It seems like those cases should be because if there's no crime filed against a person related to the case there's no fine to assess in the first place so any '

It seems like those cases should be because if there's no crime filed against a person related to the case there's no fine to assess in the first place so any 'fine' (read asset forfeiture) is excessive because it's >$0. Very much not a lawyer but the logic seems to hold. The whole asset forfeiture without any charges being filed always seemed really sketchy because in the end you're still taking assets from a person (so long as they're claimed, eg maybe if they find a pile of money in an abandoned drug lab a seizure would be valid if no one comes forward saying it's theirs at which point they should charge the person with crimes and seize the money after trial).