Supreme Court of the United States

Benjamin Robers, Petitioner v. United States.

May 5, 2014572 U.S. 639

Summary

The Supreme Court held that under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act, 'any part of the property... returned' refers only to the money lost by a victim, not to collateral taken by the victim until that collateral is sold and proceeds are received. The sentencing court must therefore reduce the restitution amount by the money the victim received from selling the collateral, not the collateral's value when the victim took title. This ensures the victim is made whole without being required to prove the collateral's value at the time of foreclosure.

Holding

  • Statutory interpretation of 'any part of the property... returned' under 18 U.S.C. § 3663A.. The phrase refers only to the specific property lost by a victim (money), and 'returned' means money received from the sale of collateral, not the value of the collateral when title was taken.

Docket 12–9012.

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