U.S. Attorney’s Office collects more than $8.1 million in civil and criminal actions in Fiscal Year 2025

FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, Ill. - The Southern District of Illinois collected $8,125,957.90 in criminal and civil actions in FY 25, announced U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft.

Of this amount, $3,937,603 was collected in criminal actions and $4,188,354.34 was collected in civil actions.

Additionally, the Southern District of Illinois worked with other U.S. Attorney's Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect an additional $367,003.26 in jointly pursued cases. Of this amount, $267,714.26 was collected in criminal actions and $87,289 was collected in civil actions.

"Collecting restitution and other debts is a vital component of the Department of Justice's mission," said U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft. "Thanks to efforts by Assistant U.S. Attorneys, the Financial Litigation Unit and the asset recovery team in southern Illinois, we have prioritized collections on debts owed to crime victims and the U.S."

In the largest civil settlement in FY 25, the Southern District of Illinois finalized a deal to recover $3.5 million to resolve allegations from an Alaskan-based transportation company Denali Group, Inc. regarding violations to the False Claims Act.

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 collected to federal and state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.

Additionally, the Southern District of Illinois, working with partner agencies and divisions, collected $520,888 in asset forfeiture actions in FY 25. 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.