Source: Office of United States Attorneys
CLEVELAND – The U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Northern District of Ohio forfeited $7,701,470 in criminal assets for fiscal year 2024 (FY24). The total forfeited assets were from investigations throughout the District’s 40 northern counties in the state of Ohio. The District’s headquarters is located in Cleveland, with branch offices in Akron, Toledo, and Youngstown.
At the end of FY24, the USAO had more than $50 million of assets still pending forfeiture orders in cases districtwide. They included items such as cash, cryptocurrency, vehicles, real estate, and jewelry. These assets were acquired from 214 cases brought under the three types of federal forfeiture proceedings, which include criminal, civil judicial, and administrative. Criminal forfeiture involves personal assets used in conjunction with a crime and is included as part of a defendant’s sentence. Civil judicial forfeiture concerns assets derived from or used in criminal activity. Administrative forfeiture involves assets for whom no one has filed a claim contesting the seizure.
Because of the time it can take to process appeals, payments to victims can stem from previous fiscal years. In FY24, a total of $11,077,758 of forfeited funds were earmarked for return to crime victims to whom defendants owed restitution.
Some of the forfeited assets were deposited into the Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture Fund (AFF), which was established in 1984 by the Comprehensive Crime Control Act. The AFF is used to restore funds to crime victims and pay expenses associated with forfeiture operation, such as asset management, storage, protection, and disposal. It is also used for a variety of law enforcement purposes. Other assets seized were deposited into the Treasury Asset Forfeiture Fund, which functions in a similar way to the AFF.
In addition, a portion of each fiscal year’s forfeited funds are authorized to be shared with local law enforcement agencies that contributed time and resources to federal investigations. In FY24, $10,523,635 was shared across 83 agency partners in the Northern District of Ohio, as well as other districts, for supporting federal prosecution efforts to fight crime.
“Asset forfeiture is a vital tool that we use to punish criminals and financially deter, disrupt, or dismantle criminal activity and criminal organizations. When we take the assets used to commit, or gained as the result of crime, we deprive criminals of the tools they need to engage in criminal activity and, indeed, their reason for committing such crimes in the first place. Additionally, forfeiting criminal assets allows us to return money lost by victims who were scammed by criminals in deceitful and fraudulent schemes or otherwise harmed by crime,” said Rebecca Lutzko, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. “The amount of assets forfeited this year and still pending forfeiture by the court far exceeds our annual office budget. We take pride in returning such significant amounts of money to our community and constituents from the work that our office undertakes.”
Cases with significant forfeitures in FY24 include the following:
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United States v. Christen Clark
Clark pled guilty to federal drug and gun violations. During a search warrant execution, agents seized six kilograms of cocaine, two kilograms of fentanyl, 50 pounds of marijuana, and six handguns. The USAO forfeited $1,004,496 and a 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe from Clark.
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United States v. Rocco Ferruccio
Defendant pled guilty to illegal gambling operations in Canton. The USAO forfeited $1,118,442 seized from Ferruccio’s residence.
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United States v. Christos Karasarides
Related to the Ferruccio case, Karasarides was convicted of illegal gambling operations in Canton. The USAO forfeited $419,768 in U.S. currency. Karasarides’ residence was also determined to have been acquired with gambling proceeds and forfeited.
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United States v. $774,830 in U.S. Currency
During an Ohio Highway Patrol traffic stop, a K-9 alerted to the trunk of a defendant’s rental car, and U.S. Currency was seized from a suitcase in the trunk. The defendant declined to provide the source of the currency. The USAO forfeited a total of $774,830.
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United States v. Kevin Clay
Clay was found guilty of healthcare fraud and agreed to the USAO’s forfeiture of approximately $539,770 in proceeds of his fraud, along with the forfeiture of a home purchased with fraud proceeds. But, as alleged in a pending indictment, before the government took possession of his home, Clay instructed his wife to remove fixtures and appliances from it to sell, profiting about $5,000. In the process, his wife caused more than $20,000 in damage to the home and the government subsequently charged the couple with destruction or removal of property to prevent seizure.
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United States v. 947,883 Tether (“USDT”)
In this elder fraud case, on Nov. 26, 2024, the United States filed a civil complaint in forfeiture against 947,883 Tether (“USDT”) cryptocurrency, valued at approximately $947,883. At the time the asset was frozen, the cryptocurrency address had a balance of 947,883 USDT, valued at approximately $947,883. If successful in this forfeiture action, the United States would seek to return these stolen funds to the victim of the scheme. Claims made in the Complaint in Forfeiture are allegations that the United States will need to prove should the case proceed to trial.
All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The mission of the Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture Program (AFP) is to use asset forfeiture as a tool to deter, disrupt, and dismantle criminal enterprises, denying them the proceeds and the instruments of criminal activity. The AFP involves federal, state, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies across the country.