Federal guidance sets an order for distributing forfeited assets: valid owners, lienholders, federal financial regulatory agencies and victims, in that order, through remission or restoration, according to the Justice Department’s Justice Manual. A separate rule, 28 CFR 9.8, addresses remission for victims without a present ownership interest in forfeited property and applies only when the relevant forfeiture statute authorizes remission or restoration to victims.
Wesley Marley of Fuquay-Varina received $575,000 in late October after losing more than $753,000 in a cryptocurrency scam, WRAL reported. Marley reported the fraud to the FBI in 2025. A federal agent had earlier told him he might recover $630,000, according to WRAL’s report.
The payment left Marley with questions about how the amount was calculated. He said he had been told that $64,000 was withheld because some victims did not receive a specified percentage, but he did not understand the explanation. The FBI declined to comment on its prorated return policy when WRAL asked, the station reported.
A Justice Department agent corresponding with Marley cited the Privacy Act of 1974 when declining to say how many other victims were connected to the online wallet investigators tracked, according to WRAL. Marley said he was grateful to recover most of his money. He had previously said that, without most of the funds, he would have needed to work at least five more years before retirement, and he urged people to be cautious of investment offers that seem too good to be true, WRAL reported.
