U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming announced today that the Eastern District of Missouri collected $21,046,154 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2023. Of this amount, $18,383,768 was collected in criminal actions and $2,662,385 was collected in civil actions.
Additionally, the Eastern District of Missouri worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect an additional $10,675 in criminal cases pursued jointly by these offices.
“Our Financial Litigation Unit works tirelessly to identify and recover assets so we can attempt to make victims whole,” said U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming.
Among the money collected in criminal cases last year was millions of dollars fraudulently obtained by two Jefferson County chiropractors and their co-defendants in a long-running Social Security disability fraud conspiracy. At the direction of the chiropractor, the co-defendants falsely claimed they were unable to work and underwent medically unnecessary tests to support fraudulent applications for disability benefits. After sentencing, the Financial Litigation Unit initiated various collection actions by issuing subpoenas, recording liens against the defendants’ property and garnishing the defendants’ wages, bank accounts, investment accounts, retirement and pension accounts, Social Security checks, tax refunds, and other assets. More than $3.5 million has been recovered so far, including $95,684 from Hobbs, $205,214 from Hobbs’ wife and fellow chiropractor Vivian Carbone Hobbs and amounts ranging from $70,603 to $478,336 from individual patients.
Among the civil settlements was one finalized in February with Great Circle, a nonprofit behavioral health provider that admitted making false statements when billing for services that were not actually provided to foster youth. They agreed to pay $1,866,000.
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 collected to federal and state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.
Additionally, the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Missouri, working with partner agencies and divisions, collected $9,337,250 in asset forfeiture actions in FY 2023. Forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.
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