Music Producer Fights To Get Back Nearly $150K Seized In Oklahoma County

An international DJ and music producer is trying to get back the cash seized from him during a traffic stop last month in Oklahoma County. He says he is being profiled as a drug dealer. 

Harvey Miller, known in the music industry as DJ Speedy, was driving between his homes in Atlanta and Los Angeles when a deputy pulled him over for an illegal lane change. Now the county has nearly $150,000 of his, and he says he did nothing wrong.

The veteran music producer was driving a rented van with his equipment, heading to a show with rapper Nelly on December 13, when he noticed the sheriff's deputy following him.

“I don’t have a record, never been in trouble,” he says. “I have my gun license. I didn’t have my weapon with me, thank God.”

The deputy, who the sheriff's office says was working for the district attorney's COMIT task force at the time, wanted to search Miller's vehicle, but he declined. A K-9 unit was called in, and the dog barked in front of the van.

Miller says, “I heard the cop say, ‘I know it’s something in here, gotta be something in here.’ I’m like, ain’t nothing in there.”

Instead they found $149,665 in small bills, vacuum-sealed in plastic bags. The initiating deputy reports the cash had an “overwhelming smell” of marijuana, so he seized it for coming to Miller by illegal means, but actual drugs were nowhere to be found.

Plus, Miller says half of his money usually comes to him in cash. “When you come to the venue or whatever, that’s called the back end,” he explains. “It’s cash! That’s been going on my whole life.”

Miller was released from custody after 12 hours, but his money was not. He is also charged now for having one counterfeit $20 bill in the stack.

Miller immediately gathered bank statements and contracts to prove he earned the money legally, but he will have to let the proceedings play out to learn if his clean record will now be tarnished.

The next hearing in this case is Feb. 5. District Attorney David Prater says he will let the court documents speak for themselves until the case is resolved.