BRENTWOOD — A Manchester man serving a 5 to 10 year prison term for selling fraudulent driver's licenses plans on fighting efforts by federal prosecutors to seize $27,666 in cash taken from his home during a May 2010 raid.

The court battle for the assets of Adalberto Medina, 40, may be a year away from being decided by a federal judge.

Medina, 40, was sentenced in May after pleading guilty in Rockingham County Superior Court to bribery-related charges.

Federal prosecutors allege that the money seized at Medina's home was proceeds from his illegal licensing scheme that catered to illegal immigrants and criminals seeking to change their identity.

Medina's lawyer, Charles Bookman, was allowed to postpone the forfeiture proceedings in U.S. District Court until his client's criminal case was over.

Lawyers involved in the case are now sharing evidence, and a judge has set a trial date for next June, according to court papers.

Medina was among several people convicted of a bribery scheme that dated back to 2005. He was viewed by prosecutors as the man who organized an operation that reaped him thousands of dollars in profits.

Bookman said at a previous court hearing that his client denies being any kind of mastermind of the bribery scheme, but admitted guilt to three bribery charges brought forth in his plea deal.

Medina had solicited an ex-DMV clerk, Donna Rockholt, 49, of Manchester into the scheme. She is now serving 8 to 28 years in state prison after pleading guilty to bribery, theft and drug charges.

Despite the outcome of the asset forfeiture case, Medina is expected to be deported to the Dominican Republic in light of his felony convictions.

Prosecutors said that it may never been known how many people throughout the country are holding fake New Hampshire licenses in the wake of the scandal. Investigators have found people as far away as Florida, Texas and Minnesota with licenses doled out by the Rockholt and Medina's partnership.

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James A. Kimble may be reached at JKimble@newstote.com.