Lexington, Ky. — The Miami home of a Florida man sentenced in Lexington federal court for selling counterfeit Xanax on the dark web is now the focus of a legal battle over whether the government can seize it to help pay his multimillion-dollar judgment.
Omar Thomas Wala, sentenced in November 2024 to 90 months in prison and ordered to forfeit more than $6.9 million, is linked to a house in Miami. Prosecutors say Wala improperly transferred the home to 220 Holdings Trust last year using a deed that did not meet Florida’s requirement for two witness signatures, making the transfer invalid and leaving the property open to forfeiture.
The trust disputes that claim, saying Wala signed the quitclaim deed in August 2024 with the intent to benefit his granddaughter, and that no criminal proceeds were used to buy the home. Too ill to travel to Florida, Wala gave his son power of attorney to record the deed and secure witnesses. The trust’s attorneys argue Florida law allows deeds with technical defects to be corrected rather than voided, and that if the transfer were invalid, ownership would revert to another trust — not to Wala himself.
The forfeiture case is part of a wider asset recovery effort that has already netted substantial property and funds. Court records show seized assets include $10,000 in cash; assorted jewelry valued at $255,126.05; a Hermes Kelly 28cm exotic leather bag worth $63,000; two Space Coast Credit Union accounts holding $225,114.49 and $124,420.55; and cash in lieu of a Hialeah Gardens property.
The decision now rests Judge Robert E. Wier in Lexington’s federal courthouse, who will determine whether the property can be forfeited or whether the trust can fix the deed and keep the house.