U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins announced that the District of Utah collected a total of $12,954,017.21 in civil and criminal actions during Fiscal Year 2024. This amount includes $8,385,272.13 from criminal actions and $4,568,745.08 from civil actions.
The District of Utah also collaborated with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect an additional $2,978,609.99 in jointly pursued cases. This included $12,350.00 from criminal actions and $2,966,259.99 from civil actions.
One significant case involved a Washington County man who paid the remaining balance of $2,139,926.35 in restitution after being ordered by the court in 2022 to pay $3.2 million for failing to file financial reports with the United States Treasury regarding currency brought into the U.S. from China.
Another case saw a Utah businessman sentenced to imprisonment and ordered to pay $10,250,834.53 in restitution after defrauding investors out of millions through his smartphone company SAYGUS.
The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices are tasked with enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the U.S., as well as criminal debts owed to federal crime victims. Restitution is required for victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered physical injury or financial loss.
In addition to these collections, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Utah worked with partner agencies to collect $4,625,653 through asset forfeiture actions in FY 2024. These forfeited assets are used for restoring funds to crime victims and supporting various law enforcement initiatives.