The Department of Justice's Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) oversees the Department’s Asset Forfeiture Program (Program). One of the Program’s primary goals is to recover assets that may be used to compensate victims when authorized under federal law. Since 2002, MLARS has returned nearly $12 billion to hundreds of thousands of victims with forfeited assets in cases supported by MLARS. MLARS also operates an Anti-Human Trafficking Initiative with a mission to investigate and prosecute targets engaged in sex trafficking, forced labor, human smuggling, and child exploitation offenses, with a specific focus on how these offenders and criminal organizations finance their operations and launder their illicit proceeds. This presentation will focus on the types of cases where the Department can compensate victims with forfeited assets, along with information for victim advocates who are directly assisting victims of federal crimes. The presentation will address different categories of victims and schemes, with a focus on human trafficking, along with discussing the documentation and information that will need to be submitted to the Department.
Trigger Warning: This presentation contains information (written, spoken, or visual) that may be triggering or (re)traumatizing to attendees.
Jane Lee is a Senior Attorney Advisor in the U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section’s (MLARS), Program Management and Training Unit. Jane works with United States Attorneys’ Offices, law enforcement, and agencies to compensate victims. Jane is a graduate of University of California, San Diego and Tulane Law School. Jane is licensed to practice in California and Washington, D.C.