HEARING REQUIRED TO DETERMINE THE AMOUNT OF RESTITUTION AND TO WHOM RESTITUTION SHOULD BE PAID; UNPRESERVED ERRORS CONSIDERED ON APPEAL IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department determined the record did not include sufficient evidence to support the restitution order and remitted the matter for a hearing:

Defendant’s contention in her main brief that the court erred in ordering her to pay restitution without a hearing is not preserved for our review inasmuch as defendant “did not request a hearing to determine the [proper amount of restitution] or otherwise challenge the amount of the restitution order during the sentencing proceeding” … . We nevertheless exercise our power to review that contention as a matter of discretion in the interest of justice … . Moreover, even assuming, arguendo, that defendant’s further challenge to the court’s purported failure to direct restitution to an appropriate person or entity… required preservation under these circumstances … , we likewise exercise our power to reach that unpreserved contention as a matter of discretion in the interest of justice … . As the People correctly concede, the record does not contain sufficient evidence to establish the amount of restitution imposed, nor does it establish the recipient of the restitution … . We therefore modify the judgment by vacating that part of the sentence ordering restitution, and we remit the matter to County Court for a hearing to determine restitution in compliance with Penal Law § 60.27. People v Meyers, 2020 NY Slip Op 02419, Fourth Dept 4-24-20