United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida

The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida is the United States Attorney

United States Attorney

United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...

responsible for representing the federal government

Federal government of the United States

The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...

in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida

United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida is the federal United States district court with jurisdiction over the southern part of the state of Florida....

.

The Southern District of Florida encompasses a geographical area of about 15197 square miles (39,360 km²) extending south to Key West

Key West, Florida

Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...

, north to Sebastian

Sebastian, Florida

Sebastian is a city in Indian River County, in the Treasure Coast region of Florida, United States. The population was 16,181 at the 2000 census. In 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 18,671. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S...

and west to Sebring

Sebring, Florida

Sebring is a city in Highlands County, Florida, United States, nicknamed "The City on the Circle", in reference to Circle Drive, the center of the Sebring Downtown Historic District...

. The Southern District includes the counties of Miami-Dade

Miami-Dade County, Florida

Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2,496,435, making it the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States...

, Broward

Broward County, Florida

-2000 Census:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,623,018 people, 654,445 households, and 411,645 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,346 people per square mile . There were 741,043 housing units at an average density of 615 per square mile...

, Monroe

Monroe County, Florida

Monroe County is a county located in the state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 79,589. The U.S. Census Bureau 2006 estimate for the county was 74,737....

, Palm Beach

Palm Beach County, Florida

Palm Beach County is the largest county in the state of Florida in total area, and third in population. As of 2010, the county's estimated population was 1,320,134, making it the twenty-eighth most populous in the United States...

, Martin

Martin County, Florida

Martin County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 126,731. The U.S. Census Bureau 2008 estimate for the county is 138,660. Its county seat is Stuart, Florida.- History :...

, St. Lucie

St. Lucie County, Florida

St. Lucie County is a county located in the state of Florida. The county seat is the city of Fort Pierce. In the year 2000, the population was 192,695. As of the year 2010, the United States Census Bureau sets the population at 277,789.- History :...

, Indian River

Indian River County, Florida

Indian River County is a county located in the Treasure Coast region in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 112,947. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county is 128,594...

, Okeechobee

Okeechobee County, Florida

Okeechobee County is a county located in the state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 35,910. According to 2005 U.S. Census estimates, its population had grown to 39,836. The county seat is Okeechobee, Florida. The county comprises the Okeechobee, Florida Micropolitan Statistical Area.-...

and Highlands

Highlands County, Florida

Highlands County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. The U.S. Census Bureau 2006 estimate for the population was 97,346. Its county seat is Sebring, Florida. The county comprises the Sebring, Florida, Micropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...

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The United States Attorney's Office has a staff of approximately 233 Assistant United States Attorneys and 227 support personnel. The main office is located in Miami, Florida

Miami, Florida

Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...

, with three staffed branch offices located in Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...

, West Palm Beach

West Palm Beach, Florida

West Palm Beach, is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and is the most populous city in and county seat of Palm Beach County, the third most populous county in Florida with a 2010 population of 1,320,134. The city is also the oldest incorporated municipality in South Florida...

and Fort Pierce

Fort Pierce, Florida

Fort Pierce, also spelled Ft. Pierce, is a city in St. Lucie County, Florida, USA. It is known as The Sunrise City. The population was 37,959 at the 2004 census. As of 2008, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 41,000. It is the county seat of St. Lucie County.Fort Pierce is part...

and one unstaffed branch office located in Key West

Key West, Florida

Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...

. There is also a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) office in West Miami-Dade and a Health Care Fraud Facility in Miramar

Miramar, Florida

Miramar is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. The city was named after the Miramar district of Havana, Cuba. As of the 2010 census, the population was 122,041...

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The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida is the United States Attorney responsible for representing the federal government in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The current United States Attorney is Wifredo A. Ferrer

Wifredo A. Ferrer

Wifredo A. "Willy" Ferrer is the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. He was nominated on February 24, 2010 by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate on April 22, 2010. He was officially sworn in as United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida on...

.

The Southern District of Florida encompasses a geographical area of about 15,197 square miles (39,360 km2) extending south to Key West, north to Sebastian and west to Sebring. The Southern District includes the counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe, Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, Okeechobee and Highlands.

The United States Attorney's Office has a staff of approximately 233 Assistant United States Attorneys and 227 support personnel. The main office is located in Miami, Florida, with three staffed branch offices located in Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Fort Pierce and one unstaffed branch office located in Key West. There is also a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) office in West Miami-Dade and a Health Care Fraud Facility in Miramar.

Organizational Structure

The United States Attorney for Southern District of Florida is the chief law enforcement officer in the district and is organized as follows: Executive Division, Administrative Division, Appellate Division, Civil Division, Asset Forfeiture Division, Criminal Division (consisting of the Economic & Environmental Crimes Section, Major Crimes Section, Narcotics Section, Public Integrity and National Security Section. In addition to the Miami office, there are staffed branch offices in Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Ft. Pierce, and an unstaffed office in Key West. A general description of the office departments are as follows:

Administrative Division

The Administrative Division provides administrative services and logistical support relating to financial management, personnel management, procurement, management information systems, telecommunications, space and security.

Appellate Division

The Appellate Division provides advice and assistance to the litigation sections in appellate matters, prepares and reviews memoranda and briefs for the entire District, and argues cases before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Asset Forfeiture Division

The Asset Forfeiture Division was established in 1993 as an independent Division, overseeing all criminal and civil forfeiture related litigation in the Southern District of Florida. The mission of the Asset Forfeiture Division is to promote, facilitate and enforce compliance with the laws of the United States using criminal and civil forfeiture to disrupt and deter criminal activity, to dismantle criminal enterprises and to separate criminals and their associates from the profits of their illegal activities.

Assistant United States Attorneys assigned to the Asset Forfeiture Division handle all civil forfeiture matters in the District; handle and assist Criminal Division Assistant United States Attorneys with forfeiture related issues in criminal prosecutions and have overall responsibility for all issues involving all asset forfeiture including investigations, seizures and final disposition of assets. The District emphasizes criminal forfeiture and is consistently among the top districts nationwide in judicial forfeiture recoveries and Asset Forfeiture Fund deposits. Forfeited funds are used, as permitted by federal law, to support federal, state and local law enforcement activities and, in appropriate cases, to provide full or partial restoration to victims of criminal activity.

Civil Division

The Civil Division defends the interests of the United States from suits alleging statutory torts, constitutional torts, employment discrimination, and a myriad of other claims. The Civil Division also prosecutes cases for fraud and other violations of federal laws, and is responsible for collecting monies owed to the government as a result of criminal fines, defaulted student loans, mortgage foreclosures, bond forfeitures and civil judgments. The division's civil rights enforcement program investigates and litigates cases involving discrimination in the areas of housing, public employment, disability, voting and education.

Economic & Environmental Crimes Section

The Economic & Environmental Crimes Section investigates and prosecutes violations of Federal statutes dealing with white collar offenses, such as violations of mail and wire fraud statutes; securities laws; the Federal Corrupt Practices Act; false statement and claim statutes; provisions designed to protect banking institutions from fraud and misapplications; criminal statutes relating to the administration of the National Bankruptcy Act; tax cases; and a host of other anti fraud statutes. The section also investigates and prosecutes criminal violations of the environmental and wildlife protection laws throughout the District, including the prosecution of traditional polluters who violate standards with respect to the air, lands and waters, as well as non-traditional offenses such as the dumping of solid and plastic wastes by the maritime industry and providing law enforcement support in the extensive National Parklands and Wildlife Refuges within the District. A significant portion of resources is directed to enforcement of wildlife protection measures such as the Endangered Species Act, Lacey Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act, for violations ranging from habitat destruction to the illicit international trade in threatened and endangered species.

Executive Division

The Executive Division directs the litigation, operations and administration of the entire district.

Major Crimes Section

The Major Crimes Section is responsible for prosecuting reactive federal crimes that occur in Dade and Monroe counties, as well as conducting short-term investigations. The majority of the cases involve violations of the following categories: (1) government operations and property (attacks on Federal officers, theft of government property, counterfeiting, postal offenses, social security fraud, forged Treasury checks); (2) channels of interstate commerce (aircraft hijacking, interference with flight crew, transportation of stolen property, failure to file currency reporting forms when traveling in or out of the United States, and trafficking in stolen and counterfeit securities and credit cards); (3) legal process (bond jumps, obstruction of justice, false statements to federal agents); (4) violent crimes (kidnapping, extortion and armed robbery under the Hobbs Act; bank robbery; carjacking; and illegal possession of firearms); (5) crimes against women, children and families, (including stalking cases under the Violence Against Women Act, enforcement of the Child Support Recovery Act, child pornography, and rape occurring on the high seas); (6) immigration offenses; (7) narcotics violations (importation of narcotics via Miami International Airport, the Port of Miami, and air drops at sea, and marijuana grow houses); and (8) crimes that take place in a location where the United States has exclusive jurisdiction.

Narcotics Section

The Narcotics Section investigates and prosecutes violations of Federal statutes relating to high-level drug traffickers and other major representatives of drug trafficking organizations. The Section is also responsible for the supervision of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) programs.

Public Integrity & National Security Section

The Public Integrity and National Security Section investigates and prosecutes crimes relating to the safety and integrity of the public. From a security standpoint, all international and domestic terrorism related matters are handled in the section including material support and financing cases as well as matters involving the illegal export of military and regulated mixed use technology items. The section also works to enhance public integrity by investigating and prosecuting Federal, state and local officials for violations of federal statutes covering bribery, graft, conflict of interest, embezzlement, and extortion. Civil Rights statutes are also vigorously enforced by the section as well as other federal laws protecting the public from incidents of racial or other animus-based violence, involuntary servitude and other misconduct done under the color of law.

External links

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