PRIORITY IN FOCUS
Financial Fraud
"We will protect Americans from the financial fraud that devastates consumers, siphons taxpayer dollars, weakens our markets, and impedes our ongoing economic recovery. As we’ve seen, the impact of financial crime is not confined to Wall Street—and many times the victims of fraud have worked hard and played by established investment rules, only to see their retirement and life savings vanish at hands of white-collar criminals." -- Attorney General Eric Holder, April 25, 2011
Securities Fraud
Securities Fraud
by Preet Bharara
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York
With offices within walking distance of Wall Street, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has always been on the front lines of the federal government’s efforts to investigate and prosecute securities fraud. Our focus on financial fraud flows from a commitment to longstanding principles and goals: that our markets should be fair; that our playing fields should be level; and that our citizens’ accounts should be secure. In service of these goals, we have aggressively pursued securities fraud whenever and wherever we have found it.
Investment Fraud
Financial Crimes on Main Street are as Devastating as Those on Wall Street
by Benjamin B. Wagner
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California
The crimes of Bernie Madoff, Raj Rajaratnam, and other titans of Wall Street have received national attention, and appropriately so. Assistant U.S. Attorneys in New York and other major money-center cities have been aggressively pursuing financial crimes within the highest levels of the financial industry. But there has also been a surge of Ponzi schemes and other investment frauds in smaller cities and towns around the country.
public corruption
The Costs of Public Corruption –
And The Need for the Public to Fight Back
by Patrick Fitzgerald
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois
Vigorous prosecution of public corruption has always been vital to our country. Public corruption takes a heavy toll on our communities. Corruption gives unfair advantages to those willing to break the law: public officials, their relatives and friends, and those who willingly pay bribes to gain public contracts and other government actions. But there are many victims: both those who are shaken down for bribes and kickbacks, and the members of the general public, who pay for corruption through inflated costs and loss of faith in government.With tightening budgets throughout all levels of government, vigorous enforcement is even more important than ever.
IDentity theft
Identity Theft: Coordination Can Defeat the Modern-Day “King” and “Duke”
by Rod J. Rosenstein, U.S. Attorney and
Tamera Fine, Identity Fraud Coordinator
for the District of Maryland
In Mark Twain’s iconic novel Huckleberry Finn, young Huck briefly joins forces with two con artists masquerading as a king and a duke. While misrepresenting their identities, the con men hatch a variety of fraud schemes that require them to come up with stories to convince victims that their false identities are legitimate and their nefarious intentions are good. The fraudulent schemes bring the perpetrators face to face with victims and leave them vulnerable to detection. One of the unfortunate consequences of modern technology is that it allows modern-day successors of the king and the duke to perpetrate identity fraud schemes with far less personal risk. Stopping them requires a coordinated effort.
Press Releases
Triton President and C.E.O. Kurt Barton Sentenced to Federal PrisonWestern District of Texas — November 4, 2011 California-Based DFine Inc. to Pay U.S. More than $2.3 Million to Settle Claims that Company Paid Kickbacks to Physicians
Western District of Tennessee — October 31, 2011 Albertville Man Sentenced for Involvement in $7.7-Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme
District of Minnesota — October 31, 2011 Woman Who Embezzled Nearly $1 Million From Company Sentenced to Four Years in Prison
Western District of Washington — October 31, 2011 Leslie Janous Sentenced to 110 Months in Prison for Wire Fraud and Money Laundering
Eastern District of Tennessee — October 27, 2011 Washington, D.C., Woman Sentenced to 75 Months for Counterfeit Check Scheme
Eastern District of Virginia — October 28, 2011 Christopher Bass Sentenced to Over 12 1/2 Years Imprisonment for Orchestrating Ponzi-Style Scheme
Nothern District of New York — October 27, 2011
Facts & figures
Click thumbnail for expanded graphs
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major courtroom achievements
- Northern District Of Illinois
- District Of Minnesota
- Eastern District Of New York
- Southern District Of New York
- Eastern District Of Virginia
videos
Real People, Real Stories: Avoid Foreclosure Rescue Scams
Mortgage Fraud
Mortgage Fraud
by Benjamin B. Wagner
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California
Mortgage fraud has been a significant contributor to the nation's financial woes, wreaking havoc from residential neighborhoods to global financial centers. It has contributed to a dramatic increase in home foreclosures, leaving clusters of empty and shuttered neighborhoods in many states. It has triggered a steep decline in home prices, devaluing many families' primary asset.
Healthcare Fraud
Fighting Healthcare Fraud Ensures Patient Safety and Protects Taxpayer Dollars
by Carmen M. Ortiz
U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts
As Chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee’s (AGAC) Healthcare Fraud Working Group, I have the privilege of seeing and hearing about the many effective strategies and tools used to combat healthcare fraud by U.S. Attorneys’ offices across the nation.
useful links
Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force
Executive Order Creating Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force
Financial CrimesEnforcement Network (FINCENS)
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: How to Avoid Fraud
