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MT federal prosecutors collected $9.5M in civil, criminal cases this year

Missoulian - 12/25/2019

The U.S. District Attorney's Office in Montana announced this week it collected more than $9.5 million in criminal and civil actions in 2019.

The total $9,536,489 comes from judgments in cases like that of Stanley Weber, the former Indian Health Service doctor convicted of sexual abuse of children, and Woody's Trucking LLC, the company convicted on charges from a 2012 explosion of an oil and gas processing plant near Wibaux.

The civil cases that contributed to the total also include a fraudulent billing case against Bozeman Deaconess Hospital, and pharmacy violations leveled against the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes' pharmacy.

"These recovered funds come from divesting criminals of ill-gotten gains and from civil penalties and debt collections," said Kurt Alme, U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana, in a press release on Monday; the news release did not note recovery amounts for previous years, and the office did not immediately respond to an email Tuesday requesting the information.

"The money helps make crime victims whole and benefits the U.S.Treasury, which are priorities of this office. I want to thank our employees and in particular, the Financial Litigation Unit, for their hard work and dedication."

The U.S. Attorney's Office is responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the United States and criminal debts owed to victims of federal crimes, according to the press release.

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 and federal victim compensation programs, according to the release.

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