Judge Orders Larry Nasser to Turn Prison Money Over to His Victims
Court papers noted hat the prison system has collected $100 a year in restitution from Nassar — or $8.33 a month — over a 3½-year period in which he spent more than $10,000 on himself.
U.S. District Court Judge Janet T. Neff has ordered Larry Nassar to turn over money in his prison account to his victims, rejecting his argument that he should be allowed to keep it because he has followed Bureau of Prisons’ policy in paying less than 1 percent of the restitution he owes, reports the Washington Post. Prosecutors recently filed court papers to seize about $2,000 in Nassar’s Bureau of Prisons account, noting that the prison system has collected $100 a year in restitution — or $8.33 a month — over a 3½-year period in which he spent more than $10,000 on himself.
Neff said while it may be true Nassar has followed the Bureau of Prisons’ rules and paid the minimum, he still owes his victims much more, and signed a court order forcing the agency to turn over the money in his account — $2,041.57 as of late last month. Nassar owes more than $60,000 in court judgments to various victims. Critics say the Bureau of Prisons banking system fails to hold convicted criminals accountable to their victims, and poses security risks by letting inmates shelter unlimited amounts of money in their accounts. About two dozen inmates have prison account balances of more than $100,000 each. The total value of federal prisoner accounts has grown by $50 million already this year to more than $140 million, largely due to government stimulus checks issued to millions of Americans during the coronavirus pandemic. Court filings say he also has not paid any of the $57,488.52 he was ordered to give five of his victims in the federal child pornography case.