HOUSTON—Ten years after Steve Hardin’s family laid him to rest in Houston’s Brookside Cemetery, they got a moral victory Tuesday.

The man who killed Hardin now owes more than $10,000 in restitution to the family. 

And that’s not all.

Like millions of Americans, Hardin’s killer is due a tax rebate check. 

But he’s not going to get it.

Crime victims advocate Andy Kahan got the judge to make Barry Crawford forfeit that money as part of his probation.

“That money shouldn’t be going back to your pocket. That money needs to go back to the victims,” Kahan said.

After announcing the victory at a speaking engagement Wednesday morning, Kahan sent a letter to the administrative judge asking that every court consider doing the same for any criminal ordered to pay money to their victims.

“It makes sense to me. You shouldn’t be getting money back from the government when you owe money to crime victims,” Kahan said.

Recently, the 11 News Defenders reported on how criminals are allowed off parole, even when they still owe money to victims.  

The unpaid balance is tens of millions of dollars.

But in response to that report, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said it would begin intercepting tax refund and rebate checks too.

And now, thanks to Kahan, a similar monetary message may await criminals in Harris County.