--- title: "Monetary Penalties, Restitution, and Criminal Forfeiture" module_id: "MOD-MONETARY-PENALTIES-RESTITUTION-FORFEITURE" url: "https://jason93.com/legal/federal-process/modules/40-sentencing/monetary-penalties-restitution-and-forfeiture/" current_through: "2026-08-26" legal_review: "2026-08-25" links_checked: "2026-10-15" links_available: 8 links_checked_count: 8 license: "CC BY 4.0" --- # Monetary Penalties, Restitution, and Criminal Forfeiture ## Verification boundary This module verifies general nationwide fine, special-assessment, restitution, and criminal-forfeiture structure. It does not establish that a particular offense triggers restitution or forfeiture, identify a victim or property nexus, calculate loss or proceeds, determine ownership, select a payment schedule, or resolve offense-specific statutes, plea terms, limitations, enforcement, remission, or circuit doctrines. ## Fines and special assessments Section 3571 authorizes a fine and generally sets the maximum as the greatest of the offense-specific amount, the alternative gain-or-loss amount when usable, or the class-based amount, subject to the statute's specific lower-fine exception. [18 U.S.C. § 3571](https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/18/3571) In deciding whether, how much, and how to impose a fine, the court must consider § 3553(a) and § 3572(a)'s additional factors; if restitution is ordered, payment to victims takes priority over payment of the fine. [18 U.S.C. § 3572(a), (b)](https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/18/3572) The *Apprendi* rule applies to criminal fines, so a fact necessary to raise the statutory maximum fine must be admitted or found by a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. [*Southern Union Co. v. United States*, 567 U.S. 343, 346, 350–60 (2012)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USREPORTS-567/pdf/USREPORTS-567-343.pdf) Section 3013 requires a separate assessment for every conviction against the United States: for an individual, $5 for an infraction or Class C misdemeanor, $10 for a Class B misdemeanor, $25 for a Class A misdemeanor, and $100 for a felony; for a nonindividual, the corresponding amounts are $25, $50, $125, and $400. [18 U.S.C. § 3013(a)](https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/18/3013) ## Restitution authority and procedure Section 3663 authorizes discretionary restitution for its covered convictions and allows agreed restitution through a plea, while § 3663A mandates restitution for its covered offense categories; the actual statute of conviction and victim definition must be checked before treating restitution as mandatory or available. [18 U.S.C. § 3663(a)](https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/18/3663); [18 U.S.C. § 3663A(a), (c)](https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/18/3663A) For the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act, a victim is a person directly and proximately harmed by the offense of conviction, with the statutory scheme, conspiracy, or pattern expansion when that feature is an offense element. [18 U.S.C. § 3663A(a)(2)](https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/18/3663A) For mandatory restitution governed by § 3664, the court determines the full loss amount without considering the defendant's economic circumstances, then considers resources, projected income, and obligations when setting the manner and schedule of payment. [18 U.S.C. § 3664(f)](https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/18/3664) Restitution disputes are decided by a preponderance: the government bears loss amount, the defendant bears resources and dependent needs, and the court assigns other matters as justice requires. [18 U.S.C. § 3664(e)](https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/18/3664) If victim losses are not ascertainable ten days before sentencing, the government or probation must notify the court and the court must set a final-loss date no later than ninety days after sentencing; a victim later discovering additional losses has sixty days from discovery to seek amendment for good cause. [18 U.S.C. § 3664(d)(5)](https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/18/3664) Missing § 3664(d)(5)'s ninety-day date does not eliminate restitution power when the sentencing court made clear before the deadline that restitution would be ordered and left only the amount open. [*Dolan v. United States*, 560 U.S. 605, 608, 611–12 (2010)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USREPORTS-560/pdf/USREPORTS-560-605.pdf) When multiple defendants contributed to one victim's loss, § 3664(h) permits full liability for each or apportionment reflecting contribution and economic circumstances; the statute does not impose one universal allocation. [18 U.S.C. § 3664(h)](https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/18/3664) A restitution sentence is a final judgment despite § 3664(o)'s enumerated correction, appeal, amendment, adjustment, and resentencing routes; later modification requires one of those authorized routes rather than general equitable power. [18 U.S.C. § 3664(o)](https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/18/3664) The Mandatory Victims Restitution Act's “investigation” and “proceedings” expense language covers government investigations and criminal proceedings, not a victim's private investigation or separate civil or bankruptcy proceeding. [*Lagos v. United States*, 584 U.S. 577, 580–85 (2018)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USREPORTS-584/pdf/USREPORTS-584-577.pdf) ## Criminal forfeiture A criminal forfeiture judgment requires notice in the indictment or information that the government will seek forfeiture as part of the sentence, but the charging paper need not identify the property or the amount of a money judgment. [Fed. R. Crim. P. 32.2(a)](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf) As soon as practical after guilt is established, the court must determine the required property nexus or money judgment under the governing forfeiture statute, using evidence already in the record and any additional relevant and reliable evidence the parties submit. [Fed. R. Crim. P. 32.2(b)(1)](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf) In a jury case, Rule 32.2 gives either party a right—if requested before deliberations—to have the jury decide whether the government proved the required nexus for specific property, even though *Libretti* holds that criminal forfeiture itself is not constitutionally protected by the Sixth Amendment jury right. [Fed. R. Crim. P. 32.2(b)(5)](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf); [*Libretti v. United States*, 516 U.S. 29, 48–49 (1995)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USREPORTS-516/pdf/USREPORTS-516-29.pdf) Unless doing so is impractical, the court must enter a preliminary forfeiture order sufficiently before sentencing to permit revision; the order becomes final as to the defendant at sentencing, must be announced or otherwise made known at sentencing, and must be included in the judgment. [Fed. R. Crim. P. 32.2(b)(2), (4)](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf) Failure to include forfeiture in the judgment may be corrected at any time under Rule 36, but only when the court failed to include an already ordered forfeiture; Rule 36 does not create an unentered substantive forfeiture judgment. [Fed. R. Crim. P. 32.2(b)(4)(B), 36](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf) Third-party interests are adjudicated in Rule 32.2(c)'s ancillary proceeding, where no party has a jury right; the defendant cannot use that proceeding to assert a third party's ownership interest. [Fed. R. Crim. P. 32.2(c)](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf) Section 982 mandates criminal forfeiture only for the offenses and property categories it specifies and incorporates procedural provisions from 21 U.S.C. § 853; an offense-specific nexus must be established rather than inferred from conviction alone. [18 U.S.C. § 982](https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/18/982) ## Application checklist 1. Separate the fine, special assessment, restitution, and forfeiture; each has a different source, trigger, calculation, and amendment route. 2. Identify the statute of conviction, offense date, victim definition, causal boundary, covered losses, forfeiture provision, and property category. 3. Preserve loss evidence, offsets, insurance, resources, dependents, payment schedule, government notice, and every deadline. 4. Request a forfeiture jury determination before deliberations when specific property nexus will be disputed. 5. Compare the oral sentence, preliminary forfeiture order, final order, restitution findings, Statement of Reasons, and written judgment. ## Open items requiring individualized or circuit research - Offense-specific restitution and forfeiture statutes, plea expansions, proximate cause, loss methodologies, substitute assets, money judgments, tracing, and statutes of limitation. - Victim and third-party standing, ownership, notice, ancillary petitions, enforcement, offsets, liens, default, remission, and collection. - Review standards, preservation, harmlessness, delegation of payment schedules, joint liability after later payments, and finality of the actual judgment. ## Authorities - [18 U.S.C. §§ 3013, 3571, 3572](https://jason93.com/legal/federal-process/authorities/AUTH-USC-18-3013-3571-3572.md) · official source: https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/18/3013 - [Southern Union Co. v. United States, 567 U.S. 343 (2012)](https://jason93.com/legal/federal-process/authorities/AUTH-SCOTUS-SOUTHERN-UNION-567-US-343.md) · official source: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USREPORTS-567/pdf/USREPORTS-567-343.pdf - [18 U.S.C. §§ 3663, 3663A, 3664](https://jason93.com/legal/federal-process/authorities/AUTH-USC-18-3663-3663A-3664.md) · official source: https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/18/3664 - [Dolan v. United States, 560 U.S. 605 (2010)](https://jason93.com/legal/federal-process/authorities/AUTH-SCOTUS-DOLAN-560-US-605.md) · official source: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USREPORTS-560/pdf/USREPORTS-560-605.pdf - [Lagos v. United States, 584 U.S. 577 (2018)](https://jason93.com/legal/federal-process/authorities/AUTH-SCOTUS-LAGOS-584-US-577.md) · official source: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USREPORTS-584/pdf/USREPORTS-584-577.pdf - [Fed. R. Crim. P. 32.2, 35, 36](https://jason93.com/legal/federal-process/authorities/AUTH-FRCRIM-P-32-2-35-36.md) · official source: https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf - [Libretti v. United States, 516 U.S. 29 (1995)](https://jason93.com/legal/federal-process/authorities/AUTH-SCOTUS-LIBRETTI-516-US-29.md) · official source: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USREPORTS-516/pdf/USREPORTS-516-29.pdf - [18 U.S.C. § 982](https://jason93.com/legal/federal-process/authorities/AUTH-USC-18-982.md) · official source: https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/18/982