CHARLESTON, W.Va. - United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that his office has collected $11,117,355.04 in the last year, which represents more than twice the office’s annual direct budget. Of this amount, $3,223,758.54 was collected in criminal actions, $1,917,340.47 was collected in civil actions, and $5,976,236.03 was collected in asset forfeiture.
Additionally, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia worked with other U.S. Attorneys’ offices, components of the Department of Justice, and other federal agencies to collect an additional $15,003,158 in cases jointly pursued. Of this amount, $3,408 was collected in criminal actions and $14,999,750 was collected in civil actions.
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch announced that the Justice Department collected $23.1 billion in civil and criminal actions in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2015. The more than $23.1 billion in collections in fiscal year 2015 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 Loretta Lynch. “The collections we are announcing 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."
Goodwin noted, “The $11 million collected by this office represents more than twice the direct operating budget for my office for the year. These collections are made possible through the strong collaboration of my civil and criminal divisions, the attorneys and staff, and federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. Together, we remain focused on community safety, and we will continue working as partners to hold criminals financially accountable for their dishonest gains."
In December of 2014, Goodwin’s office recovered $1.1 million on behalf of Medicare and West Virginia Medicaid as part of a resolution with Trivillian’s Pharmacy in Charleston for allegations of fraud in dispensing pharmaceuticals. In another pharmacy case, Kofi Agyekum, the former owner and operator of A+ Care Pharmacy in Barboursville, forfeited $2.3 million and a Lexus when he was sentenced in August of this year for violating federal banking laws. The former pharmacy owner admitted that the money used in the banking crimes was derived from the illegal distribution of oxycodone, which the court noted, contributed to the oxycodone abuse epidemic in our communities.
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.
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 healthcare, 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 on behalf of Medicare and Medicaid, Internal Revenue Service, Small Business Administration and Department of Education.
In addition to the civil and criminal collections, Goodwin’s office, working with partner agencies and divisions, collected $5,976,236.03 in asset forfeiture actions in fiscal year 2015. Forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes. This brings the total amount collected by Goodwin’s office in fiscal year 2015 to $11,117,355.04. The fiscal year began on Oct. 1, 2014, and ended on Sept. 30, 2015.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
