Private Counsel Program

May 24, 2018
• Authorization 

• Benefits to Agency

• Debt Assignment to Private Counsel

• Judicial District Participation 

• Collections

• Questions

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• Federal Debt Recovery Act (FDRA) of 1986 authorized pilot 

program for Attorney General to retain at least 4 Private 

Counsels for a 3-year period to collect delinquent federal debts

• Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 expanded Attorney 

General’s authority to retain Private Counsel in as many USAO 

districts as deemed appropriate
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Private Counsel Program District

Potential District

Non-Participating District

33 Private Counsel Contracts in *18 

Districts

USAO District Private Counsel

CAC 5

CAN 1

CT 1

DC 0

FLM 2

FLS 3

ILN 1

MIE 2

NJ 2

NYE 2

NYN 3

NYW 1

PAE 1

PAM 1

PAW 3

PR 1

SC 1

TXN 1

TXS 2
• Support the Agency’s mission to resolve the debt balances 

by primarily securing the government’s interest through 

obtaining a judgment and ultimately collecting the debt or 

resolving the matter satisfactorily.

• PC furnishes all legal services, including representation in 

negotiation, compromise, settlement, and litigation, to collect 

delinquent debts owed the United States

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• As of 2018, participating USAOs assigned over 32,000 debts 

to Private Counsel

• Debt Assignments to Private Counsel are made up of federal 

non-tax civil debt, both secured and unsecured. 

• Secured debt mainly consists of foreclosures which take a 

significant amount of time to complete. Private Counsel are 

compensated for secured debt collections and associated 

activities on a fixed fee basis. 

• Unsecured debt mainly consists of Department of Education 

student loans with principal balances less than $100K. Private 

Counsel are compensated for unsecured debt collection on a 

contingency fee basis.

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89%

4%3% 4%

Debt Count Assigned by Agency

Education Agriculture HHS Other

49%

25%

12%

14%

Debt Assigned by Current Balance

Education Agriculture HHS Other

Agency Description Count

Education 29,398

Agriculture 1,260

HHS 1,032

Other 1,187

Total 32,877
• In FY 2017, Private Counsel were referred 1,400 cases 

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64%

24%

9%

3%

Case Referrals

Education Treasury Agriculture Other
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• In October 2016, DOJ and Treasury’s Bureau of Fiscal Service 

(BFS) began a pilot program to :

• Test the feasibility of having DOJ’s Nationwide Central Intake Facility (NCIF) assist 

BFS with completing packages to refer to DOJ for litigation or enforced collection;

• Evaluate the DOJ policy of requiring the identification of assets before referral to 

DOJ;

• Examine the criteria that should be used for cases referred to the PC; and,

• Support BFS’ mission to resolve debt balances by primarily securing the 

government’s interest through obtaining a judgment and collecting the debt.
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• Of the 297 pilot cases* assigned to Private Counsel:

• 85 complaints have filed;

• 46 judgments have been entered;

• 25 liens have been obtained;

• Over $80,000 in payments have been received;

• 13 payment plans have been established for debts totaling over $180,000.

*data as of May 2018
• Private Counsel collected over $125 Million in the last 5 years 

for Federal Agencies

• Private Counsel collected $22 million in delinquent debt on 

behalf of Federal Agencies in FY 2017

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$0

$2,000,000

$4,000,000

$6,000,000

$8,000,000

$10,000,000

$12,000,000

$14,000,000

Education HHS HUD Other

Collections
Questions

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