The U.S. Attorney's Office (USAO) for the Northern District of Ohio has announced the forfeiture of $7,701,470 in criminal assets for fiscal year 2024. These assets were seized from investigations conducted across 40 northern counties in Ohio, where the district's headquarters is based in Cleveland, with additional offices in Akron, Toledo, and Youngstown.
At the conclusion of FY24, more than $50 million worth of assets remained pending forfeiture orders within various cases throughout the district. The pending items include cash, cryptocurrency, vehicles, real estate, and jewelry obtained from 214 cases under different federal forfeiture proceedings: criminal, civil judicial, and administrative.
Forfeited funds amounting to $11,077,758 were allocated for restitution to crime victims owed by defendants. Some assets were placed into the Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture Fund (AFF), which was created in 1984 under the Comprehensive Crime Control Act. This fund supports victim compensation and covers expenses related to asset management among other law enforcement activities. Additionally, some assets were deposited into a similar Treasury Asset Forfeiture Fund.
A share of each year's forfeited funds is distributed to local law enforcement agencies that aid federal investigations. In FY24 alone, $10,523,635 was shared among 83 agency partners within Ohio's Northern District and beyond.
Rebecca Lutzko stated: “Asset forfeiture is a vital tool that we use to punish criminals and financially deter...criminal organizations." She emphasized its role in depriving criminals of resources necessary for their activities while returning money lost by victims.
Notable cases with significant forfeitures during FY24 included:
- United States v. Christen Clark: Seizure included cocaine and firearms; USAO recovered over $1 million.
- United States v. Rocco Ferruccio: Illegal gambling led to a seizure exceeding $1 million.
- United States v. Christos Karasarides: Related gambling case resulted in nearly half a million dollars being seized.
- United States v. Kevin Clay: Healthcare fraud involved over half a million dollars; additional charges followed property damage allegations.
- United States v. 947,883 Tether (“USDT”): Elder fraud case involving nearly one million USDT cryptocurrency still pending legal proceedings.
All defendants maintain their presumption of innocence until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt at trial.
The Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture Program aims to deter crime by dismantling enterprises through asset denial efforts involving multiple levels of law enforcement across jurisdictions nationwide.