Snakeskin coats. Silver goblets. A dozen guns.

Oh, and the gold.

All that was among the haul taken by federal investigators earlier this year from a Yelm couple since extradited to face fraud charges in Romania.

Having returned Radu and Diana Nemes to their native Romania - where they're accused of duping the government out of $68 million in taxes - federal prosecutors in Seattle have asked that the spoils of the investigation be forfeited to the U.S. government. Among those items are hundreds of gold coins, a small portion of which are known to weigh more than 7 pounds and are valued at more than $140,000.

Investigators claim Radu and Diana Nemes, 38, used laundered money to pay for a $3 million log home while running shell businesses in Washington. Neither was charged in the United States, and both have since been extradited to Romania.

The couple left hundreds of gold and silver coins on their 53-acre Yelm property, which included an underground bunker. Ground-penetrating radar was brought in as agents looked for gold thought to have been buried there.

Among the items seized during the search was a single gold coin stamped with the words "Ramtha Gold Wisdom." Investigators contended the Nemes were involved in a fringe religious group based in Yelm whose founder contends she channels the spirit of "Ramtha."

To read the complete article, see:Feds to bunker builders: We'll take your gold(www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Feds-to-bunker-builders-We-ll-take-your-gold-5696438.php)