"Offenders owe $110 billion in criminal restitution to their victims, but the vast majority is 'uncollectible,' according to a new federal government report....
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) analyzed sentencing data for offenders sentenced between fiscal years 2014 and 2016. They also looked at the amount of restitution debt collected nationwide over that period.
Key takeaways:
- Judges ordered 15 percent of federal offenders to pay restitution. Offenses for which courts ordered restitution most often were fraud, embezzlement, arson, auto theft, tax-related crimes, robbery, burglary and larceny. Thirty percent of offenders convicted of murder were ordered to compensate victims.
- The amount of restitution ordered between 2014 and 2016 totaled $33.9 billion.
- Between 2014 and 2016, U.S. Attorney’s Offices collected a total of $2.95 billion. Half of that came from debts imposed between fiscal years 1988 and 2014.
- As of the end of fiscal year 2016, $110 billion in restitution debt was outstanding. The federal government has deemed $100 billion of that to be “uncollectible” based on the offender’s ability to pay. Almost all — 95 percent — of offenders ordered to pay restitution received a waiver allowing them to forgo payment because they had no ability to pay."
View the Report: “Federal Criminal Restitution: Most Debt Is Outstanding and Oversight of Collections Could Be Improved,”
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