Sergio Lagos pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud after a company he controlled defrauded a lender of tens of millions of dollars. The lender spent nearly five million dollars on a private investigation and related legal, accounting, and consulting work before and during bankruptcy proceedings, and the sentencing court ordered Lagos to reimburse those costs as restitution. The Supreme Court reversed. The Mandatory Victims Restitution Act requires reimbursement for certain expenses incurred during a victim’s participation in a government investigation or criminal prosecution. The Court held that the statutory terms “investigation” and “proceedings” refer to government investigations and criminal proceedings, not a victim’s private investigation or civil and bankruptcy litigation. The statute’s references to participation, attendance, lost income, child care, and transportation reinforced that narrower reading and avoided difficult disputes about private litigation expenses. Sharing the private investigation’s results with the Government did not bring the earlier costs within the statute. The Court reversed the contrary judgment and remanded for further proceedings.