U.S. Attorney’s Office Collects $7,136,955.82 In Civil And Criminal Actions In Fiscal Year 2023

SCRANTON - U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam announced today that the Middle District of Pennsylvania collected $7,136,955.82 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2023. Of this amount, $4,789,318.17 was collected in criminal actions and $2,347,637.65 was collected in civil actions. 

Additionally, the Middle District of Pennsylvania worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect an additional $2,481,130.56 in cases pursued jointly by these offices. Of this amount, $28,093.06 was collected in criminal actions and $2,453,037.5 was collected in civil actions.            

“We work for the people and the communities of the Middle District of Pennsylvania to keep our neighborhoods safe, and we hold no duty more sacred than that which we owe to our neighbors when they fall victim to crime,” said United States Attorney Karam.  “That’s why we do not stop working for victims of crime when the defendant is sentenced; we continue to fight for the victims and do what we can to make them whole. We collect restitution from convicted defendants on behalf of crime victims, we work to forfeit the ill-gotten gains that defendants obtain through illegal means, and we fight to get back money owed to taxpayers in criminal and civil cases. I am proud to say that we have collected millions of dollars over the last year for the taxpayers and for crime victims in our district. We are committed to keeping up the fight for our neighbors.”

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.

For example:

Penn State Health is a multi-hospital health system which owns Milton Hershey Medical Center and St. Joseph Medical Center.  On July 1, 2022, Penn State Health voluntarily disclosed to the U.S. Attorney’s Office that Penn State Health, through Milton Hershey Medical Center and St. Joseph Medical Center, submitted claims for payment to the Medicare Program, causing Medicare to make improper payments to Penn State Health.  A settlement agreement was entered into on February 28, 2023, in which Penn State Health agreed to pay $1,252,662.28.  The full amount was paid on March 1, 2023. 

Melinda Bixler owned and operated two businesses; one was a for-profit company, Elder Healthcare Solutions; and a non-profit company, Adult Care Advocates, Inc.  From June 2010 through January 2020, the defendant became the financial Power of Attorney and healthcare Power of Attorney for various elderly individuals.  She then used those Power of Attorney’s to apply for mortgages and purchases properties using the monies received from the elderly victims.  She was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $147,882.00, which she paid in full on May 25, 2023. 

Gordon Raymond conducted a bank scheme at 25 different PNC banks throughout Pennsylvania, Virginia, Indiana, and North Carolina between June 20 – October 2018. The defendant presented fraudulent drivers’ licenses in victims’ names to open a checking/saving account and apply for unsecured loans.  He was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $131,315.96.  He made a payment of $101,000.00 on February 14, 2023.  

Additionally, the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, working with partner agencies and divisions, collected $2,302,004 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.

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