DOJ's Profit Machine: US Attorney's Offices Collected Over $6 Billion In Forfeitures And Fines In A Single Year

CHICAGO U.S. ATTORNEY’S OFFICE COLLECTED $99 MILLION IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL DEBTS AND FORFEITURE ACTIONS IN FISCAL YEAR 2010

Chicago office contributes to record financial recoveries nationwide

CHICAGO — The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois collected approximately $99 million in fiscal year (FY) 2010, bringing its total collections for the last three fiscal years to nearly $550 million. The collection of more than $72.5 million in criminal and civil debts, coupled with an additional $26.4 million collected through asset forfeiture, means that the office’s total collections this past fiscal year amounted to more than three times its annual budget of approximately $32 million, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, announced today.

Nationally, collections by the U.S. Department of Justice in criminal and civil actions in FY 2010 reached an all-time high due to the record-breaking efforts of the 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices, which contributed to the collection of $6.68 billion during the government’s fiscal year. MOREHERE