EDVA Collects Over $25M for Crime Victims and Taxpayers in Fiscal Year 2023

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber announced today that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) collected over $25 million in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023.

Of the $25 million amount collected, roughly $16.9 million was collected in criminal actions and $ 5.7 million was collected in civil actions pursued independently by EDVA.

Additionally, EDVA worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect $3.1 million in cases pursued jointly by these offices. Of this amount, $513,031 was collected in criminal actions and over $2.5 million was collected in civil actions.

The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the Department of Justice’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. In FY 2023, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in EDVA collected over $16,254,828.05 in restitution for crime victims. 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.

Forfeited assets are either deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund or are used to restore funds to crime victims. Assets deposited into the Assets Forfeiture Fund are used for a variety of law enforcement purposes. EDVA cases that resulted in significant forfeiture this past year include USA vs. Gao et al— where defendants agreed to forfeit four vehicles, over $130,000 in U.S. currency, numerous items of jewelry, a gold bar, and three personal residences, with a combined value totaling over $1 million— and USA v. Xizhi Li, et al, where defendant Jianxing Chen was ordered to forfeit $6 million after laundering millions of dollars of drug proceeds on behalf of international drug trafficking organizations

U.S. Attorney Aber extends her gratitude to the attorneys and staff in EDVA’s Asset Recovery Unit, who are responsible for ensuring that these significant funds are recovered in full to victims and the public fisc.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.