December 28th, 2019 by WCBC Radio
U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur announced that financial collections in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 in the District of Maryland reached $77,313,382.58. The U.S. Department of Justice keeps statistics on a fiscal year basis, closing the books each September 30.
“Thanks to the hard work and dedication of employees of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our partner agencies, funds recovered far exceed the cost of operating the office,” said Maryland U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “We will continue to hold accountable anyone who seeks to profit from illegal activities.”
According to statistics from the Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland in FY 2019 collected $10,072,186.17 in criminal debts owed to the U.S. government and to federal crime victims, including restitution, criminal fines, and felony assessments.
The statistics show that the $67,241,196.41 collected in civil actions in Maryland include affirmative civil enforcement cases—in which the United States recovered government money lost to fraud or other misconduct or collected penalties imposed on individuals and/or corporations for violations of federal health, safety, civil rights or environmental laws—and debts collected on behalf of several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. These cases include the successful resolution of investigations or qui tam actions against Med Star Health, Inc., International Business Machines Corporation, ACell, Inc., Anne Arundel Medical Center, Skyline Urology, P.A., Hyperheal Hyperbarics, Inc., Maryland Treatment Centers, Inc., and two Medicare data-mining investigations against Dr. Wagdi Attia and Cardiac Associates, P.C.
Additionally, the District of Maryland worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect an additional $6,992,231 in cases pursued jointly with these offices. Of this amount, $10,473.20 was collected in criminal actions and $6,981,757.80 was collected in civil actions, including cases resolved under the False Claims Act on behalf of victim agencies such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the U.S. Department of Education.
The U.S. Attorney’s Offices, along with the Department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the United States and criminal debts owed to federal crime victims. The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered 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.
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 laws. In addition, civil debts were collected on behalf of several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Internal Revenue Service, the Small Business Administration, and the U.S. Department of Education.
In addition, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, working with partner agencies and divisions, collected $6,142,695 in asset forfeiture actions in FY 2019. 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.
For more information, the Department’s Annual Statistical Reports on prior fiscal years can be found on the Internet at: http://www.justice.gov/usao/reading_room/foiamanuals.html.
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