Feds Collected $81.9 Million In Miami Area Court Cases

MIAMI, FL — When you drive past the Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. federal courthouse in downtown Miami do you see a colossal government building that costs taxpayers an arm and a leg? If so, you may need to reconsider.

It turns out that the Southern District of Florida generates a lot of money for Uncle Sam in the Miami area and most of it comes from criminals.

U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg announced on Friday that his Southern District of Florida collected $81,9 million in both criminal and civil cases during the 2017 fiscal year.

"Of this amount, $57,410,683.40 was collected in criminal actions and $24,542,381.65 was collected in civil actions," according to Greenberg's office.

Moreover, Greenberg's office collected another $84.5 million working with other U.S. Attorneys outside of Miami in cases that span multiple jurisdictions.

"Of this amount, $23,280.87 was collected in criminal actions and $84,471,963.07 was collected in civil actions," officials said.

Overall, the Justice Department collected more than $15 billion in civil and criminal actions in the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30, 2017.

“Through great efforts and diligence, our office was once again able to secure restitution for crime victims and recover monies for the U.S. taxpayers," Greenberg said. "We work hard not only to protect the people of our great nation, but to ensure that criminals do not profit from their crime. Today’s numbers reflect that the U.S. Attorney’s Office collects substantially more money than it spends, and provides the taxpayers with an excellent return on their investment.”

In one Florida case alone, Greenberg's office collected $12 million from a not-for-profit hospital over medically unnecessary cardiac procedures.

In another case, the office recovered $1,4 million by selling two luxury condominiums in Costa Rica that once belonged to a criminal.

Greenberg said that U.S. Attorneys along with litigating divisions are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the United States as well as criminal debts owed to federal crime victims.

Under federal law, criminals must 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," according to federal officials.

The largest civil collections in 2017 involved government money lost to fraud or other misconduct through the collection fines on individuals or corporations.

These civil cases brought in money for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Internal Revenue Service, Small Business Administration and Department of Education.

The U.S. Attorney’s office in Miami also collected $232 million in asset forfeiture actions during the 2017 fiscal year. That money was to go directly crime victims or be spent on various law enforcement purposes.

Photo courtesy Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr federal courthouse in Miami