Criminal Division
John Vincent, Chief
There are three units in the Criminal Division in the Sacramento office and two units in the Criminal Division in the Fresno office. Additionally, there is the National Security Section and the Appellate Unit.
Sacramento Units:
National Security Section
The National Securiy Section handles all national security matters in the office, including threat and hoax cases and infrastructure protection matters. It includes coordinators in both Sacramento and Fresno and an intelligence specialist who report directly to the Chief of the Criminal Division.
Appellate Unit
Camil Skipper, Chief
The Appellate Unit reviews all criminal appellate filings, supervises moot courts before oral arguments in appellate cases, provides legal advice to other attorneys, acts as liaison on appellate matters with the Appellate Section of the Criminal Division and the Solicitor General in Washington, D.C., writes briefs and argues cases in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and provides training for newly hired attorneys.
Sacramento Units:
White-Collar Crime Unit
Robert Tice-Raskin, Chief
The White-Collar Crime Unit is responsible for prosecuting a wide range of crimes in the Sacramento Division including health care fraud, financial institution fraud, mortgage fraud, bankruptcy fraud, benefits fraud, corporate fraud, enforcement of state court ordered child support, counterfeit currency, counterfeit securities, government contracts, tax fraud, money laundering, mail fraud, and wire fraud. Prosecutors assigned to the White-Collar Crime Unit also handle child exploitation cases, including crimes involving child pornography, child prostitution, and travel for the purpose of having sex with minors.
Special Prosecutions Unit
Steven R. Lapham, Chief
The Special Prosecutions Unit handles an array of criminal matters, including public corruption, securities fraud, civil rights violations, hate crimes, arson, and immigration law offenses. Prosecutors in this unit also focus on the investigation and prosecution of sophisticated economic crime cases in the areas of money laundering, tax evasion, identity theft, and investment fraud. Some prosecutors in the unit also work on cases involving the cultivation of marijuana on public lands.
- Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) Section
The Special Prosecutions Unit also includes the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Section, which investigates and prosecutes federal computer crimes, including computer intrusions, denial of service attacks, virus and worm proliferations, Internet fraud, and telecommunications fraud. The CHIP Section also prosecutes intellectual property offenses including criminal copyright and trademark infringement, software piracy, theft of trade secrets, and economic espionage.
Narcotics and Violent Crime Unit
Rick Bender, Chief
The Narcotics and Violent Crime Unit is primarily responsible for investigating and prosecuting organized crime, major narcotics, money laundering, violent crime, and firearm cases. Attorneys in this unit specialize in prosecuting large-scale sophisticated drug trafficking organizations. The unit also handles many of the most significant violent crime cases including cases involving national security offenses, murder, kidnapping, Hobbs Act extortion, carjacking, assault, and bank robbery.
- Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF)
The OCDETF group – attorneys, paralegals, and legal assistants - handles the largest narcotics conspiracies in the district, generally involving criminal operations occurring both in the Eastern District and in other states and foreign countries.
Fresno Units:
Mark E. Cullers is the chief of the Fresno office and oversees the Criminal Units in the Fresno Division.
White-Collar Crime Unit
Stanley A. Boone, Chief
The White-Collar Crime Unit is responsible for prosecuting a wide range of crimes in the Fresno Division, including heath care fraud, mortgage fraud, organized crime, child exploitation crimes, cyber crimes, tax evasion, investment fraud, and other economic crimes.
Narcotics and Violent Crime Unit
Kevin Rooney, Chief
The Narcotics and Violent Crime Unit is responsible for investigating and prosecuting organized crime, major narcotics cases including OCDETF cases, marijuana cultivation on public lands, kidnapping, bank robbery, firearms offenses, and gang related violent crimes.
