Molasses Fine Adds To $10M Haul By Feds
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Hawaii says it brought in more than $10 million in criminal and civil cases, with $1 million of that coming from the 2013 environmental disaster that dumped molasses into Honolulu Harbor.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Hawaii announced Thursday that it collected more than $10 million from successful criminal and civil actions in fiscal year 2015, which ended Sept. 30.
It鈥檚 a large number, but only makes up a sliver of the $23.1 billion that was collected by the U.S. Department of Justice as a whole during the same period.
A notable recovery came in January when Matson Navigation Co. was forced to pay $1 million for a 2013 molasses spill that dumped 233,000 gallons into Honolulu Harbor.
The spill killed tens of thousands of fish, crabs and other marine life and resulted in a $15 million settlement with the state of Hawaii.
The $1 million collected by the U.S. Attorney’s Office came in the form of a $400,000 and $600,000 in restitution that was paid to the Waikiki Aquarium and Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii.
According to a U.S. Attorney’s Office press release, the largest civil collections came from fines imposed on people and businesses who violated federal rules and cases in which government money lost to fraud was collected.
Money from criminal cases came in the form of restitution that was paid to victims who suffered physical injury or financial losses.
