The District of Rhode Island has seen a significant increase in the amount of money collected in both criminal and civil actions in the past fiscal year.
According to U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha, the district collected $3.8 million in the 2021 fiscal year, with $2.7 million coming from criminal cases and $1 million from civil actions.
Additionally, the District of Rhode Island worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect a further $6.9 million in jointly pursued cases. Of this amount, $4,957.79 was collected in criminal cases and $6,993,831.56 was collected in civil actions.
These figures represent primarily criminal restitution, criminal fines, and civil judgments. The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices are responsible for enforcing and collecting debts owed to the U.S. government and federal crime victims. Restitution is paid to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered physical injury or financial loss, while criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to the department’s Crime Victims Fund. This fund distributes the funds to federal and state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.
Finally, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Rhode Island, working with partner agencies and divisions, collected $1.7 million through asset forfeiture actions in FY 2021. These assets, which are deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund, are used to compensate crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.