(Washington State) U.S. Attorney Vanessa Waldref announced today the Eastern District of Washington collected $17,718,306.41 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2024. Of this amount, $16,087,963.29 was collected in criminal actions and $1,630,343.12 was collected in civil actions.
Additionally, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Washington worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect an additional $937,600 in civil cases pursued jointly by these offices.
“Thanks to the excellent work by our office’s Financial Litigation Unit and Affirmative Civil Enforcement team more than $17 million was recovered in 2024,” said U.S. Attorney Vanessa Waldref. “Recovering criminal restitution owed to crime victims and civil debts owed to the United States is a vital part of our mission. The $16 million in criminal restitution collections will assist victims in their recovery process and hold criminals accountable for their crimes.”
The types of cases for which the United States often is able to collect include criminal and civil actions such as:
- More than $11.7 million in criminal restitution collected in United States v. Easterday, which is known as the “Ghost Cattle” case involving the fraudulent invoicing of non-existent cattle in the amount of $244 million (https://www.justice.gov/usao-
edwa/pr/tri-cities-rancher- sentenced-eleven-years- federal-prison-and-ordered- pay-244-million);
- More than $2.1 million in criminal restitution collected in United States v. Mize et al, which represents the proceeds from cash, real properties, cars, boats, and other assets seized from several defendants in a far-reaching insurance fraud scheme (https://www.justice.gov/usao-
edwa/pr/fraud-ringleader-and- former-fugitive-william-mize- sentenced-12-years-federal- prison);
- $478,935 in criminal restitution collected in United States v. Anwar, in which Sami Anwar received a 28 year prison sentence for falsifying human clinical research trials in connection with a fraud scheme (https://www.justice.gov/usao-
edwa/pr/richland-business- owner-sentenced-more-28-years- federal-prison-falsifying- human);
- $341,480 in criminal restitution collected in United States v. Jason Jordan, which involved the fraudulent sale of counterfeit airbags on eBay (https://www.justice.gov/usao-
edwa/pr/moxee-man-sentenced- 31-months-federal-prison- selling-counterfiet-airbags-e- bay);
- $887,600 in civil collections in United States v. Multistar Inc., which involved penalties for illegally storing hazardous chemicals and violating federal environmental laws (https://www.epa.gov/
newsreleases/court-orders- washington-company-comply- regulations-pay-850k- illegally-storing);
- $700,000 in civil collections from physician Edward William Salko, D.O., and Jackson & Coker LocumTenens, LLC, which involved allegations that they participated in a kick-back scheme to bill Medicare for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment and diagnostic laboratory testing (https://www.justice.gov/usao-
edwa/pr/richland-physician- health-care-staffing-company- agree-pay-700000-resolve- false-claims);
- $329,196 in civil collections in United States v. All Star Property Management LLC, which involved claims they falsely and fraudulently claimed hundreds of thousands of dollars in rent assistance intended to benefit struggling renters during the COVID-19 pandemic (https://www.justice.gov/usao-
edwa/pr/spokane-property- management-company-agrees-pay- more-300000-fraudulently- claiming);
- $224,620 in civil collections from Justin Leland, which involved allegations he participated in a kick-back scheme to bill Medicare for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment (https://www.justice.gov/usao-
edwa/pr/owner-spokane-valley- medical-supply-company-agrees- pay-224620-resolve-allegations ).
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.
