MADISON, WIS. – Acting U.S. Attorney Timothy M. O’Shea announced today that the Western District of Wisconsin collected $6,273,129.96 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2021. Of this amount, $1,284,157.17 was collected in criminal actions and $4,988,972.79 was collected in civil actions. Fiscal Year 2021 is the 12 months from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021.
Additionally, the Western District of Wisconsin worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Justice Department to collect an additional $483,860.23 in cases pursued jointly by these offices.
“Our office has made collecting money owed to crime victims and to the United States in criminal and civil cases a priority,” said Acting U.S. Attorney O’Shea. “We will work to hold criminal defendants responsible for their crimes and ensure that individuals and companies that violate federal laws or owe the government money are held financially accountable for their actions.”
In a significant civil case in 2021, AutoGenomics, Inc. agreed to pay the United States $2.538 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute by engaging in a scheme to bill Medicare for molecular genetic testing performed for nursing home patients that were induced by a kickback payment for the referral of the tests. In a criminal matter, the office collected over $1 million from six defendants who were charged and convicted in a federal tax scheme where vendors and bar owners skimmed video gambling machine cash receipts. The defendants defrauded the IRS and Wisconsin Department of Revenue by failing to pay federal and state income taxes, as well as state sales taxes, on the gambling revenues.
The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the Justice Department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the U.S. 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 federal Crime Victims Fund, which distributes the funds collected to federal and state victim compensation and victim assistance programs. In Fiscal Year 2021, Wisconsin was awarded over $18.25 million in victim assistance funds and over $2.48 million in victim compensation funds.
