The Suffolk County Probation Department is holding over $1 million in restitution funds that should have gone to victims, according to an audit by the New York State Comptroller’s office.
The audit found that probation departments failed to properly track or report offenders who failed to pay court ordered restitution. Forms of restitution include replacement of stolen goods, reimbursement for medical bills or loss of earnings.
In many cases, probation departments held on to funds in cases where victims could not be located. Those funds should have been used to pay other victims who had not received payments from their offenders.
