No, you don’t get money simply for pressing charges. A criminal case is the government’s case against the offender, and prosecution itself doesn’t pay the victim anything. But a crime can trigger four separate paths to compensation: court-ordered restitution inside the criminal case, your state’s victim compensation fund, a civil lawsuit you file yourself, and insurance claims under policies you or the offender already carry. Each has its own rules, limits, and timelines, and none of them pays quickly or automatically.
You Don’t Actually Press Charges
The phrase is a holdover from older usage. The prosecutor, a district attorney or U.S. attorney, decides whether to file criminal charges based on the evidence, the severity of the offense, and the public interest. You can report the crime, cooperate with investigators, and testify, but the charging decision belongs to the government. A prosecutor can go forward even if you ask them not to, and decline to prosecute even if you want them to.
This matters for the money question. Because the criminal case is the government’s, any payment you receive comes through a specific legal mechanism attached to that case or standing apart from it — not from the act of reporting.
Restitution Ordered in the Criminal Case
Restitution is the most direct way victims get paid through the criminal process. When a court orders it, the convicted offender has to reimburse you for financial losses caused by the crime. Federal law makes restitution mandatory for crimes of violence, property offenses, and fraud under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3663A – Mandatory Restitution to Victims of Certain Crimes Most states have their own restitution statutes covering a similar range of offenses.
Covered losses include medical and rehabilitation expenses, lost income, property replacement costs, funeral expenses, and even child care or transportation tied to participating in the prosecution.2Department of Justice. Restitution Process The court calculates the amount from documentation you provide: medical bills, repair estimates, pay stubs showing missed work.
What Restitution Won’t Pay For
Restitution is limited to quantifiable economic losses. Pain and suffering, emotional distress, and other non-economic harm are explicitly not eligible in federal court.2Department of Justice. Restitution Process Private attorney fees, taxes, and interest on losses are excluded too. If what you’ve suffered doesn’t come with a receipt, restitution won’t cover it.
The Collection Reality
A restitution order on paper and money in your account are two very different things. Many offenders are incarcerated, unemployed, or have few assets. Between 2014 and 2016, federal courts ordered roughly $33.9 billion in restitution, but only about $2.95 billion was actually collected — a collection rate around nine percent. The obligation doesn’t expire, and inability to pay doesn’t cancel the debt, but restitution is often paid in small installments over years, if at all.
Compliance automatically becomes a condition of probation or supervised release.2Department of Justice. Restitution Process Failure to pay can result in extended supervision, contempt, or revoked parole.3Office for Victims of Crime. Chapter 15 Restitution For incarcerated offenders, the Bureau of Prisons applies a portion of prison wages toward the obligation. These tools only work when the system actively pursues the offender, which doesn’t always happen.
State Victim Compensation Funds
Every state runs a victim compensation program that pays certain expenses regardless of whether the offender is caught, charged, or convicted. The programs are funded primarily through fines and penalties collected from people convicted of federal crimes, channeled through the Crime Victims Fund established by the Victims of Crime Act of 1984.4Federal Register. Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Victim Compensation Grant Program
Benefits typically cover medical and dental care, mental health counseling, lost wages, and funeral costs. Each state sets its own maximum award, and amounts vary significantly. Property damage is largely excluded under federal VOCA guidelines, with narrow exceptions for property needed for victim safety or clothing and bedding held as evidence.4Federal Register. Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Victim Compensation Grant Program
Who Qualifies
You generally need to report the crime to law enforcement and cooperate with the investigation. Federal rules now recognize exceptions when cooperation would be impaired by the victim’s age, physical condition, psychological state, or safety concerns.4Federal Register. Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Victim Compensation Grant Program Most programs set an application deadline, though the time frame varies by state. For sexual assault cases involving delayed forensic kit testing, federal rules require states to waive the deadline entirely.
One restriction catches people off guard: you’re ineligible if the compensation would unjustly benefit the offender, such as when the offender and victim share finances. Offenders and their accomplices are also barred from collecting.
Filing a Civil Lawsuit
A civil lawsuit is the only path to full compensation for every kind of harm, including the non-economic damages restitution and victim compensation funds won’t touch. You file against the person who harmed you, or a responsible third party, and the case is entirely separate from the criminal prosecution. You hire your own attorney or represent yourself; the government doesn’t bring this case for you.
The burden of proof is lower in civil court than in criminal court. A criminal conviction requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt. A civil claim requires only a preponderance of the evidence, meaning your version is more likely true than not. The same evidence can fall short of criminal conviction and still win a civil judgment.
What You Can Recover
Civil claims allow compensatory damages for economic losses (medical bills, lost income, property damage) and non-economic harm (pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life). In cases involving especially reckless or intentional conduct, a court may also award punitive damages to punish the defendant and deter similar behavior. Crimes almost always involve intentional conduct, so punitive damage claims are common when civil suits follow criminal acts.
How a Conviction Strengthens the Civil Case
If the offender is convicted, that conviction can dramatically strengthen your civil claim. Under the doctrine of issue preclusion, a criminal conviction can prevent the defendant from re-litigating facts already decided in the criminal case. Because the criminal standard of proof is higher than the civil standard, any fact proven beyond a reasonable doubt is effectively settled for civil purposes. In practice, the defendant often can’t credibly deny doing what they were convicted of, leaving the civil case focused on how much they owe.
Fees and Deadlines
Many personal injury attorneys work on contingency, collecting a percentage of your recovery rather than billing by the hour. The standard contingency fee is roughly one-third, though the percentage may be lower if the case settles early and higher if it goes to trial or appeal. Court filing fees vary by jurisdiction and the amount in dispute.
Civil statutes of limitations for personal injury claims generally run from one to six years depending on the state. Waiting for the criminal case to finish can eat into that window. Some states pause the civil deadline during criminal proceedings; many do not. Talk to an attorney about the deadline early, even before the criminal case resolves.
Insurance Claims
Insurance is often the fastest and most reliable source of compensation after a crime, especially when the offender has no money. Homeowners and renters policies typically cover stolen or damaged property, subject to your deductible and limits. Health insurance covers medical treatment regardless of how the injury happened. Auto insurance applies after vehicular crimes like hit-and-runs or drunk driving collisions.
Uninsured motorist coverage is particularly valuable when the at-fault driver carries no insurance. A majority of states require it. Underinsured motorist coverage fills the gap when the offender’s policy limits fall short of your actual losses.
After your insurer pays, the company may pursue subrogation, stepping into your position to recover from the offender what it paid you. If both you and your insurer are seeking money from the same person, those claims can interact in ways that affect how much you keep. Review your policy and talk to your insurer before settling directly with the offender; doing so could jeopardize the insurer’s right to recover and create complications with your own coverage.
Before You Spend It: Taxes and Benefits
Two things can shrink or disrupt a payout after it arrives.
On taxes: damages for personal physical injuries or physical sickness are excluded from gross income, whether paid by settlement or judgment.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 104 – Compensation for Injuries or Sickness That exclusion covers compensatory damages like medical expenses and lost wages when they stem from a physical injury. Punitive damages are taxable in almost every case, with a narrow exception for wrongful death claims in states whose law provides only for punitive damages in such actions.6Internal Revenue Service. Tax Implications of Settlements and Judgments Damages for emotional distress without a physical injury are also taxable, except to the extent they reimburse actual medical costs for treating that distress. Court-ordered restitution that reimburses losses you already paid out of pocket generally isn’t treated as new income. Larger civil settlements with multiple damage categories can get complicated, and a tax professional can sort out which portions are taxable before you spend anything.
On government benefits: if you receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Medicaid, a sudden influx of compensation can push you past the resource limits that keep you eligible. Payments from a state victim compensation fund are excluded from SSI resource calculations for nine months after receipt; after that window, any unspent funds count. Interest earned on those payments is not excluded at any point.7Social Security Administration. Victims Compensation Payments Civil lawsuit settlements and restitution payments don’t automatically get the same protection, and a large lump sum could disqualify you from means-tested benefits. Some recipients use special needs trusts to preserve eligibility while still benefiting from the funds, but setting one up requires legal guidance before the money arrives in your account.