U.S. Department
of Justice
Financial Litigation Program
The Financial Litigation Program (FLP) enforces collection of criminal and civil debts owed to the United States. Examples of criminal debts include fines, restitution (compensation for victims), and special assessments. Civil debts include defaulted loans from or guaranteed by the Federal Government and other civil judgment debts.
The FLP investigates debtors’ assets and income and uses both federal and state law remedies to enforce collection from debtors’ non-exempt property. These efforts can include entering repayment agreements with debtors, garnishing wages and other assets, recording liens, and offsetting federal payments to debtors via the Treasury Offset Program, among other enforcement methods.
The FLP works closely with other federal agencies involved in collecting or processing payments of federal debts. These include the U. S. Probation and Pretrial Services Office, the Clerk of the U.S. District Court, the Internal Revenue Service, and the U.S. Marshals Service.