Treasury Offset Program

The Treasury Offset Program (TOP) supports (1) the efforts of U.S. Attorneys to collect money owed to the Federal Government and victims as the result of court-ordered criminal monetary impositions and (2) the addition of criminal debts to the program. The Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA) has proposed that the Treasury Clerk's offices hold disbursements received into TOP for 6 months. Claims filed during this period would be paid from undisbursed TOP funds. Successful claims filed after the 6-month period would be paid with funds provided by OVC. Initially, three districts served as a pilot test by including identified criminal debt for those three districts in TOP. The pilot was successful; now 31 districts incorporate criminal debt information into TOP. By the close of FY 2006, there were 344,775 debts, with an unpaid balance of more than $49 billion. Of these, 263,862 debts, totaling more than $45 billion, were criminal. In FY 2006 and FY 2007, TOP recovered $1,456,830. Once EOUSA develops a memorandum of understanding with the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the TOP program will add nonfederal restitution debts.

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