U.S. Attorney’s Office Reports More Than $3.2M in Criminal and Civil Collections for April-June

CLEVELAND – The U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) has announced that criminal and civil collections for the Northern District of Ohio during the months of April, May, and June totaled $3,246,089.50. As the chief law enforcement officer for the 40 northern counties in Ohio, U.S. Attorney David M. Toepfer is responsible for enforcing collections resulting from settlements, restitution paid to crime victims, or money owed to the U.S. Government. In criminal division cases, monetary penalties included as part of a defendant’s judgment are enforced soon after sentencing and are not suspended due to a defendant’s incarceration. In civil division matters, the amounts collected are often the results of monetary settlements. The months of April, May, and June represent the third quarter (Q3) of the USAO’s Fiscal Year 2026 which runs Oct. 1, 2025, through Sept. 31, 2026. During Q3, the Criminal Division collected $3,081,323.23 and the Civil Division collected $164,766.27. Notable cases include: U.S. v. Mario Salwan – Mario Salwan, 55, a Chagrin Falls businessman, was sentenced to probation in 2024 on one count of Attempted Tax Evasion. Salwan was ordered to pay $511,396.35 in restitution, plus all applicable interest and penalties, to the Internal Revenue Service; this restitution has now been paid in full. U.S. v. Yaser Najjar – Yaser Najjar, 64, of Westlake, Ohio, was sentenced in 2022 on four counts of attempt to evade and defeat income tax. Najjar was ordered to pay over $503,000 in restitution to the IRS and a $100,000 fine, paid to the department’s Crime Victims Fund. The restitution and fine have now been paid in full.