Judge approves Boston bomber COVID stimulus going toward $101m restitution

A U.S. District Court judge will allow federal prosecutors to use Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's $1,400 COVID stimulus payment and other various amounts in his account to pay his victims more than $101 million in criminal restitution, which he has reportedly not paid.

Tsarnaev, who is currently living at a maximum security prison in Florence, Colorado, has received more than $21,000 during his time as a federal inmate, Fox News reported. He was ordered to pay $101,126,627 in criminal restitution as well as an additional $3,000 fee. He has paid just over $2,200 toward the fee but not to the victims, as federal statutes dictate the fee is paid first.

The prosecutors' motion states that Tsarnaev, "although not making payments to his victims, has made payments to other third-parties." His largest payment went "to his siblings for items such as ‘gifts,’ 'support,' and 'books.' These payments totaled $2,000." Fox reported that Tsarnaev currently has about $3,885 in his account. He is allowed to purchase clothing, books and items in prison, but prosecutors state the rest of his money should go to his victims.

A judge granted the prosecution's motion and instructed the Bureau of Prisons to confiscate the money in Tsarnaev's account, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

Tsarnaev was found guilty in 2015 of 30 charges related to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three spectators and injured more than 260 other people. He was initially sentenced to death, but it was overturned. In October 2021, the Supreme Court heard an appeal from the Department of Justice in favor of reinstating the death penalty and a decision should be released sometime this year.