United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2001-07-16 monographic deposited born digital 125 p. GA 1.13:GAO-01-664 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-664 P0b002ee180380fb6 f:d01664 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-664 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-664 GAO-01-664 Criminals Debt collection Fines (penalties) Interagency relations Internal controls Prisoners Restitution BOP Inmate Financial Responsibility Program Other Written Product A01395

The collection of outstanding criminal debt has been a long-standing problem for the federal government. Since October 1985, as reported in the U.S. Attorney's statistical reports, the balance of outstanding criminal debt has grown from $260 million to over $13 billion. Currently, the receipting of collections and recordkeeping for criminal debt is primarily the responsibility of the U.S. Courts, while the Department of Justice is responsible for collecting criminal debt. This report reviews (1) the key reasons for the growth in reported uncollected criminal debt, (2) whether adequate processes exist to collect criminal debt, and (3) what role, if any, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Department of the Treasury play in overseeing and monitoring the government's collection of criminal debt. GAO found that there are four key factors that have contributed to the significant growth in the amount of uncollected criminal debt. These factors are (1) the nature of the debt, in that it involves criminals who may be incarcerated or deported or who have minimal earning capacity, (2) the pay, as required by the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act of 1996, (3) interpretation by the Financial Litigation Units of payment schedules set by judges which limit collection activities, and (4) state laws that may limit the type of property that can be seized and the amount of wages that can be garnished. Financial Litigation Units did not always follow their policies and procedures and could ensure that collection actions were prompt and adequate. The present management practices and processes do not provide assurance that offenders are not afforded their ill-gotten gains and that innocent victims are compensated for their losses to the fullest extent possible. Collection responsibilities continue to be divided between Justice and the courts, with neither having a central management oversight role. Neither OMB or Treasury has identified the need to take an active oversight role in the collection of the growing balance of outstanding criminal debt. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-664/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-664.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-664/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-664.pdf GAO-01-664 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-664 Other Written Product GAO-01-664; Criminal Debt: Oversight and Actions Needed to Address Deficiencies in Collection Processes; Criminals Debt collection Fines (penalties) Interagency relations Internal controls Prisoners Restitution BOP Inmate Financial Responsibility Program Title 18 Section 1365 Title 18 Section 16 Title 18 Section 3572 Title 18 Section 3612 Title 18 Section 3613 Title 18 Section 3663A 18 U.S.C. 1365 18 U.S.C. 16 18 U.S.C. 3572 18 U.S.C. 3612 18 U.S.C. 3613 18 U.S.C. 3663A Title 42 Section 10601 42 U.S.C. 10601 Public Law 97-291 Public Law 98-473 Public Law 98-596 Public Law 100-185 Public Law 104-132