the purchaser(s) for the money received. The receipt will include:

e) The contractor shall submit the following to the AFD HQ within 10 business days of the sale closing date:

i. Gross sales proceeds and bid deposits (if applicable) for personal property;

ii. Bid deposits (if applicable) for real property case assets and all sale documents

f) All gross sales proceeds/bid deposits of the winning bidder(s) are the property of the USMS and shall not be used by the contractor

g) The contractor will electronically transmit all sales proceeds/bid deposits of the winning bidder(s) via EFT to the respective USMS District Office for each individual CATS numbered case asset that was sold.

h) The contractor will confirm the EFT transfer via an e-mail to AFD HQ and to the respective USMS District Office. The e-mail notification must be sent the same workday as the electronic transfer which will include the following information:

i) In the event that the successful bidder fails to complete the sale with final payment or withdraws from the contract, the contractor shall coordinate with AFD HQ to offer property to the next highest bidder or relist the asset for sale

j) Property must be removed from storage location as stated in each sales description. Storage arrangements after removal dates set forth in the sale description are solely between purchaser and contractor

k) The contractor shall electronically send the COR the invoices and supporting documentation to certify receipt of services within 15 business days of auction closing for all sold personal property

l) The contractor will receive prior notification from COR when real property assets can be invoiced

m) If a real property is under contract and the closing/settlement has not occurred within 60 days after the date of the real property contract being executed, the contractor shall contact AFD HQ to evaluate the status of the closing and discuss invoicing plan

Page | 5