Criminal Division
The Criminal Division is the largest Division of the United States Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey. It is responsible for the enforcement of the federal criminal laws in our District, handling all types of criminal investigations and cases except local public corruption. Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the Criminal Division handle all phases of their cases, from investigation through sentencing. Each AUSA is assigned to one of eight Units: OCDETF & Money Laundering, Securities & Health Care Fraud, Terrorism, Public Protection, Strike Force, Government Fraud, Violent Crimes, and Commercial Crimes. The unit members focus their efforts on the offenses and offenders covered within their area of responsibility. New AUSAs are also assigned to one of the units, but handle a variety of cases that span all of the federal violations so that they are cross-trained to handle cases in any subject area.
Criminal Division AUSAs are also assigned to the Trenton and Camden branch offices. These AUSAs are not divided into units, but investigate and prosecute the same range of federal criminal offenses.
OCDETF & Money Laundering Unit
The Organized
Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force and Money Laundering Unit, commonly
referred to as the "OCDETF" Unit, investigates and prosecutes
the most significant drug trafficking and money laundering organizations
and their related enterprises. The unit investigates and prosecutes individuals
who organize, direct, finance, or are otherwise engaged in high-level
illegal drug trafficking and large-scale money laundering, as well as
those who use otherwise legitimate businesses to facilitate the distribution
of drugs and disbursal of drug proceeds.
The unit uses all of the tools available to dismantle and eliminate sophisticated
drug operations and money laundering groups, including comprehensive investigations,
prosecutions that lead to lengthy and certain sentences, as well as the
seizure of assets such as money, real estate, cars, and jewelry, which
removes from the offenders the profits that they reaped from their illegal
activity.
The unit works with various federal agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Customs Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, and the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In addition, it works in a cooperative fashion with many state, county, and local drug enforcement agencies.
Securities & Health Care Fraud Unit
The Securities and Health Care Fraud Unit investigates and prosecutes significant and complex federal crimes involving securities and other investment vehicles, large scale corporate fraud, accounting fraud, and health care fraud. Those prosecuted range from scheming brokers and accountants to corrupt corporate officers and fiduciaries. The AUSAs work closely with other federal agencies, including the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Food and Drug Administration, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
The Terrorism Unit is responsible for investigating and prosecuting allegations of domestic and international terrorism. The Unit also offers legal advice and support to various agencies to help prevent acts of terrorism and gather relevant intelligence information. The Terrorism Unit handles all types of violations committed by individuals involved in potential acts of terrorism. These matters include planning or carrying out terrorist acts, raising funds or offering material support for terrorists, using weapons of mass destruction, importing or exporting materials for possible use in bioweapons research, and engaging in immigration and document fraud, among other offenses.
The Terrorism Unit works closely with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Joint Terrorism Task Force, which is comprised of law enforcement officers from the FBI, the New Jersey State Police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Port Authority, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the United States Secret Service, and the prosecutors' offices in Essex and Hudson Counties. The Unit also works with the District's Anti-Terrorism Task Force ("ATTF"). Following the events of September 11, the ATTF was established to serve as: (1) a conduit of information about suspected terrorists between federal and local agencies; (2) a coordinating body for implementing the operational plan for the prevention of terrorism; and (3) a standing organizational structure for a coordinated response to a terrorist incident. The United States Attorney chairs the ATTF, which is comprised of agency heads from approximately 45 federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
If you believe that you have any relevant information related to terrorism, please contact the United States Attorney's Office (973-645-2700) or the JTTF (973-792-3000) at once.
The Public Protection Unit prosecutes cases in which a federal crime is committed against individual victims, either citizens or business entities, ranging from bank robbery and theft of interstate cargo to civil rights offenses and crimes against children. In addition, the Unit works to protect our borders by investigating immigration offenses, including alien smuggling for profit, document fraud, passport fraud, and illegal re-entry into the United States after deportation.
The broad spectrum of victim-centered cases that the Unit handles are investigated by a number of different agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Health and Human Services, and the Diplomatic Security Service.
The Strike Force Unit handles investigations and prosecutions of members of the seven La Cosa Nostra organized crime families in the New York City, New Jersey, and Philadelphia area, as well as persons involved with emerging organized crime groups, such as Russian / Eastern European and Asian criminal organizations. The unit investigates and prosecutes a variety of offenses committed by organized groups, including violent homicides, labor racketeering, illegal gambling, loan sharking activity, and pervasive fraudulent schemes. These prosecutions have significantly aided in law enforcement's effort to dismantle these longstanding traditional Mafia organizations, and to thwart the development of new criminal organizations.
The Strike Force works with many federal agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Government Fraud Unit focuses on the investigation and prosecution of criminal offenses affecting agencies of the United States, government program fraud, criminal tax offenses, and crimes against the environment. Its goal is to protect the Government from fraud, waste, and abuse by perpetrators of federal criminal offenses.
Members of the Government Fraud Unit work with many components of the United States Government and various federal agencies, including the Departments of Defense, Education, Housing and Urban Development, and Health and Human Services, as well as the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Small Business Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the United States Secret Service.
The Violent Crime Unit is responsible for investigating and prosecuting local and national gangs that commit federal offenses as well as individuals who commit offenses on the federal enclaves located within the District. In addition, the Unit is responsible for all aspects of the District's Project Safe Neighborhoods program. As part of the program, each AUSA in the Unit serves as liaison to an assigned county so that federal resources can be used to address the unique violent crime problems a particular county confronts.
Members
of the Unit work with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Drug Enforcement Administration,
and many components of state, county, and municipal law enforcement tasked
with reducing violent crime.
Commercial Crimes Unit
The Commercial Crimes Unit investigates and prosecutes significant white collar crimes involving financial institution fraud; bankruptcy fraud; credit card and identity fraud; fraud through the use of mail, wire, and other communication facilities; mortgage fraud; and telemarketing fraud against consumers and businesses. Unlike the Government Fraud unit, it seeks to protect private victims from fraudulent activities and punish the perpetrators.
Within the Commercial Crimes Unit is the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property ("CHIP") section, which is staffed by Assistant United States Attorneys who have extensive technical experience in this area. The section focuses on cases involving computer hacking, computer viruses, the theft of trade secrets, and economic espionage, as well as criminal copyright and trademark violations.
Members of the Commercial Crimes Unit work with various components of the U.S. Department of Justice, such as the Office of the United States Trustee, and various federal agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the United States Secret Service.