JD Journal » us attorney’s office

Middle District of North Carolina Collecting over $4 Million

jim — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 13:49:12 +0000

The Middle District of North Carolina collected over $4,300,000 in Fiscal Year 2011 related to criminal and civil actions according to U.S. Attorney Ripley Rand. Over $1,200,000 was collected in relation to criminal actions and over $3,100,000 was collected because of civil actions. In criminal and civil forfeitures, the office collected over $2,000,000.

Across the country, the U.S. Attorneys’ offices collected over $6.5 billion in Fiscal Year 2011 for criminal and civil actions for a second consecutive year. Over $1.3 billion of this money was collected in shared cases, which occur when one or more U.S. Attorneys’ offices were involved in the same case. The budget for Fiscal Year 2011 for the 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices was tripled by the $6.5 billion collected.

“The employees in our office work very hard to collect money owed to crime victims and to the government,” said Rand. “These are tough budgetary times for everyone, and our collections efforts are more important than ever before. We will continue to seek justice for crime victims every day and hold accountable those who seek to profit from illegal activity.”

A $2 million civil collection came from FirstHealth of the Carolinas because of improper ambulance billings, a case that was settled. The company was sending ambulances to Moore Regional Hospital, which did not admit any liability in the case.

Over $860,000 of the money collected in the Middle District came from money confiscated from inside the door of a vehicle that was traveling through the Middle District on an interstate. The person driving the vehicle claimed it was money delivered to him by two different people in New York for purchasing a restaurant in Texas. The driver had no documentation of the supposed loan. The driver also did not know the location, the price, or any other details about the restaurant that he was headed to purchase.

The litigating divisions of the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices are responsible for collecting civil and criminal debts that are owed to the United States and to victims of federal crime. In restitution, felony assessments, and criminal fines, the total amount of money collected was well over $2.66 billion. Victims of federal crimes who have suffered physical injury or significant financial loss are legally due restitution from the defendants in the case.

Some of the biggest civil collections by the government included money that was lost to fraud or fines imposed on corporations or individuals for violating safety, civil rights, federal health or environmental laws. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Internal Revenue Service and Small Business Administration also had debts collected on their behalf.

In Fiscal Year 2011, the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices also collected $1.68 billion in asset forfeiture actions while working with partner agencies and divisions. The Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund and Department of Treasury Forfeiture Fund are where these funds are deposited before they are sent to crime victims for the restoration of funds.

Peter Prieto of Holland & Knight Moves to Podhurst Orseck

sara — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:08:26 +0000

Miami based attorney Peter Prieto, the chairman of Holland & Knight’s national litigation section, has left the firm for boutique litigation firm Podhurst Orseck. Prieto becomes the 13^th lawyer at the firm and the first lateral partner hire in 28 years.

Prieto was with Holland & Knight for 16 years. He began his courtroom career as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Miami. He worked in Washington D.C., as associate deputy independent counsel for the Office of Independent Counsel investigating Commerce Secretary Ron Brown. He had joined Holland & Knight right after graduating law school in 1985 before joining the U.S. Attorney’s office. He returned to Holland & Knight in 1996.Holland & Knight is a general practice firm with over 1,000 lawyers in 17 offices around the world.

McGuireWoods Issues Offers for Summer Class

joshua — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:53:40 +0000

The weather has turned cold, the leaves are falling from the trees in bright shades of orange and red, pumpkins are in season so that must mean it’s time to get around to making offers to your summer class, or at least, some of your offers, right?

Well that’s what McGuireWoodsis doing this week. Long after most firms have broken the bad news for the year, McGuireWoods is making some offers to its summer class. Those that don’t receive offers in this wave, take heart – you’re on a waiting list and could receive offers later. It could be worse, you could be on your second deferral!

In other McGuireWoods news… Timothy Heaphy, a partner from the Washington DC office, was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate last night as the new U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia.

McGuire Woods is a 900-lawyer firm that has offices in 15 US cities including New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles and Chicago. It has existing international offices in Brussels and Almaty.

Tuesday Roundup

joshua — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:23:56 +0000

Good morning everyone! Here’s a look back at yesterday’s news…

Jeffrey Lamken leaves Baker Botts to open boutique…

The US Attorney’s office hired three new prosecutors in DC…

Half of Chadbourne’s deferred associates have been deferred again…

and Blakes becomes the first Canadian firm with a presence in the Persian Gulf…

Three New Prosecutors for the US Attorney’s Office in DC

joshua — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:03:09 +0000

Acting U.S. Attorney Channing Phillips announced the hiring of three new assistant U.S. attorneys today in the D.C. office. The three attorneys are Andrew Finkleman, Stephen Rickard and Carl Ross. Finkleman will join the appellate division, Rickard will work in the misdemeanor unit and Ross joins the civil division.