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Criminal Division

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The Criminal Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of some of the most significant criminal matters in the country.

Business and Securities Fraud

The Business and Securities Fraud Section is a national leader in the investigation and prosecution of corporate, securities, health care and investment fraud, as well as Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Bank Secrecy Act violations.  The Section regularly partners with various government and regulatory institutions including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.  Our matters often involve national and international financial crimes involving bribery, cyber-enabled fraud, securities and commodities fraud, corporate fraud, tax fraud, money laundering and criminal forfeiture. The Section has a proven track record of convictions in some of the most high-profile and complex white collar prosecutions in the nation.

National Security and Cybercrime

The National Security and Cybercrime Section maintains one of the preeminent practices in the Department of Justice by prosecuting a broad swath of counterterrorism, cyber, counterintelligence and controlled technology cases.  By working closely and creatively with investigative agencies and other critical partners, the Section has helped develop strategies and tactics for taking on some of our nation’s most challenging threats, and has successfully advanced and defended those approaches in federal court.  In the counterterrorism area, recent cases include the convictions of an American citizen who joined al-Qaeda and conducted a bomb attack on a U.S. military base in Afghanistan, a senior al-Qaeda member responsible for the killing of two American service members and who plotted to bomb the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, three men who completed military training with al-Qaeda and plotted to conduct a bomb attack on the New York City subways, and three men who tried to attack law enforcement in the United States on behalf of ISIS, one of whom stabbed an FBI agent.  In the cybercrime space, the mastermind hacker behind three cyberattacks on the global financial system that caused more than $55 million in losses was recently convicted.  With a robust record of convictions and long-term incapacitations of terrorists, cyber criminals and weapons traffickers, the Section has substantially contributed to our nation’s “all tools approach” to protecting Americans at home and abroad.

Public Integrity

The Public Integrity Section investigates and prosecutes public officials at all levels of government, whether elected or appointed, who would further their own interests in violation of the public trust.  It regularly partners with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to bring cases aimed at protecting taxpayers’ funds by identifying fraud and abuse in public contracting.  The Section’s recent cases have involved a broad spectrum of misconduct by public officials and misuse of public funds, including the indictment of a New York Assemblyperson for theft of public funds from a not-for-profit and obstruction of justice, the conviction of a New York State Senator for obstruction of justice and making false statements, the conviction of a former Assistant District Attorney for conducting illegal wiretaps, the conviction of a federal prison guard for sexually assaulting an individual in custody and the conviction of two school officials in a multi-million dollar federal program fraud.  The Section applies the full array of investigative techniques to its ongoing investigations. 

Organized Crime and Gangs

The Organized Crime and Gangs Section is a nationwide leader in utilizing the federal racketeering statute to prosecute the five families of La Cosa Nostra (LCN), violent street gangs, international organized crime groups, and corrupt businesses.  The Section has prosecuted hundreds of leaders, members and associates of LCN, who have long dominated organized crime in New York City.  In many cases, the Section’s efforts have effectively dismantled the leadership structure of entire crime families, and held defendants accountable for previously unsolved murders, robberies, extortions, frauds and other crimes.  In some cases, the Section has disrupted lucrative arrangements between members and associates in New York City and their counterparts in Italy, Canada and other foreign bases of operation.  Similarly, the Section has prosecuted emerging criminal organizations that operate in New York City’s Eastern European, Eurasian and Asian communities, often with ties to Russia and other foreign countries.  The Section is also a leader in prosecuting the violent street gangs – both nation-wide and local – that terrorize housing projects and other working-class communities throughout New York City.  These prosecutions have dismantled violent “sets” of the Bloods, Crips and Folk Nation, as well as “cliques” of MS-13, and have resulted in members of those gangs being held accountable for murders, drug offenses, firearms offenses and other crimes.  These prosecutions have also targeted less well-known, but equally violent, neighborhood gangs throughout New York City, resulting in many convictions for the same crimes.  The Section has also used the racketeering statute to bring the groundbreaking case against officials of FIFA, the governing body of international soccer, as well as other business entities that have been corrupted from within.

International Narcotics and Money Laundering

The International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section is a nationwide leader in the prosecution of transnational narcotics organizations and sophisticated money laundering operations.  The Section prosecutes the leaders of the world’s largest Mexican and Colombian drug cartels and dismantles entire drug organizations, while disrupting the ability of these organizations to utilize the financial system to launder the proceeds of their crimes.  The Section has prosecuted complicated international money laundering schemes as well as financial institutions that serve as conduits for money laundering.  In addition, the Section prosecutes cases involving dark web narcotics traffickers, doctors and pharmacists who illegally prescribe opioids, and corporations that violate the Controlled Substances Act and the Bank Secrecy Act.

Civil Rights

The Civil Rights Section investigates and prosecutes civil rights violations, and stands at the forefront of the Department’s efforts to combat human trafficking, a modern form of slavery.  The Section has prosecuted numerous human traffickers who have compelled the labor and services of adults and minors, many of whom were forced to work in the sex trade, from the United States and abroad.  Historically, the office has been involved in the most prominent criminal civil rights cases in New York City, including sexual assault by members of law enforcement, racially motivated rioting, and bias-motivated assaults against African-Americans.

General Crimes

All new AUSAs are assigned to the General Crimes Section, where they handle a wide variety of cases.  These cases involve, among other types of crimes, the robbery of banks and other commercial establishments, importation and distribution of narcotics, child pornography and child exploitation offenses, firearms offenses, fraud and assault on federal officers.  The Section’s AUSAs handle all phases of a criminal prosecution, from the initial investigation and arrest through trial, sentencing, appeal and habeas corpus petitions. While in the Section, the AUSAs complete a rigorous training program and work under the close supervision of more experienced AUSAs throughout the office. 

Long Island Criminal Division

The Long Island Criminal Division, located in Central Islip, is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of a broad array of federal crimes that impact the 2.8 million residents of Nassau and Suffolk Counties.  AUSAs in the Long Island Criminal Division are active in prosecuting violent gangs, international and domestic terrorism, public corruption, securities and corporate fraud, major narcotics traffickers, opioid diversion, traditional organized crime and child exploitation.  Over the past few years, successful Long Island prosecutions have resulted in the convictions of the Suffolk County Police Chief for civil rights and obstruction of justice violations, physicians and other medical personnel for opioid diversion, as well as hundreds of violent Bloods, Crips and MS-13 gang members for murders, assaults, drug trafficking, firearms offenses and other related crimes.  Since 2010, this Office has obtained indictments charging MS-13 members with carrying out more than 45 murders in the district, and has convicted more than a hundred MS-13 leaders and members on racketeering charges in connection with those murders.

Forfeiture Practice

Together with the office’s Civil Division, the Criminal Division has been at the forefront of using money laundering and forfeiture statutes to prosecute criminals from hiding and disguising their criminal profits and to deprive them of these ill-gotten gains.  The forfeiture practice often litigates matters of first impression, and its recoveries consistently rank it as one of the top five in the country. 

Appeals

The Appeals Section is responsible for overseeing the handling of appeals in criminal cases in our district.

While Criminal Division AUSAs generally prepare their own briefs and argue their own appeals, the Appeals Section plays an integral role in the litigation of appeals in our office. This includes assisting in drafting and editing briefs, conducting moot courts and otherwise preparing AUSAs for oral arguments, and writing briefs and handling oral arguments when the Criminal Division AUSA who handled the case in the district court is unable to do so. The Appeals Section also assists in the preparation of responses to post-appeal collateral attacks. In addition, the Appeals Section is actively involved in determining whether to file government appeals, reviewing and editing district court filings on significant points of law, providing legal advice generally to Criminal Division AUSAs, and participating in the formulation of office policy.

Updated March 10, 2023