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Financial Litigation Unit

The Financial Litigation Unit (FLU) oversees the collection of civil and criminal federal debts. The FLU is responsible for the enforcement of monetary impositions ordered as a result of criminal convictions in the United States District Court for the District of Idaho and from other districts when the cases are transferred to the District of Idaho. The purpose of criminal monetary impositions, both fines and restitution, is to compensate victims of crime.

Additionally, the FLU is responsible for obtaining and collecting civil judgments on defaulted federal debts, including but not limited to student loans owed to the U.S. Department of Education and Department of Health and Human Services. The following describes the areas of responsibility of the Financial Litigation Unit:

  • Pursuing the collection of fines, special assessments, restitution, costs, and penalties owed by criminal defendants (both corporate and individual);
  • Pursuing civil judgments on defaulted government loans issued by the Department of Education, Small Business Administration, Veterans Administration, the Department of Agriculture, and other federal entities, and the collection of such judgments;
  • Pursuing civil judgments for overpayments made by the United States under various government programs to individuals (such as Social Security, Veterans' benefits, Medicare, and Department of Defense stipends), and the collection of such judgments;
  • Pursuing the collection of monetary judgments in successful civil cases such as fraud prosecutions; and
  • Pursuing the collection of environmental fines and penalties, emanating from criminal and civil litigation;
  • Pursuing the collection of civil penalties, interest, surcharges, and costs when appropriate.

The Financial Litigation Unit strives to collect debts efficiently and aggressively. Efforts include locating debtors and hidden assets in this country and abroad, setting repayment agreements, and initiating post judgment remedies such as wage garnishment.

The Financial Litigation Unit collected almost $5 million in civil debts and criminal fines, assessments, and restitution for the fiscal year that ended September 30, 2017. The Financial Litigation Unit collected approximately $1.04 million in criminal fines, assessments, and restitution, and almost $4 million in civil debts.

Updated April 4, 2018