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Delegation of the Attorney General’s Authority to Investigate Credit Card Fraud

Date of Issuance:
Headnotes

The Attorney General has authority under 28 U.S.C. § 533 to investigate all criminal violations against the United States, including credit card fraud under 15 U.S.C. § 1644, except in cases in which Congress has specifically assigned the responsibility with respect to a particular investigation exclusively to another agency.

The Attorney General’s investigative authority under 28 U.S.C. § 533, which has been delegated to the Federal Bureau of Investigation by 28 C.F.R. § 0.85(a), may not be delegated outside of the Department of Justice to the Secret Service.

A preliminary analysis reveals no independent authority for investigations of credit card fraud in the Secret Service’s enabling statute, 18 U.S.C. § 3056.

Updated July 9, 2014