Victims of Crime Act Fund

Victims of Crime Act Fund is sponsored by Office of the Texas Governor (via U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime). These funds provide services to victims of crime, responding to their emotional and physical needs, assisting them in stabilizing their lives, guiding them through the criminal justice system, and providing them with safety and security.

Crime Victims Fund | Office for Victims of Crime The Crime Victims Fund (the Fund) was established by the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) of 1984. The Fund is financed by fines and penalties from convictions in federal cases, not from tax dollars. As of July 2026, the Fund balance is over $3.

7 billion and includes deposits (also known as receipts) from federal criminal fines, forfeited bail bonds, penalties, and special assessments collected by U.S. Attorneys' Offices, federal courts, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Certain deposits into the Fund from FY 2025 and prior years (e.g., from the British American Tobacco (BAT) and Binance criminal resolutions) may be subject to further review and, in some instances, legal dispute.

This may affect the availability of such deposits, and whether such deposits ultimately remain in the Fund or are moved (in whole or part) to other Treasury accounts administered by the Department (e.g., the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund). On July 22, 2021, the VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act of 2021 in an effort to stabilize the Fund.

The VOCA Fix requires any funds that would otherwise be deposited in the general fund of the U.S. Treasury collected pursuant to federal deferred prosecution and non-prosecution agreements to go into the Crime Victims Fund. As of April 30, 2026, the total amounts received from deferred prosecution and non-prosecution agreements were approximately $2. 6 billion.

Federal revenues deposited into the Fund also come from gifts, donations, and bequests by private parties, as provided by an amendment to VOCA through the USA PATRIOT Act in 2001 that went into effect in 2002. Since 2002, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been deposited into the Fund through this provision. When the Fund was authorized in 1984, a cap was placed on how much could be deposited into it for the first 8 years.

During this time, the annual cap varied from $100 million to $150 million. The lifting of the cap in 1993 allowed for the deposit of all criminal fines, special assessments, and forfeited bail bonds to support crime victim program activities. For the first 15 years of the Fund's existence, the total deposits for each fiscal year were distributed the following year to support services to crime victims.

Starting in Fiscal Year (FY) 2000, in response to large fluctuations in deposits, Congress placed a cap on funds available for distribution (also known as obligations). These annual caps were intended to maintain the Fund as a stable source of support for future victim services. From FY 2000 to 2018, the amount of the annual cap varied from $500 million to more than $4 billion.

The cap was set at $1. 353 billion in FY 2024 and $1. 9 billion and $1.

95 billion in FY 2025 and FY 2026, respectively. The cap has a direct impact on the allocation process. State victim assistance formula grant allocations fluctuate similarly to the obligation cap.

Despite fluctuating allocations, the number of subgrants awarded and subgrantee organizations funded remained relatively constant as did the number of victims served. In FY 2025, subgrantees served 6. 8 million victims, including new and returning individuals.

Federal, state, and Tribal victim assistance programs receive formula grants , discretionary grants , and set-asides according to a carefully established annual allocation process outlined below. The VOCA Victim Assistance Formula Grant and Victim Compensation Formula Grant programs receive the largest percentage of funding from the CVF each year.

The amounts awarded each year are shown in the most recent Crime Victims Fund allocation charts .