(Press Release) -- John W. Vaudreuil, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced today that his office collected $10,650,127.49 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2016. Of this amount, $1,392,424.01 was collected in criminal actions and $9,257,703.48 was collected in civil actions.
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch announced today that the Justice Department collected nearly $15.4 billion in civil and criminal actions in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2016. The $15,380,130,434 in collections in FY 2016 represents more than five times the appropriated $2.93 billion budget for the 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and the main litigating divisions of the Justice Department combined in that same period.
“Every day, the men and women of the Department of Justice work tirelessly to enforce our laws, ensuring that taxpayer dollars are used properly and that the American people are protected from exploitation and abuse,” said Attorney General Lynch. “Today’s announcement is a testament to that work, and it makes clear that our actions deliver a significant return on public investment. I want to thank the prosecutors and trial attorneys who made this year's collections possible, and I want to emphasize that the department remains committed to the well-being of our people and our nation.”
“These financial recoveries on behalf of taxpayers demonstrate that my office will use all the tools at its disposal to protect the public and collect funds owed to victims of crime and to the U.S. Treasury,” said U.S. Attorney Vaudreuil. “We will continue to aggressively pursue those who attempt to profit by criminal activities and those who violate our civil laws.”
The most significant collection matter for the Western District of Wisconsin during FY 2016 was related to a settlement in which Pharmasan Labs, Inc. and NeuroScience, Inc., and Gottfried Kellermann and Mieke Kellermann, both of Osceola, Wis., agreed to pay $8.5 million to the United States to resolve False Claims Act allegations. The settlement resolved allegations that Pharmasan submitted false information for laboratory services billed to Medicare, and allegations that it violated Medicare rules pertaining to services referred by non-physician practitioners. Pharmasan is a laboratory located in Osceola, and NeuroScience is a related corporation that bills Medicare for Pharmasan’s services. The Kellermanns founded both corporations.
The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the 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 department’s Crime Victims’ Fund, which distributes the funds to state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.
The largest civil collections were from affirmative civil enforcement cases, in which the United States recovered government money lost to fraud or other misconduct or collected fines imposed on individuals and/or corporations for violations of federal health, safety, civil rights or environmental laws. In addition, civil debts were collected on behalf of several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Internal Revenue Service, Small Business Administration, and Department of Education.
Last Update: Dec 14, 2016 3:11 pm CST
