The only argument I have heard is that it was useful for prosecuting property where no owner will claim it, or the owner is unavailable for prosecution because

The only argument I have heard is that it was useful for prosecuting property where no owner will claim it, or the owner is unavailable for prosecution because they are not in the country. Imagine a drug cartel shipped a large pile of cash to the US and it was seized. I could imagine it might make sense to have US vs. Big Pile of Cash because the cartel isn't going to claim it and you could prove it was likely part of the drug trade. IMHO it went sideways as soon as it was used when an owner was available.