The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of North Carolina (MDNC) announced that it collected $9,093,573.60 in criminal and civil actions during Fiscal Year 2025. According to U.S. Attorney Dan Bishop, the office secured $5,692,558.56 from criminal cases and $3,401,015.04 from civil matters.
The MDNC also worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to recover an additional $1,846,408.74 in cases handled jointly. Of this amount, $3,107.92 was collected through criminal actions and $1,843,300.82 came from civil actions.
A significant case highlighted by the office involved Indra Lee Johnson. In Fiscal Year 2025, a total of $1,023,234.24 was recovered from Johnson after she pleaded guilty to one count of Willful Failure to Collect or Pay over Tax in USA v. Johnson (case number 1:25CR25-1). On April 23, 2025, Johnson was sentenced and ordered to pay a special assessment of $100.00, restitution totaling $1,344,925.41, and a fine of $45,000.00. The total amount collected in this case so far is $1,354,876.00.
“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,” stated Bishop in the announcement.
He added: “The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss.” He explained that while restitution payments go directly to victims of federal crimes who have suffered losses or injuries as a result of those crimes—criminal fines and felony assessments are paid into the department’s Crime Victims Fund which distributes these funds to victim compensation and assistance programs at both state and federal levels.
In addition to collections related to court actions, the MDNC reported gathering $3,258,817 through asset forfeiture proceedings in Fiscal Year 2025. Forfeited assets are deposited into funds managed by the Department of Justice or Department of Treasury; these resources are used both for restoring funds to crime victims and supporting law enforcement activities.
