US Attorney’s Office collects $575K in civil, criminal actions in FY 2013

HAGATNA, Guam—U.S. Attorney Alicia A.G. Limtiaco said Friday that the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands collected $575,199.11 in criminal and civil actions in fiscal year 2013. Of this amount, $542,674.11was collected in criminal actions and $32,525 was collected in civil actions.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced on Thursday that the Justice Department collected $8.1 billion in civil and criminal actions in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2013.

The more than $8 billion in collections in fiscal 2013 represents nearly three times the appropriated $2.76 billion budget for the 94 U.S. Attorney’s offices and the main litigating divisions in that same period.

“The department’s enforcement actions help to not only ensure justice is served, but also deliver a valuable return to the American people,” said Holder. “It is critical that Congress provide the resources necessary to match the department’s mounting caseload. As these figures show, supporting our federal prosecutors is a sound investment.”

“During this time of economic and fiscal challenges, these collections are more important than ever,” said Limtiaco. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is dedicated to protecting the public and recovering funds for victims of federal crime and for the federal treasury. We will continue to hold accountable those who seek to profit from their illegal activities.”

The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed the U.S. and criminal debts owed federal crime victims. The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss. While restitution is paid to the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to the department’s Crime Victims’ Fund, which distributes the funds to state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.

The largest civil collections were from affirmative civil enforcement cases, in which the United States recovered government money lost to fraud or other misconduct or collected fines imposed on individuals and/or corporations for violations of federal health, safety, civil rights or environmental laws. In addition, civil debts were collected on behalf of several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Internal Revenue Service, Small Business Administration and Department of Education.

Additionally, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Guam, working with partner agencies and divisions, collected $36,220.00 in asset forfeiture actions in fiscal year 2013. Forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes. [I](USAO)[/I]