U.S. Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe announced Thursday that the District of the Virgin Islands collected $3,021,908 in fiscal year 2012 related to criminal and civil actions. Of this amount, $1,665,661 was collected in criminal actions and $1,356,247 was collected in civil actions.
Nationwide, the U.S. Attorneys’ offices collected $13.1 billion in criminal and civil actions during FY 2012, more than twice the $6.5 billion collected in FY 2011. A portion of this amount, $5.3 billion, was collected in shared cases in which one or more U.S. Attorneys’ offices or department litigating divisions also were involved. The $13.1 billion represents more than six times the appropriated budget of the combined 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices for FY 2012.
“These collections demonstrate the U.S. Attorney’s Office commitment to protecting the public and recovering funds for the federal treasury and for victims of federal crime,” Sharpe said. “We will continue to hold accountable those who seek to profit from their illegal activities, and ensure that federal crime victims are compensated for their losses.”
According to Sharpe’s news release, during the fiscal year the District of the Virgin Islands recovered $1.5 million in a criminal case involving the illegal import, export, purchase, and sale of black coral, $175,000 in a civil environmental case and $549,000 in a case to recover monies for the medical care of military personnel.
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. Statistics indicate that the total amount collected in criminal actions totaled $3.035 billion in restitution, criminal fines, and felony assessments. 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 directly 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.
According to the news release, $10.12 billion was collected by U.S. Attorneys’ offices in individually and jointly handled civil actions. 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, and Small Business Administration.
The $13.16 billion collected nationwide by the U.S. Attorneys’ offices for FY 2012 nearly matches the $13.18 billion collected in FY 2010 and FY 2011 combined.
The United States Attorneys’ Annual Statistical Reports can be found online at http://www.justice.gov/usao/reading_room/foiamanuals.html.