Millions of dollars in court-ordered restitution collected by prosecutors for crime victims have been misappropriated to pay $10,000 to the Sheraton Hotel, $5,079 to US Air and nearly $2,000 to Prosecutor Dan Kasaris.  Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty purchased a $2,060 laptop and pocketed $894 in cash, while other entities (including "OhioWho" and "KatKen") received tens of thousands of dollars between 2011 and 2013, according to a recently obtained "Cash Account Register" from the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office.

The diversion of restitution to individuals or entities not listed as "victims" in restitution orders violates court orders and is unlawful, because restitution orders name specific victims and exact amount of money required to compensate them for losses resulting from criminal activities.  Since 2009, over 500 Northeast Ohioans have been ordered by state and federal courts to pay restitution to banks in mortgage fraud cases prosecuted by a Federal-State Mortgage Fraud Task Force.  This Task Force obtained federal funding (Bureau of Justice Assistance Grant # 2009-SC-B9-0080) based on false representations that over $15 million in restitution was collected and returned to crime victims, but no "victim" has ever received a penny of restitution in any case prosecuted by the Task Force.

To view the check registry, or false statements by prosecutors when seeking federal grant monies, kindly visit the www.FreeTonyViola.com Evidence Locker.  To confirm the authenticity of these documents, please contact Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Barbara Marburger at (216) 443-7838.  Questions concerning the Federal-State Mortgage Fraud Task Force should be directed to Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Bennett in Cleveland at (216) 622-3878.