As the United States marks the 2025 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced it surpassed $12 billion in compensation to crime victims since the turn of the millennium. This redress is part of the DOJ's Asset Forfeiture Program, which uses forfeited assets to reimburse victims.
In fiscal year 2024 and the early part of fiscal year 2025, the DOJ has returned over $735.3 million to victims affected by various crimes, including human trafficking and several types of fraud.
"This extraordinary milestone demonstrates the effectiveness of the Asset Forfeiture Program in taking the profit out of crime and compensating victims,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. He acknowledged that while financial compensation is significant, the endured loss for crime victims often goes beyond financial terms.
Several high-profile cases highlight the DOJ’s dedication to restitution through its program. A notable case involves Bernie Madoff, where a tenth and final distribution from the Madoff Victim Fund amounted to $131.4 million, part of over $4.3 billion returned to the victims of Madoff's Ponzi scheme. Madoff admitted to turning his wealth management business into a fraudulent operation, deceiving numerous investors.
In another case, Western Union acknowledged culpability in a scheme involving wire fraud, part of a deferred prosecution agreement. To date, more than $420 million has been dispersed to victims from the $586 million forfeited.
Further compensations include $8 million returned to victims of business email compromise schemes and $5.6 million to the Small Business Administration, both outcomes of DOJ-led initiatives to recoup money from fraudulent activities. Other significant cases involved the return of millions to victims of embezzlement, human trafficking, and elder scams.
Matthew R. Galeotti commended the collaboration between the DOJ's Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, and numerous law enforcement agencies at all government levels.
For more information on the DOJ’s victim compensation efforts, individuals are encouraged to visit the DOJ’s Criminal Division website.