District of Nebraska U.S. Attorney’s Office Collects Over $14 Million Dollars in Civil and Criminal Actions for U.S. Taxpayers in Fiscal Year 2014

U.S. Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced today that the United States Attorney’s office for Nebraska collected over Fourteen (14) Million Dollars in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2014. Of this amount, $1,247,000 was collected in criminal actions and $10,573,000 was collected in civil actions. Gilg stated, “Our collection figure represents nearly three times our annual operating budget and we are proud to have such an outstanding financial result for victims of crime and the taxpayers.”

Gilg cited the $10, 573,000 recovered from American Growers, a subsidiary of American Growers Insurance Company, as an example of collaboration between the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) and the Nebraska Department of Insurance. Crop insurance coverage was provided to American Growers through a reinsurance program. American Growers failed to establish minimum liquidity which placed farmers’ crop insurance coverage at risk. The Risk Management Agency (RMA) of the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation intervened with the assistance of the Nebraska Department of Insurance to liquidate and hold funds for disbursement to creditors of American Growers. The United States Attorney’s Office successfully defended several competing creditor challenges to the RMA claim and was able to collect the funds.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Justice Department collected $24.7 billion in civil and criminal actions in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2014. The more than $24 billion in collections in FY 2014 represents nearly eight and a half times the appropriated $2.91 billion budget for the 94 United States Attorney’s offices and the main litigating divisions in that same period.

“Every day, the Justice Department’s federal prosecutors and trial attorneys work hard to protect our citizens, to safeguard precious taxpayer resources, and to provide a valuable return on investment to the American people,” said Attorney General Holder. “Their diligent efforts are enabling us to achieve justice and recoup losses in virtually every sector of the U.S. economy. And this result shows the fruits of the Justice Department’s tireless work in enforcing federal laws; in protecting the American people from violent crime, national security threats, discrimination, exploitation, and abuse; and in holding financial institutions accountable for their roles in causing the 2008 financial crisis.”