US Attorney’s Office collects $2,088,622 in civil and criminal actions in FY22

The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaiʻi collected $2,088,622 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2022. The breakdown included:

• $1,534,259 collected in criminal actions; and
• $554,363 collected in civil actions.

Additionally, the Hawaiʻi US Attorney’s Office worked with other US Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect an additional $7,991,796 in civil cases pursued jointly by these offices, according to a department press release.

US Attorney Clare E. Connors made the announcement today saying, “Recouping money owed to the United States, as well as obtaining financial recoveries from those who violate the law, are critical aspects of our system of justice. We will vigorously pursue economic sanctions and collections on behalf of our community.”

In August 2022, the District of Hawaiʻi recovered $75,000 from the former Majority Leader of the State of Hawaii Senate, Jamie Kalani English, in partial payment of the $100,000 fine imposed for honest services wire fraud, according to the release.

The US Attorney’s Office reports that over $7.5 million of the amount recovered from cases jointly worked, resulted from a consent decree in an environmental action the United States brought for reimbursement of costs and compensation for natural resource damages associated with the release or threatened release of hazardous substances at the former Oʻahu Sugar pesticide-mixing area within the Pearl Harbor Superfund Site.

The US Attorneys’ Offices, along with the department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the US and criminal debts owed to federal crime victims. The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss. While restitution is paid to the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to the department’s Crime Victims Fund, which distributes the funds collected to federal and state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.

Additionally, the US Attorney’s office in Hawaiʻi, working with partner agencies and divisions, collected $1,063,208 in asset forfeiture actions in FY 2021.

Forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.