DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
United States Attorney
Gretchen C. F. Shappert
Western District of North Carolina
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 2009
CONTACT: Suellen Pierce
704.338.3120
Fax: 704.227.0264
WESTERN DISTRICT OF NC IS SECOND IN THE NATION FOR FORFEITURE DOLLARS IN FISCAL YEAR 2008 Western District of NC is First in Nation for Forfeiture Dollars in First Quarter FY 2009 CHARLOTTE, NC—The Asset Forfeiture Unit for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina was number two in the country in forfeiture of funds and assets for fiscal year 2008 (October 1, 2007 through September 30, 2008). The Unit currently is number one in the country for the first quarter of fiscal year 2009. Forfeitures totaled more than $16,481,589 related to the office’s prosecution of fraud, drug, bank robbery, and other crimes for the past fiscal year, and more than $25mm in the first quarter. “One of our goals in federal law enforcement is to take the profit out of crime,” said U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert of the Western District of North Carolina. “Prosecutors and agents consistently seek to identify the proceeds of drug dealers, fraudsters, and other criminals who obtain their profits illegally. Asset forfeiture also helps to interrupt and dismantle criminal organizations,” she added.
The Asset Forfeiture Program is a nationwide law enforcement initiative that removes the tools of crime from criminal organizations, deprives wrongdoers of the proceeds of crimes, recovers property that may be used to compensate victims, and deters crime. Asset forfeiture has been used to attack the financial infrastructure of criminal enterprises, return funds to victims of large scale fraud, and share forfeited property with state and local law enforcement. The Asset Forfeiture program ensures that the criminal enterprise is deprived of economic resources necessary to its survival, funds restitution for victims, and shows the community that the benefits of a life of crime are temporary at best. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina employs four attorneys, a paralegal, and three support staff who are assigned to the Asset Forfeiture Unit. Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies across Western North Carolina investigate criminal cases with a view to discovering, for the purpose of forfeiture, criminal assets. Such investigations can be long, difficult, and complex. Since greed so often drives the crimes, when assets are taken away, crime is effectively fought.
• Drugs are kept out of playgrounds and away from kids
• Women and children are safeguarded against forced labor and prostitution by human trafficking gangs
• Funding is kept out of the hands of terrorists and organized crime
The Federal Asset Forfeiture Program celebrates its twenty-five year anniversary in 2009. The Program removed over $2.5 billion from criminals and their criminal organizations in fiscal years 2006 and 2007, nationally. In Fiscal Year 2008, the Program was responsible for the forfeiture nationwide of $1,327,604,903.00. “The Western District’s success with asset forfeiture underscores the commitment of this office to use all the tools at our disposal to disrupt illegal profit schemes,” Shappert said.
For more information on the Federal Asset Forfeiture Program, please visit http://www.usdoj.gov/jmd/afp/07federalforfeiture/index.htm . Additional source: United States Attorneys’ Bulletin, November 2007, Vol. 55, No. 6, Asset Forfeiture.