NOVEMBER 5, 2009

U.S. ATTORNEY’S OFFICE COLLECTED MILLIONS IN FY09

United States Attorney Tristram J. Coffin, stated today that the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont had collected and forfeited millions of dollars during fiscal year 2009. The amount collected represents $1,240,112 from civil judgments and $716,770 from criminal fines, special assessments and restitution recoveries. Significant additional monies were also collected via civil and criminal forfeitures. The assets forfeited during fiscal year 2009 had an estimated value at the time of forfeiture of $2,095,091.

Criminal fines, special assessments and restitution are imposed when defendants are sentenced by the federal court and are then collected from the defendants by the U.S. Attorney's Office. Funds from criminal fines and special assessments, totaling approximately $63,724, were deposited into the Crime Victims Fund. These monies are distributed to the states for their victim assistance programs, which provide crime victims with access to funds, servicing and counseling in the aftermath of criminal conduct. The restitution funds, approximately $653,046, were paid directly to crime victims to compensate them for the losses they incurred as a result of the defendants’ crimes.

The civil judgments resulted from civil fraud actions (including health care fraud), student loan collections, and foreclosures by the Rural Housing Service.

The forfeitures, which resulted largely from seizures in fraud and drug cases, involved real estate, automobiles, and currency. A substantial portion of the funds derived from forfeitures were distributed to local and state law enforcement agencies in Vermont.

“I am very pleased with the recoveries our Office has made over the past year. These monies provide much-needed financial resources to state and local law enforcement and to the Crime Victims Fund, which gives vital care and support to those who have been victimized by crimes. Of course, the restitution recoveries go directly to victims and permit them to have some monetary compensation for the injuries they have suffered because of the defendants’ criminal conduct,” commented U.S. Attorney Coffin. “One new and important tool we have employed over the last year is the Treasury Offset Program. The program ensures that defendants who are not repaying their criminal debts do not get the full benefit of tax refunds, stimulus checks, or other government payments. Instead, all or a portion of those monies are retained by the government and paid over to the crime victims. We think it right and just that defendants be required to share such monies with those they have victimized,” said Coffin.