No. 16-1519October Term 2017Decided May 29, 2018
Lagos v. United States
Sergio Fernando Lagos pled guilty to wire fraud and was ordered to pay restitution for expenses the victim incurred during its own private investigation and bankruptcy proceedings.
Case status
- Current stage
- Decided
- Latest event
- Decision released May 29, 2018
- What it's about
Sergio Fernando Lagos pled guilty to wire fraud and was ordered to pay restitution for expenses the victim incurred during its own private investigation and bankruptcy proceedings. The Supreme Court ruled that the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act only covers expenses related to government investigations and criminal proceedings, not private investigations or civil proceedings.
Question presented
Does the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3663A(b)(4), cover costs that were neither “required nor requested” by the government, including costs incurred for the victim’s own purposes and that were not prompted by any official government action?
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit / Decision released May 29, 2018
- Area
Decided Supreme Court case
Timing
Decided May 29, 2018
The Court released its decision on May 29, 2018 without hearing oral argument.
Related cases
Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary-source trail available.
- Note
- Plain-English explainer. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- May 31, 2026
- Method
- Methodology