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UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE District of Nevada |
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DIVISIONS & RENO BRANCH OFFICE The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada is comprised of a Criminal Division with four teams, a Civil Division, an Appellate Division and an Administrative Division. CRIMINAL DIVISION The Criminal Division is the largest division. Four teams prosecute a variety of cases, including: Bank Robbery The Organized Crime Strike Force Team prosecutes cases of organized crime, including Russian and Asian organized crime. Its principal enforcement efforts are directed against organized crime, and “emerging groups" including, but not limited to, the outlaw motorcycle gangs. The list of targeted organizations reflects the expansion of the Department of Justice's organized crime program to include "non-traditional" groups, as opposed to traditional groups such as La Cosa Nostra. Strike Force investigations typically involve a broad spectrum of criminal statutes, including the RICO statutes, fraud, narcotics, casino cheats, tax evasion/corruption, and counterfeit money/credit cards. Investigations are coordinated with federal agencies, such as the FBI, United States Customs and INS, as well as with state and local agencies and local police departments. The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force prosecutes cases involving major drug organizations and drug money laundering organizations. The Anti-Terrorism Advisory Coordinator is charged with the officés over-riding priority: the prevention and prosecution of any terrorist-related activity in the District of Nevada. CIVIL DIVISION The Civil Division's mission is to protect the interests of the United States by defending against, and pursuing, claims for money damages and declaratory and injunctive relief in cases involving the entire spectrum of civil matters. Most often, the Division accomplishes its mission by litigating on behalf of the United States in state or federal court. However, the Division also routinely engages in attempting to resolve matters before they become litigation. The Civil Division litigates defensive cases; provides affirmative representation on behalf of the United States in bankruptcy court in order to preserve and collect debts owed to the United States by persons or corporations who have filed for discharge or reorganization, to the extent permitted under the Bankruptcy Code. The Division's affirmative caseload also includes: enforcement actions under the environmental statutes of the United States; civil rights and fair housing cases; cases under the False Claims Act and other statutes that authorize civil remedies and/or penalties for conduct committed in conjunction with the administration of federal programs; and collecting debts owed to the United States. Much of the Division's affirmative civil casework is handled under the Affirmative Civil Enforcement (ACE) program or by the Division's Financial Litigation Unit (FLU). The FLU's principal function is to collect debts owed to the United States by persons and/or corporations located within the District of Nevada. The FLU pursues, e.g., defaulted student loans; criminal fines, restitution orders and mandatory special assessments; civil fines and penalties; and any other financial obligation that has been reduced to judgment in favor of the United States. The FLU consists of full-time debt collection agents and attorneys who handle FLU cases as part of their caseload. The ACE program in the District of Nevada consists of an ACE Coordinator and one attorney whose caseload include ACE matters. Within the ACE program, significant time and assets are devoted to pursuing civil remedies for Health Care Fraud. Civil ACE attorneys frequently work with their criminal counterparts in the investigation and pursuit of cases where federal health benefits programs have been defrauded by individuals or organizations. ACE attorneys also are part of the District's Health Care Fraud Task Force, which includes a variety of federal and state agencies involved in administering health care programs susceptible to fraud. Civil remedies can be and are pursued even in cases where criminal prosecution has been declined. Federal statutes authorize civil fines, treble damages, and the recovery of investigative costs as part of a civil health care fraud case. In addition to health care fraud, the ACE program also recovers significant amounts of money each year from persons who have otherwise engaged in program-related conduct that subjects them to civil fines and damages on behalf of the United States. These cases typically involve, e.g., fraudulent use of the mails, foodstamp fraud; procurement fraud; HUD program violations; Farm Services program violations; financial institution fraud; and obtaining benefits improperly from the entire spectrum of federal agencies present and operating in the District. Quite literally, if someone has improperly obtained money from the United States, with or without fraudulent intent, the ACE program provides a means of recovering that money, and maybe more. In addition to the affirmative and defensive casework already mentioned, the Civil Division also participates in a wide variety of other cases in which the United States has an interest in the District of Nevada. We monitor and often intervene in qui tam cases initiated by private citizens. We enforce compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. We participate in actions having to do with real property upon which the United States may have a lien or other protected interest. We also respond to or enforce summonses that require execution in the District, to the extent that the United States has an interest in the subject matter of the summons. The Civil Division staff consists of 8 attorneys, an auditor, four paralegals, two debt collection agents, and two legal secretaries. All Civil Division staff are assigned to the main office in Las Vegas. However, civil cases are also litigated by attorneys assigned to the branch office in Reno. General questions concerning the Civil Division should be directed to: Chief, Civil Division ASSET FORFEITURE The Forfeiture Section operates within the Civil Division and is responsible for the prosecution of criminal and civil forfeiture cases. In addition to litigating civil forfeiture cases, the Section provides support to Criminal Division AUSAs on all criminal forfeiture issues. The forfeiture AUSAs work with most of the federal law enforcement agencies, assisting their criminal investigations by identifying assets subject to forfeiture and developing evidence for seizure and forfeiture. APPELLATE DIVISION The Appellate Division for the District of Nevada supervises all appellate litigation before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, including the filing of briefs and the presentation of oral arguments. In addition, the Appellate Division coordinates with the Department of Justice and the Solicitor General on such issues as potential government appeals, deciding when to seek appellate review of trial level rulings adverse to the United States, petitions for rehearing en banc and U.S. Supreme Court litigation in all cases involving the government arising from the district. For an up-date status and current docket information of cases before the Ninth Circuit you may visit the Ninth Circuit Web Site at http://www.ce9.uscourts.gov/ ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION The Administrative Division consists of the Administrative Officer, Litigation Support, Budget and Finance, Management Information Systems, Personnel, Support Services and Administrative Support for the Branch Office in Reno. The purpose of the Administrative Division is to provide a full range of office support services and to advise and assist the United States Attorney and management officials on administrative matters. RENO BRANCH OFFICE The Reno Branch Office of the United States Attorney’s Office is comprised of three Divisions: criminal, civil and support. The Reno Branch handles a variety of cases involving OCDETF cases and non-OCDETF narcotics cases, firearm offenses, illegal reentries, fraud and tax evasion. In addition, the Reno Branch is responsible for all cases within the District of Nevada involving Indian Country. This includes violence, sexual abuse, drugs and theft occurring on Indian Country, to include juveniles. Further, the majority of land management cases also fall within the Northern part of Nevada and involve grazing rights, land use, Native American claims, ARPA, ALF/ELF, water rights, environmental issues, wild horses and State’s rights.
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