CHICAGO - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois collected more than $50 million in criminal, civil and asset forfeiture actions in Fiscal Year 2015, Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, announced today.
The 2015 collections included $19,468,802 in criminal actions, $11,584,602 in civil actions, and $19,136,036 in asset forfeiture actions. The Office also collected $314,659 in criminal and civil cases pursued jointly with other U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and components of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch announced yesterday that the Justice Department collected $23.1 billion in civil and criminal actions in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2015. This figure represents more than seven and a half times the approximately $2.93 billion of the Justice Department’s combined appropriations for the 94 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 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."
“Our attorneys and staff are thoroughly committed to recovering funds for the federal treasury and for victims of federal crimes," said Mr. Fardon. “The Office continues to provide a significant net financial benefit to the taxpayers of our district."
The collections in the Northern District of Illinois included more than $2 million from the criminal fraud prosecution of insurance agent Michael Ward, and more than $1.9 million in a civil forfeiture action arising from healthcare fraud at the now-defunct Sacred Heart Hospital in Chicago.
The 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the United States, and criminal debts owed to crime victims. Federal 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 money to state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.
Nationally, 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 health, safety, civil rights or 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.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
