U.S. Department
of Justice
Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section
Section Overview
The Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section investigates and prosecutes high-tech crimes, including both cyber-based attacks on the nation’s electronic infrastructure and economic crimes committed using computers, as well as intellectual property crimes, such as theft of intellectual property and economic espionage. The Central District is home to sensitive government computer installations, a significant high-tech industry, and the motion picture and recording industries, among many others. Protecting the security of these industries is a priority of the United States Attorney’s Office, with particular emphasis on investigating and prosecuting sophisticated attacks on computer systems and intellectual property offenses. The Section also prioritizes cyber threats to individuals including cyber stalking, online threats, “sextortion,” and similar crimes.
As a part of the National Security Division, Cyber AUSAs work in conjunction with attorneys from the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section on all matters dealing with National Security, including hacking and economic espionage done at the behest of foreign powers. The prosecutors in all of our cases, of course, rely on the incredible dedication and expertise of cyber investigators at the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Secret Service, and other law enforcement partners. In addition, the Section also provides guidance to prosecutors throughout the Office on technological trends.
Because of the global nature of cyber threats, investigating and prosecuting cybercrime poses unique jurisdictional and technical challenges: cybercriminals operating in one foreign jurisdiction might use infrastructure in a second to victimize businesses or individuals located in other countries—all the while employing sophisticated technical methods to both magnify their capability for crime and shield them from law enforcement. Cybercrime is global and, thus, we attack it globally, working closely with foreign governments to address this global problem.
Click here for more information about the Office’s Cybersecurity Program.
Section Leadership
Cameron Schroeder
Cameron L. Schroeder was appointed Chief of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section in 2020, after previously serving as Deputy Chief of the section. Ms. Schroeder joined the Office in 2007, quickly moving into the Office’s Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force section. While there, she prosecuted numerous gang-related drug-trafficking organizations around the District, including in the cities of Los Angeles, Monterey Park, Chino, Oxnard, and Indio. Her trials in this area included an unusual “Continuing Criminal Enterprise” prosecution of a high-profile Mexican Mafia associate and leading member of a Ventura County gang. She won a California Lawyer Attorney of the Year Award in 2013 for her work on the RICO prosecution of several members of the 18th Street Gang, who were responsible for numerous violent acts, including the murder of an infant and the attempted murder of a street vendor whom the gang was extorting.
After several years of gang and drug prosecutions, Ms. Schroeder moved into national security work, particularly supporting the work of the FBI in investigating Sunni extremist and Al Qaeda-affiliated groups and individuals. She then became a supervisor in the Office’s General Crime section, supervising new AUSAs prosecuting a wide variety of federal crimes. While in that role, Ms. Schroeder was selected to supervise the reinstitution of the Office’s Complaints Unit, where almost all reactive federal cases in the District are now charged.
Since joining the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section, Ms. Schroeder’s casework has included a variety of both core “cyber” cases and copyright and trademark infringement matters. On the cyber-crime side, she has investigated and prosecuted developers, administrators, and customers of complex malware, and individual perpetrators of network attacks and computer intrusions, as well as individuals and groups offering computer-crime-as-a-service, such as DDoS-for-hire services. On the IP side, she has prosecuted large-scale copyright infringement matters, such as the data theft and sale of pre-release blockbuster films, and consumer electronics trademark infringement cases, with an emphasis on public safety and large-scale fraud. She also continues to support the FBI in its national security cyber missions, including around election security and nation-state or cross-border threats.
Ms. Schroeder earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School and her B.A. in Russian Regional Studies from Barnard College. She previously worked at the New York offices of Debevoise & Plimpton, LLP, where she specialized in international arbitration, complex commercial litigation, and internal investigations; she also performed extensive pro bono work on criminal defense matters, asylum cases, first amendment litigation, and transgender and women’s rights litigation. She has lived abroad in several countries, including the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, South Africa, and Russia, and applies that international perspective to much of her work in the cyber and IP arenas.
Recent Cases
October 25, 2022
Press Release
West L.A. Man Sentenced to 18 Years in Federal Prison for Harassment Campaign Targeting Female Doctors at VA Facilities
September 16, 2022
Press Release
Former Marine Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Cyberstalking Young Women in ‘Sextortion’ Campaign While on Active Duty
August 31, 2022
Press Release
Chatsworth Man Pleads Guilty to Stalking Charges for Sending Two Sisters Death Threats and Harassment Campaign Against Teenager
August 1, 2022
Press Release
Former Owner of T-Mobile Retail Store in Eagle Rock Found Guilty of Committing $25 Million Scheme to Illegally Unlock Cellphones
July 18, 2022
Press Release
West L.A. Man Found Guilty of Stalking Charges for Longtime Harassment Campaign Against Female Doctors at VA Facilities
Section Contact Information
The United States Attorney's Office
Central District of California
Attn: Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section
312 N. Spring St., 15th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Individuals who wish to report activity that they believe may be related to terrorism should call the FBI at (310) 477-6565.