U.S. Attorney says more than $3M collected in 2014 criminal, civil actions

CEDAR RAPIDS — U.S. Attorney Kevin Techau announced Thursday the Northern District office collected more than $3.7 million in criminal and civil actions owed to the government and to crime victims in fiscal year 2014.

The amount includes more than $1.6 million collected from criminal actions and more than $2.1 million was collected in civil actions. The office for the first year also collected forfeitures from synthetic drug crimes.

'These collections are a vital part of our mission to vindicate crime and hold accountable those who wrongfully profit at the expense of the United States,' Techau said. 'This office is dedicated to recovering funds for the federal treasury and for the victims of federal crime.'

The U.S. Department of Justice collected $24.7 billion in civil and criminal actions in fiscal year 2014. The collections represents nearly eight and half times the appropriated $2.91 billion budget for the 94 U.S. Attorney's offices and the main litigating divisions in that same time period.

In previous years, the Northern District collected more than $5.9 million in 2011, more than $4 million in 2012 and more than $4.1 million in 2013. Techau said the collections fluctuate each year, depending on the criminal and civil activity in a given year.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Cole, who leads the civil division, said the defendants are required to pay fines, special assessments or court costs which go into the victim compensation and victim assistance programs. Defendants also are ordered to pay civil debts to the government. There are also crimes that require defendants pay restitution to victims who have a financial loss or suffer an injury.

In a recent case, a disbarred Cedar Rapids lawyer, Susan Hense, was ordered to pay more than $800,000 in restitution to 15 clients she defrauded. She pleaded guilty to wire fraud and was sentenced to four years in prison. Hense used their client trust account funds to feed her gambling addiction. She was ordered to pay over $800,000 in restitution to the 15 clients.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Pete Deegan, leader of the criminal division, pointed out another recent high profile case involving over $215 million in restitution ordered for 13,000 victims in the 2013 conviction of Russell Wasendorf Sr., 65, founder of Peregrine Financial in Cedar Falls. He was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison for embezzling customer funds in a Ponzi-type scheme which spanned over 20 years. The government also seized millions in assets and bank accounts.

Deegan said the unfortunate reality is that in many cases, specifically when large amounts of restitution is ordered, it's impossible to get all the money back to those harmed.

Cole said there also has been four houses forfeited from synthetic drug crimes and an airplane forfeited that was used in a recent marijuana conspiracy case, but those have not been sold, so there is no collection amount at this time. The law allows the government to file forfeiture actions against property or assets used in illegal activities or purchased with profits from a crime.

Mohammad and Melissa Al Sharairei, accused of selling synthetic marijuana were the owners of the four houses taken in the civil forfeiture. The couple owned Puff N Stuff II Tobacco Outlet that was raided in 2013. The properties seized are located at 142 34th Street Dr, SE, in Cedar Rapids, and the three other homes at 1611 Eighth St, 1704 Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway, and 1517 23rd St. are in Des Moines. According to court documents, the purchase of the real properties were purchased with money made from illegal sales of synthetic drugs and represent property involved in money laundering.

The Al Sharaireis made plea agreements but didn't show up for the plea hearing and to face two additional charges in October. A warrant was issued for their arrest, and they remain fugitives.

The airplane was seized from Mark Swanson, 55, of Breckinridge, Colo., who was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison for conspiracy to distribute marijuana last week. He was involved with 12 other co-conspirators who transported and distributed 'high-grade' marijuana from California and Colorado to the Cedar Rapids area. Swanson grew the marijuana in Colorado and flew it to Iowa.