United States v. Hankins, No. 15-30345 (9th Cir. 2017)
Annotate this CasePursuant to the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act of 1996 (MVRA), a defendant may discharge a restitution judgment based on a private settlement between the victim and the defendant. Restitution is a criminal sentence that cannot be extinguished by a victim’s disclaimer of benefits. A district court may redirect restitution payments to the federal Crime Victims Fund when a victim later disclaims restitution without making a direct assignment to the Fund. The statute provides leeway for the court to fashion this practical solution. In this case, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of plaintiff's motion seeking full satisfaction of a restitution judgment entered after conviction for bank fraud and submitting a false loan application.
Court Description: Criminal Law. The panel affirmed the district court’s denial of Anne Marie Hankins’s motion seeking full satisfaction of the restitution judgment entered following her conviction for bank fraud and submitting a false loan application. The panel held that a defendant may not discharge a restitution judgment based on a private settlement between the victim and the defendant; and that the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act of 1996 permits a district court to redirect restitution payments to the Crime Victims Fund, when a victim later disclaims restitution without making a direct assignment to the Fund.
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