Northern District of Texas U.S. Attorney’s Office Collects $27,693,232 in Civil and Criminal Actions for U.S. Taxpayers in Fiscal Year 2016

DALLAS – U.S. Attorney John Parker announced today that the Northern District of Texas collected $27,693,232 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2016.  Of this amount, $16,872,986 was collected in criminal actions and $10,820,245 was collected in civil actions. 

Additionally, the Northern District of Texas worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect an additional $74,874 in criminal cases pursued jointly with these offices          

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch announced today that the Justice Department collected nearly $15.4 billion in civil and criminal actions in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2016.  The $15,380,130,434 in collections in FY 2016 represents more than five times the appropriated $2.93 billion budget for the 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and the main litigating divisions of the Justice Department combined in that same period.

“Every day, the men and women of the Department of Justice work tirelessly to enforce our laws, ensuring that taxpayer dollars are used properly and that the American people are protected from exploitation and abuse,” said Attorney General Lynch.  “Today’s announcement is a testament to that work, and it makes clear that our actions deliver a significant return on public investment.  I want to thank the prosecutors and trial attorneys who made this year's collections possible, and I want to emphasize that the department remains committed to the well-being of our people and our nation.”

“I’m particularly pleased to see an increase in collections of more than $10 million over last year,” said U.S. Attorney Parker.  “The message in these numbers should be clear.  This office can be very patient and won’t just go away.  We will continue to vigorously pursue all available enforcement remedies to recover assets for both victims of crime and the federal treasury for so long after sentencing or judgment as is necessary.”         

Substantial collections in FY 2016 in the District included:

• More than $4 million in funds from multiple bank accounts, four luxury vehicles, artwork, a grand piano, wine collection, hundreds of pieces of high-end crystal, furs, handbags, jewelry, luggage, shoes, and watches returned to the Collin Street Bakery within 60 days of sentencing in the massive embezzlement, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering case, U.S. v. Sandy and Kay Jenkins;
• $3.5 million from Preferred Imaging Centers, LLC in settlement of a False Claims Act qui tam case;
• $3.28 million settlement from the estate of Kenneth Rice in a False Claims Act health care fraud case;
• $1.8 million in restitution, plus a $100,00 fine, and several hundred thousands of dollars forfeited to the government that was paid in full at sentencing in the U.S. v. Robert Gross health care fraud;
• $1.1 million in forfeited assets restored to restitution in the U.S. v. Cyprian and Patricia Akamnonu health care fraud case;
• $762,150, more than half of the $1.3 million restitution owed to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), in the U.S. v. Lonnie Brantley and Steve Holmes housing fraud case;
• $500,000 paid in full at sentencing in the U.S. v. Daniel Bergin securities fraud case;
• $324,750 in restitution to the National Credit Union Association in the U.S. v. Theresa Portillo bank fraud case; and
• $276,400 in restitution paid in full to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the U.S. v. Bettye Blount tax fraud case

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 health, safety, civil rights or environmental laws.  In addition, civil debts were collected on behalf of several federal agencies, including HUD, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the IRS, Small Business Administration, and U.S. Department of Education.

Additionally, the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Northern District of Texas, working with partner agencies and divisions, collected $10,695,313 in asset forfeiture actions in FY 2016.  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.

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