You wouldn't think there is a very good judicial process in place if it could charge someone of a crime without first establishing the identity of the perpetrator beforehand. What's to stop fictitious entities from being charged with fictitious crimes against fictitious victims? Surely the standard of proof should be higher...
This was a civil case, not a criminal case[1]. In civil cases after the plaintiff has made a prima facie case the burden shifts to the defendant to dismiss the claims against them, if they can, usually at their cost. Lots of people end up with default judgments against them every day because the court systems are terribly difficult to navigate with no legal knowledge. Civil in rem forfeiture is even worse as most jurisdictions allow for the state to take your property with no court involvement at all if you fail to file the right paperwork at the right place at the right time.
[1] I have been in court three different times and seen the wrong defendant brought from the jail to be released since they aren't the person being sought by the indictment, but a case of misidentification by law enforcement. Quite how these people managed to alert the jail authorities to the problem I do not know; having spent significant time in jail I have no idea how you would get any personnel to take seriously the idea that you "aren't supposed to be there."
