The U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey is the chief federal law enforcement officer in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. On December 16, 2021,

Philip R. Sellinger Philip Rabner Sellinger (born 1954) is an American lawyer serving as the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, United States attorney for the District of New Jersey. Early life and education Sellinger was born in Boston. He ...

was sworn in as U.S. Attorney. The

U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (in case citations, D.N.J.) is a federal court in the Third Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the ...

has jurisdiction over all cases prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney.

Organization

The Office is organized into divisions handling civil, criminal, and appellate matters, in addition to the Special Prosecutions Division, which oversees political corruption investigations. The District of New Jersey is also divided into three vicinages: Newark, Trenton and Camden, with the southern two offices supervised by a Deputy U.S. Attorney. The office employs approximately 170 Assistant U.S. Attorneys. It is the fifth-largest U.S. Attorney's Office in the nation, behind those in the District of Columbia, Los Angeles,

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, and

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

High-profile cases

Hugh Addonizio Hugh Joseph Addonizio (January 31, 1914 – February 2, 1981) was an American Democratic Party politician who was sentenced to prison for corruption. He was the 33rd Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, from 1962 to 1970, and a U.S. Congressman from ...

- Conviction of former Newark mayor on conspiracy and extortion charges * BitClub Network (2019) - Indicted five individuals for operating and promoting the BitClub Network, an elaborate, worldwide Ponzi scheme that law enforcement estimates took in more than $1 billion from investors. * Wayne Bryant - Conviction of former chairman of New Jersey Senate Budget & Appropriations Committee for funneling money to the

University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) was a state-run health sciences institution of New Jersey, United States. It was founded as the Seton Hall College of Medicine and Dentistry in 1954, and by the 1980s was both a majo ...

in exchange for a no-show job at the University. * Joseph Centanni (2020) - Filed a civil rights lawsuit against a major landlord who repeatedly engaged in a pattern or practice of sexual harassment of numerous tenants and applicants. *

Cognizant Cognizant is an American multinational information technology services and consulting company. It is headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, United States. Cognizant is part of the NASDAQ-100 and trades under CTSH. It was founded as an in-hous ...

(2019) - Charged the former President and the former Chief Legal Officer of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. with violations of the FCPA in connection with a foreign bribery scheme. *

Crazy Eddie Crazy Eddie was a consumer electronics chain in the Northeastern United States. The chain was started in 1971 in Brooklyn, New York, by businessmen Eddie and Sam M. Antar, and was previously named ERS Electronics (ERS stood for Eddie, Rose and ...

- Conviction of Eddie Antar, founder and CEO of Crazy Eddie, a consumer electronics chain, for fraud *

Walter Forbes Walter Forbes (born 1942/43) is an American corporate executive and former Federal prisoner. He was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey and convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, a ...

- Conviction of former chairman of

Cendant Corporation Cendant Corporation was an American provider of business and consumer services, primarily within the real estate and travel industries. In 2005 and 2006, it broke up and spun off or sold its constituent businesses. Although it was based in New Yo ...

for fraud. * EDGAR Hacking Attack (2019) - Indicted Artem Radchenko and Oleksandr Ieremenko for a large-scale, international conspiracy to hack into the

Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...

’s Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval (EDGAR) system and profit by trading on critical information they stole. * Fort Dix Six (2007) - Conviction of group of six radical Islamist men allegedly plotting attack on Fort Dix military base *

Fort Lee lane closure scandal The Fort Lee lane closure scandal, also known as the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal or Bridgegate, was a political scandal involving a staff member and political appointees of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie colluding to cr ...

(2014) *

Cornelius Gallagher Cornelius Gallagher may refer to: * Cornelius Gallagher (American politician) (1921–2018), U.S. Representative from New Jersey * Cornelius Gallagher (Canadian politician) Cornelius Gallagher (December 31, 1854 – October 27, 1932) was a ...

- Guilty plea of New Jersey Congressman for tax evasion * Nelson G. Gross - Conviction of former Republican state chairman on perjury and obstruction of justice charges *

Sharpe James Sharpe James (born February 20, 1936) is an American Democratic politician from New Jersey, who served as State Senator for the 29th Legislative District and was 37th Mayor of Newark, New Jersey. James was the second African American Mayor of ...

(2008) - Conviction of former Newark mayor on corruption charges *

Robert C. Janiszewski Robert Charles Janiszewski (born September 18, 1945) is an American former Democratic Party politician who served as County Executive of Hudson County, New Jersey from 1988 to 2001. In 2002 he pleaded guilty to taking more than $100,000 in br ...

(2002) - Guilty plea of Hudson County Executive for tax evasion and bribery *

John V. Kenny John Vincent Kenny (April 6, 1893 – June 2, 1975) was mayor of Jersey City from 1949 to 1953. Biography He was born on April 6, 1893. A former ward leader under longtime mayor Frank Hague, he broke with his mentor after Hague engineered t ...

- Conviction of former Jersey City mayor and chairman of Hudson County Democratic Party on conspiracy, bribery, and extortion charges *

Charles Kushner Charles Kushner (born May 16, 1954) is an American real estate developer, former federal inmate, and disbarred former attorney. He founded Kushner Companies in 1985. In 2005, he was convicted of illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion, a ...

(2004) - Guilty plea of real estate developer—and largest campaign donor to former New Jersey Governor

James E. McGreevey James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

—for filing false tax returns and for attempting to retaliate against a witness in a federal criminal case *

Hemant Lakhani Hemant Lakhani (1935 – June 19, 2013) was an Indian-born British rice trader and sari salesman. He was convicted in 2005 of illegal arms dealing after purchasing a fake surface-to-air missile from a Russian intelligence agent posing as a dis ...

(2005) - Conviction of black market arms dealer attempting to sell shoulder-fired missiles * Gene Levoff (2019) - indicted former Corporate secretary and Director of corporate law at

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...

for orchestrating a five-year insider trading scheme. * John A. Lynch, Jr. - Guilty plea of former president of

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...

for mail fraud and tax evasion * Newark Violent Crime Initiative (VCI) (2018-2020) - awarded an Attorney General’s Award in October 2019 as the model for cooperative law enforcement among federal, state, county and city agencies. The VCI led to a 30 percent reduction in the number of shooting victims city-wide between 2017 and 2018 and another 39 percent decline in 2019. In 2020, a year in which violent crime spiked in various places across the country, Newark maintained the same low in the number of murders. *

Novartis Novartis AG is a Swiss-American multinational pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland and Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States (global research).name="novartis.com">https://www.novartis.com/research-development/research-loc ...

/ Alcon (2020) - Two deferred prosecution agreements regarding significant violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act at Greek and Vietnamese subsidiaries of the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis, resulting in penalties of $345 million, representing the second largest criminal and regulatory fine imposed against pharmaceutical companies under the FCPA. *

Operation Bid Rig Operation Bid Rig was a long-term investigation into political corruption in New Jersey conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, and the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey from 2002 to 2014 ...

(2002–2009) - Multi-stage political corruption sweep, resulting in arrest of Hoboken Mayor

Peter Cammarano Peter J. Cammarano III (born July 22, 1977) is an American disbarred attorney, former Democratic politician and a convicted felon. He was the 37th mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey, serving from July 1 until July 31, 2009. Cammarano was arrested by t ...

, Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell, New Jersey Assemblymen

Daniel Van Pelt Daniel M. Van Pelt (born September 4, 1964) is an American Republican politician, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from January 8, 2008, until July 31, 2009, when he resigned after being arrested in connection with Operation Bid Rig o ...

and

L. Harvey Smith Leonard Harvey Smith (born December 19, 1948) is an American Democratic Party politician who has served in the New Jersey General Assembly from January 8, 2008 to January 10, 2010, where he represented the 31st legislative district. He is the for ...

, and Jersey City Council President Mariano Vega * Operation Brace Yourself (2019) - Investigation and prosecution of sweeping

durable medical equipment Durable medical equipment is any medical equipment used in the home to aid in a better quality of living. It is a benefit included in many insurance policies and in some cases covered by Medicare benefits. The item is defined by Title XIX for Med ...

kickback schemes that resulted in the largest healthcare fraud takedown yet pursued by the Department. *

Purdue Pharma Purdue Pharma L.P., formerly the Purdue Frederick Company, is an American privately held pharmaceutical company founded by John Purdue Gray. It was owned principally by members of the Sackler family as descendants of Mortimer and Raymond Sackl ...

(2020) - prosecution of opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma L.P. for three felonies, including conspiracy to defraud the

DEA The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...

and

Anti-Kickback Statute The Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) is an American federal law prohibiting financial payments or incentives for referring patients or generating federal healthcare business. The law, codified at 42 U.S. Code § 1320a–7b(b), imposes criminal and, par ...

violations—for its gross misconduct in misbranding and mismarketing

OxyContin Oxycodone, sold under various brand names such as Roxicodone and OxyContin (which is the extended release form), is a strong, semi-synthetic opioid used medically for treatment of moderate to severe pain. It is highly addictive and a commonly ...

that amounted to over $8 billion in penalties. * Samsam Ransomware (2018) - Indicted two Iranians—Faramarz Shahi Savandi and Mohammad Mehdi Shah Mansouri—for conducting the largest ransomware attack in the U.S. that crippled institutions in New Jersey and elsewhere. * Sarah Brockington Bost (2002), Mayor of Irvington, New Jersey *

Martin Taccetta Martin "Marty" Taccetta (born May 2, 1951) is an imprisoned New Jersey mobster who was the alleged boss of the Jersey Crew, a powerful faction of the Lucchese crime family. Early life Born in Newark, New Jersey in 1951, Martin Taccetta is the s ...

Michael Taccetta Michael Salvatore Taccetta (born September 16, 1947), also known as "Mad Dog," is a high-ranking member of the Lucchese crime family, who controlled the family's New Jersey faction in the 1980s. Personal life Taccetta, also known as "''Mike T' ...

(1987) - Unsuccessful prosecution of high-ranking members of

The Jersey Crew The Lucchese crime family's New Jersey faction, also known as the Jersey Crew,Carlpg. 232-236/ref> is a powerful crew within the Lucchese crime family. The members operate throughout the Northern New Jersey area. During the 1970s into the late 198 ...

, a faction of the

Lucchese crime family The Lucchese crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, in the United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as ...

UMDNJ The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) was a state-run health sciences institution of New Jersey, United States. It was founded as the Seton Hall College of Medicine and Dentistry in 1954, and by the 1980s was both a majo ...

(2005) - Deferred prosecution agreement overseen by federal monitor Herbert Stern involving Medicaid double-billing and other cases of health care fraud at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.New Jersey Law Journal's Lawyer of the Year: Chris Christie
'' New Jersey Law Journal'', December 27, 2006. * Thomas J. Whelan - Conviction of mayor of Jersey City on conspiracy, bribery and extortion charges * Woodcliff Lake (2018) - Filed a civil rights lawsuit against the Borough of Woodcliff Lake for violations of RLUIPA resulting from the Borough’s efforts to prevent an Orthodox Jewish congregation from building a new place of worship.

Prominent officeholders

Prominent assistant US attorneys *

Samuel Alito Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. ( ; born April 1, 1950) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George W. Bush on October 31, 2005, and has served ...

- Associate Justice,

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

* Carolyn Arch - Partner, Arch & Goodwin, Newark, N.J. *

Maryanne Trump Barry Maryanne Trump Barry (born April 5, 1937) is an American attorney and a retired United States federal judge. She became an Assistant United States Attorney in 1974, and was first appointed to the United States District Court for the District o ...

- U.S. Circuit Court Judge, Third Circuit * John Winslow Bissell - U.S. District Court Judge *

Matthew Boxer Matthew Boxer was the New Jersey State Comptroller. Matthew Boxer was sworn in as New Jersey's first independent state comptroller on January 17, 2008 after the recreation of the office in 2007. He served in this position until the end of his ter ...

- Comptroller, State of New Jersey * Garrett Brown, Jr. - U.S. District Court Judge * Renee Bumb - U.S. District Court Judge * Michael Chagares - U.S. Circuit Court Judge, Third Circuit *

Michael Chertoff Michael Chertoff (born November 28, 1953) is an American attorney who was the second United States Secretary of Homeland Security to serve under President George W. Bush. Chertoff also served for one additional day under President Barack Obama. ...

- Former Secretary,

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...

* Stanley R. Chesler - U.S. District Court Judge * Christopher J. Christie - Former

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...

John Farmer Jr. John J. Farmer Jr. (born June 24, 1957) is an American author, lawyer, politician, and jurist. He is the director of the Eagleton Institute of Politics, where he also leads the Miller Center for Community Protection and Resilience (CPR).

- Former Attorney General, State of New Jersey * Joseph Greenaway - U.S. Circuit Court Judge, Third Circuit *

Gurbir Grewal Gurbir Singh Grewal (; born June 23, 1973) is an American attorney and prosecutor who served as the sixty-first attorney general of the State of New Jersey from January 2018 until his resignation in July 2021. Appointed by Governor of New Jersey P ...

- Former Bergen County Prosecutor and former Attorney General of New Jersey * Peter C. Harvey - Former Attorney General, State of New Jersey * Katharine Hayden - U.S. District Court Judge * Noel Hillman - U.S. District Court Judge; Former Chief,

Public Integrity Section The Public Integrity Section (PIN) is a section of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice charged with combating political corruption at all levels of government through the prosecution of corrupt federal, state, and local electe ...

, U.S. Department of Justice * Richard Hughes - Former

; Former Chief Justice,

New Jersey Supreme Court The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases challenging th ...

David Lat David Benjamin Lat (born June 19, 1975) is an American lawyer, author, and legal commentator. Lat is the founder of Above the Law, a website about law firms and the legal profession. Before blogging, Lat attended Harvard College and Yale Law Sc ...

- Blogger, Underneath their Robes and Above the Law * William Martini - U.S. District Court Judge; Former Congressman ( NJ-8) *

Stuart Rabner Stuart Jeff Rabner (born June 30, 1960) is the chief justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. He served as New Jersey Attorney General, Chief Counsel to Governor Jon Corzine, and as a federal prosecutor at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Dist ...

- Chief Justice, New Jersey Supreme Court * Jerome Simandle - U.S. District Court Judge * Herbert Stern - former U.S. District Court Judge; former federal monitor,

Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and per ...

fraud investigation

Officeholders

References

External links

Official District Court websiteOfficial U.S. Attorney's Office websiteVideo reviewing the first 225 years of the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, 1789-2014
{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey New Jersey law New Jersey lawyers Newark, New Jersey Trenton, New Jersey Camden, New Jersey Prosecution