U.S. Attorney’s Office Collects $16 Million in Civil and Criminal Actions in Fiscal Year 2022

ST. LOUIS – U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming announced today that the Eastern District of Missouri collected $16,069,243 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2022. Of this amount, $10,414,823 was collected in criminal actions and $5,654,419 was collected in civil actions. 

“The Eastern District of Missouri’s Financial Litigation Unit aggressively pursues money owed both to victims of crimes and the taxpayers,” said Fleming. “In addition, three days after the end of this fiscal year, the unit obtained a voluntary payment of $3,056,159 more from Anthony Swiantek, one of 20 defendants who admitted participating in a telemarketing fraud that targeted elderly victims.”

The payment satisfies the remaining balance of the over $4.2 million in restitution ordered by the court in Swiantek’s 2016 criminal case. After the Financial Litigation Unit suspected that Swiantek was concealing assets, the unit began pursuing Swiantek’s various assets, including his cryptocurrency. The unit issued multiple subpoenas and filed garnishments for Swiantek’s bank account, life insurance policy and individual retirement account, triggering Swiantek’s voluntary payment in exchange for releasing those garnishments.

The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the Justice 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 assistance programs.

Additionally, the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Missouri, working with partner agencies and divisions, collected $5,451,628 in asset forfeiture actions in FY 2022. 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.