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Acknowledgments

This victim/witness coordinator's guide, Providing Services to Victims of Fraud: Resources for Victim/Witness Coordinators, became a reality through the dedication and hard work of one author and many contributors. Our deepest gratitude goes to Ellen Alexander, nationally recognized victims' advocate, who was willing to take on the responsibility of writing major portions of the guide and compiling all the information. For the identification and drafting of portions of earlier versions of the guide, special thanks go to PERF Research Specialists Molly McConville and Ryan Turner. Able editing and follow-up research were performed by Peter Ohlhausen of Ohlhausen Research, Inc.

We also want to thank several people who helped us locate relevant information so that the guide would be as comprehensive and inclusive as possible: Debbie Deem, currently victim/witness coordinator for the United States Attorney's Office in Los Angeles (and formerly in San Francisco); Lisa Nerenberg of the Goldstein Institute on Aging in San Francisco; Hazel Heckers of the Denver Victims Service Center; and Jodi Bernstein of the Federal Trade Commission.

Especially important sections of the guide address Department of Justice policy on the separate remedies of restitution and asset forfeiture. Federal restitution policy became a central issue for this project, and we are indebted to Julie Breslow and Kristen Tolvstad of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys for helping us set forth an accurate description of the policy in the clearest and simplest terms possible. Regarding forfeiture policy, we are grateful for the assistance provided by Nancy Rider and Karen Vogel of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, Department of Justice, and for the earlier assistance of Larry Fann, formerly with the FBI Asset Forfeiture Unit, in drafting sample remission forms for fraud victims.

A very central project activity was the review and oversight of materials by the Justice Department ad hoc working group. Members of the group who have participated in this project for the past two years include the following:

Linda Akwara
Community Outreach/Victim Witness Unit
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Washington, DC

Sara Aravanis
Executive Director
National Association of State Units on Aging
Washington, DC

Lisa Curtis
Director of Consumer Services
Office of the District Attorney
Denver, Colorado

Debbie Deem
Victim/Witness Coordinator
Office of the U.S. Attorney
Central District of California
Los Angeles, California

Donna Enos
Acting Assistant Director
LECC/Victim Witness Staff
Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys
Department of Justice
Washington, DC

Neil Gallagher
Deputy Assistant Director
Criminal Investigation Division

Federal Bureau of Investigation
Washington, DC
Susan Grant
Executive Director
Alliance Against Fraud and Telemarketing
Washington, DC

Kim Lesnak
Assistant Director, LECC/Victim-Witness Staff
Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys
Department of Justice
Washington, DC

Marie O'Rourke
Litigation Attorney
Fraud Section, Criminal Division
Department of Justice
Washington, DC

Lynne Solien
Associate Director, Legal Programs
Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys
Department of Justice
Washington, DC

Karen Spinks
Victim-Witness Coordinator
Office of the U.S. Attorney
Eastern District of Virginia
Alexandria, VA

Hon. Donald Stern
United States Attorney
District of Massachusetts
Boston, MA

Dr. Richard Titus
National Institute of Justice
Washington, DC

Kristen Tolvstad
Financial Litigation Staff
Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys
Department of Justice
Washington, DC

Barbara Wallace
Chief, Community Outreach/Victim-Witness Unit
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Washington, DC

Robert Wells
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
Glynco, GA

Hon. Michael Yamaguchi
United States Attorney
Northern District of California
San Francisco, CA
We want to express our deep appreciation to these members of the working group, who reviewed the initial outline and plans for the guide and offered valuable suggestions for items that should be included and policy issues that needed to be addressed.

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