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Idaho's U.S. attorney nets over $7.1-million |
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October 28, 2017 |
United States Attorney Bart M. Davis, District
of Idaho, announced Friday that his office’s
Financial Litigation Unit collected more than
$4.95 million in criminal restitution, fines and
assessments and in civil debts for the fiscal
year that ended September 30, 2017.
Of the total collected, $1,038,424 were criminal
restitution, fines and/or assessments, and
$3,917,825 were civil debts. In addition, the
Asset Forfeiture Unit collected approximately
$2,147,676 in proceeds and instruments of crime
in criminal and civil forfeiture actions.
“The more than $7.1 million our staff collected
for criminal restitution, fines, assessments,
civil debts and asset forfeiture exceeds the
U.S. Attorney's Office’s annual operational
budget,” said Davis. “Our collection and asset
forfeiture staffs of attorneys, paralegals,
analysts and fiscal agents ensure that those who
have caused loss to victims pay those victims
back and ensure that those who have profited
from committing crimes in the District of Idaho
are deprived of the proceeds and tools of their
crimes. These same folks also ensure that those
who owe the federal government money as a result
of litigation in this District or as a result of
longtime debt, make appropriate payments. This
year, all of these dedicated individuals have
done outstanding work and served this office,
the taxpayers, and this community well.”
Victims of crime receive funds collected in
criminal restitution cases. In fiscal year 2017,
the U.S. Attorney’s Office, through the
Financial Litigation Unit, collected over
$898,000 in criminal restitution that was
distributed to victims of crime.
Other criminal collections such as fines go into
the Crime Victims Fund. From there, funds are
distributed to the Idaho Crime Victims
Compensation Program, the Idaho Council on
Domestic Violence and Victim Assistance and
similar programs across the country. Money
recovered from the illegal proceeds of criminal
activity through forfeiture is returned to
victims, used to offset the costs of operating
federal prisons and shared with local, state,
and federal law enforcement agencies to help
fight crime. Other recoveries go back to agency
creditors.
During the fiscal year, some notable criminal
restitution collections include Asset
Forfeiture’s restoration of $30,000 paid back to
a veteran’s family after the veteran was
defrauded of Veterans Affairs and Social
Security Benefits. In addition, the Treasury
Offset Program helped collect $94,000 in one
payment toward a restitution debt. Lastly,
various criminal defendants paid all or much of
their restitution debts at or before sentencing.
Notable recoveries of the proceeds of crime
through asset forfeiture include forfeitures of
currency, vehicles and real property seized as
proceeds and facilitating property of drug
trafficking and fraud. These included real
properties in Ketchum, Caldwell, California, and
Washington. In some cases, the United States
shared, or will share, with local investigating
agencies money and vehicles seized.
As for civil debts and penalties, the Financial
Litigation Unit collects civil penalties for
violations of regulations involving, among other
things, controlled substances, environmental
protection, damage to federal property and
procurement fraud. It also collects civil debts
for defaulted loans.
Of the $4.95 million in civil debt collected,
$1.1 million was as a result of fraudulent
procurement of government contracts and another
$2.25 million was related to wild fire
suppression costs recovery. |
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