Okla. Stat. tit. 22, § 22-17: Custody and distribution of proceeds from sale of rights

arising from criminal act.

A. Every person who has been charged, convicted, has pled

guilty or has pled nolo contendere to any crime, hereinafter

referred to as the defendant, or any other person with the

cooperation of the defendant, who contracts to receive, or have any

other person or entity receive, any proceeds or profits from any

source, as a direct or indirect result of the crime or sentence, or

the notoriety which the crime or sentence has conferred upon the

defendant, shall forfeit the proceeds or profits as provided in this

section; provided, however, proceeds or profits from a contract

relating to the depiction or discussion of the defendant's crime

shall not be subject to forfeiture unless an integral part of the

work is a depiction or discussion of the defendant's crime or an

impression of the defendant's thoughts, opinions, or emotions

regarding the crime. All parties to a contract described in this

section are required to pay to the district court wherein the

criminal charges were filed any proceeds or thing of value which

pursuant to the contract is to be paid to the defendant or to

another person or entity. The district court shall make deposit of

proceeds received pursuant to this section and direct the county

treasurer to make the deposit of those funds in an escrow account

for the benefit of and payable to victims of the crime or the legal

representative of any victim of the crime committed by the defendant

or to repay a public defender office for legal representation during

a criminal proceeding. There is hereby created a lien upon any sum

of money or other thing of value payable to anyone pursuant to any

contract described in this section, for the purpose of enforcing the

forfeiture obligation established herein, which lien may be

foreclosed in the same manner as statutory tax liens created by

Oklahoma law. Any person who contracts without fully providing for

such forfeiture in compliance with the provisions of this section

shall be guilty of a Class C2 felony offense and, upon conviction,

shall be punished by a fine of not less than Ten Thousand Dollars

($10,000.00) and not to exceed three times the value of the proceeds

of the contract, or by imprisonment as provided for in subsections B

through F of Section 20M of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or

both such fine and imprisonment.

B. Payments from the escrow account shall be used, in the

following order of priority, to satisfy any judgment rendered in

favor of a victim or a victim's legal representative, to pay

restitution, fines, court costs, and other payments, reparations or

reimbursements ordered by the court at the time of sentencing

including repayments to a public defender office for legal

representation of the defendant and to pay every cost and expense of

incarceration and treatment authorized by law as a cost of the

defendant.

C. A victim or the legal representative of a victim must file a

civil action, in a court of competent jurisdiction, to recover money

against the defendant or the defendant's legal representative within

seven (7) years of the filing of the criminal charges against the

defendant. The victims and the legal representative of a victim of

the crime shall have a priority interest in any proceeds or profits

received pursuant to the provisions of this section. If no victim

or legal representative of a victim has filed a civil suit within

seven (7) years from the filing of the criminal charges against the

defendant, any money in the escrow account shall be paid over in the

following order of priority:

1. For restitution;

2. For any fine and court costs;

3. For other payments ordered in the sentence;

4. For the costs and expenses of incarceration; and

any remaining money to the Victims' Compensation Revolving Fund.

charges against the

defendant, any money in the escrow account shall be paid over in the

following order of priority:

1. For restitution;

2. For any fine and court costs;

3. For other payments ordered in the sentence;

4. For the costs and expenses of incarceration; and

any remaining money to the Victims' Compensation Revolving Fund.

Upon disposition of charges favorable to the defendant, any money in

the escrow account shall be paid over to the defendant.

D. The district court wherein the criminal charges were filed

shall, once every six (6) months for seven (7) years from the date

any money is deposited with the court, publish a notice in at least

one (1) newspaper of general circulation in each county of the state

in accordance with the provisions on publication of notices found in

Sections 101 et seq. of Title 25 of the Oklahoma Statutes, notifying

any eligible victim or legal representative of an eligible victim

that monies are available to satisfy judgments pursuant to this

section.