DOJ victim remission fund · Open

Federal criminal restitution and the Victim Notification System

When a federal court orders a convicted defendant to pay restitution, the Clerk of the U.S. District Court collects the money and passes it on to victims as it arrives, normally pro rata in proportion to each person's loss. If you were a victim in a federal criminal case, you may be eligible for a share without filing anything: the amounts come from the victim impact statement gathered during the case, and restitution covers lost income, property damage, counseling, medical and funeral costs, but never taxes, interest, fines, or pain and suffering. The Justice Department's Victim Notification System is where you keep your address current so payments and case notices can reach you, using the Victim ID and PIN from your notice. The system is free to use and is funded from fines paid by federal offenders, not from anything a victim pays.

There is no claim form for this one. The administrator pays consumers it has already identified, so the useful step is to make sure they can reach you — not to file anything. Anyone offering to file it for you, for a fee, is selling you nothing.