The Department of Justice collected $2.95 billion out of $110 billion in restitution debt, according to a report released last week by the Government Accountability Office. Restitution debt are fines that are assessed against individuals convicted of federal crimes. The debt is intended to go back to the victim of the crime.
Out of the $110 billion in uncollected debt, $100 billion of that has been deemed “uncollectible,” by the Department of Justice. The primary reason why a debt is deemed uncollectible is a defendant’s inability to repay the debt, according to the report.
Fraud-related offenses constitute the highest-number of restitution cases, while embezzlement represents the highest percentage of cases where restitution was ordered.
The Department of Justice successfully collected the full amount of restitution in about 15% of cases between 2014 and 2016. However, as noted in the report: “across all debts, including debts imposed prior to fiscal year 2014, DOJ collected the full amount of restitution ordered on only 5% of debts. Across all restitution debts, DOJ collected at least some of the debt for one-third of debts and did not collect any restitution on the remaining two-thirds.”
The most effective method for collecting on restitution debt is taking it from federal tax refunds of those with outstanding debts. Each U.S. Attorney’s Office appears to be responsible for collecting on restitution debts in its jurisdiction.
The report highlights a number of recommendations from the GAO, including more closely assessing the performance of each district.
