UPDATE: (08/25/16) - Horrible and heartbreaking - that's how a Shiawassee County couple describes their last eight years.

Their son was arrested on drug and gun charges in 2008, but for his crimes, the couple says their own property was taken and sold by Saginaw County authorities.

We told you about this lawsuit Wednesday night, but we got a chance to meet the couple at the center of this case, who have filed a more than $1 million federal lawsuit against the current Saginaw County sheriff and deputies.

A home, a car, furniture and valuable family possessions - those are what Gerald and Royetta Ostipow say the Saginaw County Sheriff's office stole from them.

The Saginaw deputies went to the Shiawassee County farmhouse in 2008 where the Ostipow's son Steven was living. Investigators said Steven had a marijuana grow operation.

“He spent time in prison, paid his debt to society,” said attorney Phil Ellison.

The home was owned by the Ostipow's, who live in another home nearby. Through civil forfeiture, the deputies took hundreds of items from both homes.

“We asked that the day they entered our home and they said we are in Saginaw County and we said, ‘No, this is Shiawassee County,” Royetta said.

“Then they all looked at each, all the cops in the house looking at each other, they didn't know what to do,” Gerald said.

The seizure of the property, including the farmhouse and a 1965 Chevy Nova has been in the court system, including two appeals to the Michigan Supreme Court, for eight years.

A Saginaw County judge has now ruled some of the property must be given back, but the Ostipow's and their attorneys say sheriff Bill Federspiel sold the items at an auction and the money has been spent on police operations.

“He's a crook,” Gerald said.

Even though the seizure of the property happened under the tenure of former sheriff Charles Brown, the Ostipow's and their attorneys say it was Federspiel's problem to correct.

“Ninety-six months, 90 of those months the sheriff was the sheriff, Sheriff Federspiel was the sheriff for the vast majority of this case,” said attorney Matt Gronda.

“What you are seeing here is the face of when governments go too far to try to pad their own budgets,” Ellison said.

ABC12 News spoke with Federspiel n Thursday and he says he has not been served this lawsuit yet, so he does not want to comment. As far as the claims of the Ostipow's and their attorneys, he does say that he always follows court orders.

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(08/24/16) - Saginaw County's sheriff is being sued in a civil forfeiture case that began before he became sheriff.

Eight years ago, a Shiawassee County man was arrested on drug and gun charges, but it was the sheriff's department actions against the man's parents that has spawned a federal lawsuit, which was filed Wednesday.

A lot of the parent’s property, including a home and a car were taken through civil forfeiture.

The county sold all of the items it seized, but a judge says the county now has to give some of that property back.

“This case has been one of the worst examples of, I would say governmental theft, I have come across,” said attorney Phil Ellison.

The case started in 2008 with the arrest of Steven Ostipow. Charles Brown was the Saginaw County sheriff then. His deputies got a search warrant from a Saginaw County judge for two homes in Shiawassee County. Ostipow was living in one where he was accused of running a marijuana grow operation and was convicted in federal court. The owners of both of the homes were Ostipow's parents, Gerald and Royetta.

“Knew nothing about what their son was doing,” Ellison said.

Ellison says investigators, through civil forfeiture, took property from both homes, including guns, furniture and a car.

“The big one being, the unique one being the 1965 Nova that my client Gerald spent nine years restoring,” Ellison said.

In 2009, Ellison says newly elected sheriff Bill Federspiel auctioned the items off, including one of the Ostipow homes.

After eight years of litigation, including two appeals to the Michigan Supreme Court, Saginaw County Judge James Borchard determined this month that most of the property seized should be returned to the Ostipows.

“Most of this property has to be deemed non-forfeited, you have to give it back. The sheriff, we find out, sold all that property years ago and spent that money on his police operations,” Ellison said.

The federal lawsuit against the sheriff and some of his deputies is requesting more than $ million.

“You can't take property from someone who is innocent to begin with just because they know a criminal or they know someone accused of a crime,” Ellison said.

We spoke with Federspiel on Wednesday, who declined to comment on the lawsuit at this time.

Gerald and Royetta Ostipow will have more to say about this at a press conference, which is scheduled for Thursday.