MOTION AND ORDER TO ASSIGN AND DISBURSE RESTITUTION

MORRISON C. ENGLAND, JR., District Judge.

The United States of America, by counsel, respectfully requests that the Court order the Clerk of the United States District Court to assign restitution and disburse half of the restitution funds already collected in this case to victim Mary Bowland, for the reasons set forth below.

On July 22, 1999, the Court entered an Amended Judgment, which ordered the defendant to pay restitution in the amount of $5,000 to "Raymond & Mary Bowland." Ex. 1 at 4. Undersigned counsel is informed that the Clerk of the Court's registry currently holds approximately $4,500 in restitution collected from the defendant in this case prior to the release of the lien on August 23, 2019. Docket 70.

Ms. Mary Bowland recently provided documentation evidencing that Mr. Raymond Bowland passed away in 2004. This documentation is being provided to the Court for in camera review. Ms. Mary Bowland represented to undersigned counsel that she would never have been able to deposit or cash a check made out to "Raymond & Mary Bowland," since she and Mr. Raymond Bowland maintained separate bank accounts throughout their marriage. Ms. Mary Bowland was unable to locate any documents relating to Mr. Bowland's estate, and mentioned that Mr. Bowland had an adult son from a previous marriage. The Victim Witness Unit of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California reviewed victim records, and was unable to locate current contact information for the adult son.

18 U.S.C. § 3663(a)(2) provides: "In the case of a victim who is under 18 years of age, incompetent, incapacitated, or deceased, the legal guardian of the victim or representative of the victim's estate, another family member, or any other person appointed as suitable by the court, may assume the victim's rights under this section, but in no event shall the defendant be named as such representative or guardian."

In light of Mr. Raymond Bowland's death and the inability for Ms. Mary Bowland to deposit a check payable to herself and her deceased husband, and pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3663(a)(2), the government requests that the Court bifurcate the restitution proceeds such that fifty percent of the restitution proceeds available, and fifty percent of future restitution proceeds, are due immediately to Ms. Mary Bowland and fifty percent of the restitution proceeds available, and fifty percent of future restitution proceeds, are due to the representative of Mr. Raymond Bowland's estate (once the estate representative is identified to the Court).

ORDER

This matter is before the Court on the government's motion requesting that the Clerk of the Court assign restitution and be directed to pay half of the restitution currently in the Clerk's registry to victim Mary Bowland.

The Court, having considered the motion of the United States, now finds that the motion should be, and hereby is, GRANTED.

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the financial unit for the U.S. District Court Clerk's Office for the Eastern District of California is directed to release fifty percent of the restitution proceeds available, and fifty percent of future restitution proceeds, in the registry for the above-entitled case to Mary Bowland. The financial unit is directed to allocate the remaining fifty percent of the restitution available, and fifty percent of future restitution proceeds, to the representative of Raymond Bowland's estate, once the representative is identified through further submissions to the Court.

IT IS SO ORDERED.