How to Prepare for a Federal Restitution Hearing
By Joseph De Gregorio, Sentencing Advocacy Group
Updated September 19, 2026
A proposed restitution amount deserves its own review. Preparing for sentencing means understanding both the prison exposure and the financial obligations the court may impose.
How do you prepare for a federal restitution hearing?
Start with the proposed loss figures, the records supporting them, and the applicable restitution law. Work with counsel to identify disputes, organize financial records, and present timely, supported objections.
My Bloomberg Law article, Prepping for Fraud Payback Hearings Helps Clients Save Millions, focuses on preparation for the financial consequences of sentencing. The practical starting point is a documented review, not an assumed percentage saving.
Is restitution the same as the guidelines loss calculation?
No. Ask counsel to identify the legal basis for restitution and evaluate it separately from the calculation used for the sentencing guidelines. Do not assume a negotiated guidelines figure settles every restitution issue. My Bloomberg Tax article on tax fraud sentencing raises this distinction. Whether a particular restitution statute applies depends on the case.
Which financial records should you organize?
The proposed restitution schedule and supporting loss records.
The plea agreement, PSR, and relevant court filings.
Records of transactions, repayments, returned property, and claimed losses.
Accurate information about assets, income, liabilities, and dependent needs.
A list of disputed entries and the documents supporting each question.
Preserve the underlying records. Counsel should determine their legal significance and whether an accountant or other specialist is needed. A payment or recovery should not be assumed to produce an automatic offset.
Who decides a disputed restitution amount?
The court resolves disputes under 18 U.S.C. § 3664(e). That provision assigns the government the burden of demonstrating the victim’s loss caused by the offense; defendants bear the burden concerning their financial resources and dependents’ financial needs.
Can inability to pay eliminate restitution?
Do not assume it can. Section 3664 distinguishes the amount of restitution from the payment schedule. Financial circumstances matter to the schedule, while subsection (f)(1)(A) directs full restitution for losses determined by the court without considering the defendant’s economic circumstances. Counsel must determine the governing statute, including whether § 3663A applies.
What should you ask counsel before sentencing?
Which statute authorizes restitution in my case?
Which losses are supported, and which remain disputed?
What deadlines and procedures apply to objections?
What financial information must be submitted?
How should payments and claimed recoveries be documented?
Our PSR interview guide explains preparation for the report. The white collar sentencing guide places that work within the broader sentencing presentation.
Discuss your preparation with Joseph
Joseph De Gregorio has been retained in more than 500 federal cases and is a recurring Bloomberg Law contributor. SAG works alongside defense counsel to organize preparation and supporting records. Call 646-588-8182. Explore Joseph’s publications and background.
General educational information. Individual legal questions should be reviewed with defense counsel.Federal restitution hearings are often treated like an afterthought. That is a mistake.
By the time many defendants reach this stage, the government’s number is already framed as fixed, reasonable, and inevitable. In reality, that number can often be challenged — but only if preparation begins early enough and the record is built correctly.
A restitution hearing is not just about what is owed. It is about what can actually be proven, what assumptions are being accepted without scrutiny, and whether anyone has done the work to challenge the government’s calculation before it becomes final.
Why restitution hearings matter more than most defendants realize
Most defendants assume restitution is a fixed number that cannot be meaningfully challenged.
In reality, restitution is often based on assumptions, estimates, and interpretations that can be questioned — but only if someone is actively examining how that number was constructed.
By the time a restitution hearing is scheduled, the government’s position has usually been framed as the default. Without preparation, that number becomes the baseline the court works from.
What most attorneys miss
Many attorneys focus heavily on trial strategy, plea negotiations, and sentencing advocacy — but restitution often becomes a secondary issue.
That gap creates risk.
Restitution calculations can include:
Loss assumptions that were never tested
Financial interpretations that favor the government
Figures that were accepted earlier in the case without challenge
If those elements are not reviewed early, they become embedded in the record.
When preparation should begin
Preparation for a restitution hearing does not start when the hearing is scheduled.
It starts:
When financial evidence is first introduced
When loss figures are discussed
When assumptions begin to take shape in the case narrative
Waiting until the final stage limits what can realistically be changed.
What should be challenged before the hearing
Effective preparation often involves reviewing:
How the loss amount was calculated
Whether assumptions were verified
What supporting documentation exists
Whether alternative interpretations were considered
The earlier these issues are addressed, the more flexibility exists to influence the outcome.
Why silence becomes acceptance
In federal cases, what goes unchallenged is often treated as agreed upon.
If a number is presented and not meaningfully contested, it becomes part of the foundation the court relies on.
That is why timing matters. Once a position is established in the record, changing it becomes significantly more difficult.
For strategic advisory on federal sentencing, restitution, and post-sentencing outcomes…
Final thought
A restitution hearing is not just a procedural step. It is one of the last opportunities to influence a financial outcome that can follow a defendant long after sentencing.
The difference is rarely made at the hearing itself.
It is made in the preparation leading up to it.
For strategic advisory on federal sentencing, restitution, and post-sentencing outcomes, the difference is not made at the hearing - it’s made in the preparation leading up to it. Explore the Sentencing Advocacy Group platform.
