U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego Collects More Than $37 Million in Civil and Criminal Actions for U.S. Taxpayers in Fiscal Year 2015

For Further Information, Contact: Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Blair Perez (619) 546-7963

NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – December 8, 2015

SAN DIEGO – The U.S. Attorney’s office in the Southern District of California collected over $37 million in civil and criminal actions, including forfeitures, in fiscal year 2015, which ended on Sept. 30, 2015. More than $7.7 million was collected in criminal and civil actions handled solely by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including $4,311,334 million in criminal actions and $3,477,416 in civil actions.

Additionally, the Southern District of California worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect an additional $3,041,041 in civil cases pursued jointly with these offices.

The U.S. Attorney’s office in the Southern District of California, working with partner agencies and divisions, also collected $26.3 million in asset forfeiture actions in FY 2015. Forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund are used for a variety of law enforcement purposes and to restore funds to crime victims.

“Restitution to victims and taxpayers is another way to ensure that justice is served,” said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy. “The Southern District of California works hard to increase the amount collected each year through the recovery of ill-gotten gains from illegal activity.”

Major recoveries by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California in civil cases this year included a case that resolved in May, when five ambulance companies entered into civil settlements with the Department of Justice requiring them to collectively pay more than $11.5 million in payments to the United States to resolve kickback allegations.

The settling defendants include three Orange-County based companies - Pacific Ambulance, Inc. and Bowers Companies, Inc., (both of which were subsequently acquired by Rural/Metro Corporation after the alleged misconduct occurred) and Care Ambulance Service, Inc.; and two San Diego-based companies - Balboa Ambulance Service, Inc., and E.R. Ambulance, Inc.

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 to state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch announced last week that the Justice Department collected $23.1 billion in civil and criminal actions in the fiscal year (FY) ending Sept. 30, 2015.  Collections in FY 2015 represent more than seven and a half times the approximately $2.93 billion of the Justice Department’s combined appropriations for the 93 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and the main litigating divisions in that same period. 

“The Department of Justice is committed to upholding the rule of law, safeguarding taxpayer resources and protecting the American people from exploitation and abuse,” said Attorney General Lynch.  “The collections we are announcing today demonstrate not only the strength of that commitment, but also the significant return on public investment that our actions deliver.  I want to thank the prosecutors and trial attorneys who made this achievement possible, and to reiterate our dedication to this ongoing work.”

The largest civil collections were from affirmative civil enforcement cases, in which the United States recovered government money lost to fraud or other misconduct or collected fines imposed on individuals and/or corporations for violations of federal financial, health, safety, civil rights and environmental laws.  In addition, civil debts were collected on behalf of several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Internal Revenue Service, Small Business Administration and Department of Education.