June 17 (Cointime) - The US government is facing a lawsuit filed by the nonprofit Institute for Justice for abruptly seizing over $100 million from safety deposit boxes in California without providing any explanation. The lawsuit seeks to halt forfeiture proceedings for a group of citizens, including a Los Angeles-based couple who had $40,200 of their life savings seized by the FBI. The couple claims that the agency took their money and the contents of hundreds of other people's safety deposit boxes without providing any evidence of illegal activity. The FBI's operation seized more than $100 million in cash, gold, jewelry, and other valuables from hundreds of people at a financial storage company in Beverly Hills, but the government refuses to specify what the individuals did wrong.