CLEVELAND ‒ The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio brought in more than $27 million in civil and criminal penalties in the 2024 fiscal year, including more than $1 million from the former Republic Steel in Canton.
“Every year, dedicated …. employees work hard to collect debts owed to the government based on false claims, environmental damage, controlled-substance violations, and the like, and return that money to the U.S. taxpayers,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a prepared statement. “The … 2024 collection efforts were tremendously successful, and we remain committed, in 2025 and beyond, to using all available legal remedies to collect restitution for victims and recover taxpayer dollars improperly taken through fraud, waste, and abuse.”
Civil cases made up more than $12 million of collections, and more than $15 million of collections were for criminal restitution to victims of federal crime.
What happened to the Republic Steel plant in Canton?
The Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency announced a settlement with Republic Steel in 2022 over Clean Air Act allegations. Republic Steel paid $1,051,169.49 as part of a consent decree.
The Republic Steel facility in Canton closed in 2023. Since its closing, neighbors have said air quality has improved, and many were happy to see the plant gone.
How much in total did the U.S. Attorney’s Office collect in 2024?
In the 2024 fiscal year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio collected more than $35 million, according to a news release. In addition to civil and criminal penalties, more than $7.7 million was collected in assets connected to criminal activity.
“More than $50 million in additional assets still pending forfeiture orders,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a prepared statement. “Forfeited assets are deposited into the Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture Fund or the Treasury Asset Forfeiture Fund and used to restore funds to crime victims and for various law enforcement purposes.”
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Republic Steel payment collected by U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2024