U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah Collects More than $10 Million in Civil and Criminal Actions in Fiscal Year 2022

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins announced today that the District of Utah collected $10,690,252.06 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2022. Of this amount, $5,550,041.48 was collected in criminal actions and $5,140,210.58 was collected in civil actions.

Additionally, the District of Utah worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect an additional $1,863,335.61 in cases pursued jointly by these offices. Of this amount, $11,775.00 was collected in criminal actions and $1,851,560.61 was collected in civil actions.

For example, in February 2022, the District of Utah recovered $265,455.45 as part of the settlement in the U.S.A v. Ryan Richard West case where West and his co-defendant Gary Alan Gygi were sentenced separately for defrauding numerous individuals in business venture investment schemes.  For more information on this case, see original press release https://www.justice.gov/usao-ut/pr/logan-man-sentenced-five-years-federal-prison-defrauding-investors-his-fraudulent

“The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to the prosecution of crimes involving financial fraud and seeking recovery for victims in these cases,” said U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins for the District of Utah. 

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.