RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – The U.S. Department of Justice gave instructions on how to work around its own strict rules for spending money seized in investigations to Virginia’s top prosecutor, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.
Law enforcement agencies participating in investigations with federal counterparts can share proceeds of seized assets under Equitable Sharing programs run by the Justice and Treasury departments. Both agencies have clear rules that generally prohibit the use of such money for salaries and pay raises.
However, the Justice Department suggested a workaround in a PowerPoint presentation obtained from the office of Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring after the AP raised questions about significant pay raises for several of Herring’s employees at a time when state workers’ pay was stagnant elsewhere. Some staff attorneys’ salaries rose as much as $15,000 in a year – one had a 30-percent increase.
The presentation advises that instead of using the seized funds money to fund raises, agencies can use it to cover routine costs – such as maintaining vehicle fleets – and then redirect money already budgeted for maintenance into salaries.
The PowerPoint says redirecting money in that manner is acceptable “so long as your overall budget does not decrease.”