Surge In Financial Recoveries Reported By Ag's Office

Attorney General Spitzer said today that financial recoveries by his office increased 124 percent in 2003, due in large part to settlements of Wall Street investigations.

The Attorney General's office recovered a record $786 million in non-tobacco funds, compared to $352 million last year. This amount includes funds recovered for the state, as well as restitution obtained on behalf of individual residents.

"As a result of the office's activities, more than half a billion dollars will be returned to individual New Yorkers, and another $250 million will go to the state's coffers, which will help reduce the tax burden on state residents and businesses," Spitzer said.

Investigations and lawsuits initiated by the Attorney General's office resulted in the settlements and awards of over $535 million in restitution to the general public, including $418 million from securities cases. Another $22 million was recovered through labor cases, $18 million from consumer cases and $48 million in a variety of actions brought by the agency's 12 regional offices.

The $250 million going to state coffers includes $207 million in judgments, $25 million in fees, $11 million in penalties and $7 million in other payments.

These totals do not include continuing payments from settlements in prior years. Most notably, New York State and its local governments will continue to reap substantial benefits from the 1998 tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). MSA revenues in 2003 included $489 million paid to New York State and $467 million paid to local governments, for a total of $956 million.

Total recoveries, including tobacco revenues, were $1.74 billion in 2003.

"While I am very proud of the record level of recoveries this year, it is important to note that most lawsuits handled by the Attorney General's office are defensive cases," Spitzer said. "Our work in defending the state's interests also saves hundreds of millions of dollars each year."

The total budget for the Department of Law is about $200 million per year, of which about $112 million is supported by taxpayer funds. In 2003, the office generated more than three times more in net revenue than it cost to operate.

The comparison of the 2002 and 2003 financial recovery totals is as follows:

Note: Some of the above figures include amounts ordered to be paid. Portions of those amounts may be paid in future years, while other amounts may not be collectible.