U.S. Attorney’s Office Collects More Than $2.2 Billion In Civil And Criminal Actions In Fiscal Year 2023

 

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that the Southern District of New York collected $2,249,716,748.68 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2023.  Of this amount, $550,594,893.86 was collected in criminal actions, $63,979,949.82 was collected in civil actions, and $1,632,141,905 was collected in asset forfeiture actions.

Additionally, the Southern District of New York worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect an additional $2,379,785.90 in cases pursued jointly by these offices.  Of this amount, $81,164.56 was collected in criminal actions, and $2,298,261.34 was collected in civil actions.   

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As advocates for the victims of criminal and civil wrongdoing, this Office has perennially been the nation’s leader in securing forfeiture, restitution, and other financial penalties – this year collecting over $2.2 billion.  I could not be prouder of the career prosecutors of this Office who work tirelessly to hold bad actors accountable and return property to those who have been victimized.”               

A highlight of the Office’s work this year includes the July 2023 sentencing of Allianz Global Investors U.S. (“AGI”).  AGI was sentenced in connection with a multibillion-dollar fraud scheme involving a series of private investment funds managed by AGI after pleading guilty to securities fraud.  AGI was sentenced to financial penalties comprised of over $463 million in forfeiture, over $2.32 billion in restitution, and over $2.33 billion in fines.

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 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 collected to federal and state compensation and victim assistance programs.  In addition, forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture Fund are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.