U.S. Attorney’s Office Collects Nearly $53 Million in Civil and Criminal Actions for U.S. Taxpayers in Fiscal Year 2020

WHEELING - U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced today that the Northern District of West Virginia collected $52,693,826.90 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2020.  Of this amount, $443,308.84 was collected in criminal actions and $52,250,518.10 was collected in civil actions.  

“Protection of the public involves more than prosecuting criminal defendants.  Criminal forfeitures, civil collections, and civil judgements are very important, but often difficult, tasks.  I commend my staff on the resolve to ensure that the public treasury saw this significant benefit,” said Powell.

The Justice Department collected more than $15.9 billion in civil and criminal actions in fiscal year (FY) 2020 ending Sept. 30, 2020. The $15,988,516,670 in collections in FY 2020 represents more than five times the approximately $3.2 billion appropriated budget for the 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and the main litigating divisions of the Justice Department combined in that same period. The total includes all monies collected as a result of Justice Department-led enforcement actions and negotiated civil settlements.  It includes more than $13.5 billion in payments made directly to the Justice Department, and more than $2.4 billion in indirect payments made to other federal agencies, states and other designated recipients. 
     
In 2020, the Northern District of West Virginia secured a $50 million settlement from Wheeling Hospital, Inc. The hospital agreed to pay the United States a total of $50,000,000 to resolve claims that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting claims to the Medicare program that resulted from violations of the Physician Self-Referral Law and the Anti Kickback Statute. The settlement was announced and paid in September 2020. Read more here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndwv/pr/west-virginia-hospital-agrees-pay-50-million-settle-allegations-concerning-improper

In a criminal action, former pharmacist Scott Tingler of Morgantown was ordered to pay more than $1.845 million in a money judgement and more than $500,000 in restitution to the IRS and former employees for his drug distribution and tax crimes. He was sentenced to 121 months in prison in January 2020.