Evidentiary Hearing Required for Custody of

Property Determination.

(a)If a person is charged with financial exploitation of an elderly person or individual with a disability that involves the taking of or loss of property valued at more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000) and property belonging to a victim is seized from the defendant pursuant to a search warrant, the court shall hold an evidentiary hearing and determine, by a preponderance of the evidence, whether the defendant unlawfully obtained the victim’s property.

(b)If the court finds that the property was unlawfully obtained, the court may order it returned to the victim for restitution purposes before trial on the charge.

(c)This determination is inadmissible in evidence at trial on the charge and does not give rise to any inference that the defendant has committed an offense under this Chapter.