Local feds collect millions in civil, criminal actions

Southern Illinois U.S. Attorneys collected nearly $19.5 million in criminal and civil actions during the fiscal year that ended in September, U.S. Attorney Stephen Wigginton announced Thursday.

A total of $9,337,630.59 was collected in criminal actions and $10,090,795.61 in civil actions.

Nationwide, the U.S. Dept. of Justice collected a total of $23.1 billion between civil and criminal actions. The bulk of that total was money recovered in rulings against those convicted of fraud and making false claims against the government.

“My office will not stop in its efforts to collect moneys owed the United States,” Wigginton said. “As always, no legal avenue to collect debts owed the United States will go unused.”

A portion of the funds come in the form of fees owed as part of convictions. Those fees are deposited in DOJ’s Crime Victims Fund, which distributes funds to state programs that assist victims of crimes.

This story was originally published December 3, 2015 at 2:55 PM with the headline "Local feds collect millions in civil, criminal actions."