U.S. Attorney’s Office Collects More Than $233 Million in Civil and Criminal Actions in Fiscal Year 2023

New Haven – U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery today announced that the District of Connecticut collected $233,519,760 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2023.  Of this amount, approximately $185,939,535 was collected in criminal actions and approximately $47,580,225 was collected in civil actions.

The Connecticut U.S. Attorney’s Office also worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect an additional $493,544 in cases pursued jointly by these offices.

“This past fiscal year, our Office’s dedicated attorneys and staff helped to recover more than $233 million, which ranked third in the nation among all U.S. Attorney’s Offices,” said U.S. Attorney Avery. “These funds are not only returned directly to victims of crime, but they also are used to fund ongoing federal, state, and local law enforcement efforts, and to provide needed services for victims.  Through both our criminal prosecutions and civil enforcement work we are committed to seeking justice for victims, removing ill-gotten gains from wrongdoers, and protecting the integrity of important government programs.”

The majority of monies recovered in criminal actions were from Glencore, Ltd., to resolve the government’s investigation into a commodity price manipulation scheme, and from Nomura Securities International, stemming from its fraudulent trading of Residential Mortgage Backed Securities.  Large civil recoveries were from a medical doctor and his practice to resolve allegations that it defrauded the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and from Yale University and a professor to settle a case involving the failure to share patent royalties with the government.

The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the U.S. and criminal debts owed to 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 collected to federal and state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.

Additionally, the Connecticut U.S. Attorney’s Office, working with partner agencies and divisions, collected $47,825,883 in asset forfeiture actions in FY 2023.  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.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is charged with enforcing federal criminal laws in Connecticut and representing the federal government in civil litigation.  The Office is composed of approximately 68 Assistant U.S. Attorneys and 57 staff members at offices in New Haven, Bridgeport, and Hartford.