Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was ordered by prosecutors to give back a $1,400 coronavirus relief payment he got months ago and other funds sent to him, a recent court filing said.
The funds should be used as restitution to the victims, according to the filing, Fox News reported Wednesday:
Tsarnaev has $3,885.06 in his inmate trust account, with the money received from the government, the Office of Federal Defenders of New York and from private citizens. He spent several thousand on his siblings for “gifts,” “support” and “books” but has barely paid any of the more than $101 million owed to the victims or the $3,000 special assessment as part of his sentencing, the court filing said.
The man, who received a death sentence after the 2013 bombing that left three individuals dead and hundreds more injured, has reportedly paid just $2,202.03 in restitution, according to the outlet.
In October, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments to decide whether to reinstate the bomber’s death sentence, “a verdict rendered in district court but overturned in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit,” Breitbart News reported at the time:
The case surrounds the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing perpetrated by the defendant, now-28-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and his brother Tamerlan, who is dead. Both Tsarnaev and his brother, radicalized Islamic extremists, set off pressure cooker bombs near the finish line of the annual Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts. Three people were killed, including an 8-year-old boy, and more than 260 people were wounded. The pair later killed an officer before Tamerlan was ultimately killed in a shootout with police.
Meanwhile, he is permitted to spend money on clothes, books, and additional items in prison, but what was left over should be used for victim payments, prosecutors stated.
“By Congressional mandate, the United States has a statutory duty to collect restitution owed to crime victims,” prosecutors noted while also citing a lien on Tsarnaev’s belongings that included his trust account, following his conviction.
“The United States submits that the requested relief is reasonable and appropriate in this instance, especially in light of the Defendant prioritizing payments to his siblings over the victims of his crimes,” the filing continued.
However, it was not reported how Tsarnaev received the coronavirus relief payment, the Fox article said.
In January 2021, Tsarnaev sued the federal government for $250,000 over what he claimed was unlawful and discriminatory treatment at the prison where he is serving his life sentence.