Nicole M. Argentieri

Nicole M. Argentieri serves as the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division.  In that capacity, Ms. Argentieri supervises the Division’s more than 1,400 federal prosecutors and staff members who conduct investigations and prosecutions involving organized and transnational crime, violent crime, cybercrime, public corruption, money laundering, securities fraud, health care fraud, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations, Bank Secrecy Act and sanctions offenses, child exploitation, international narcotics trafficking, human rights violations, intellectual property theft, and other crimes, as well as matters involving international affairs and sensitive law enforcement techniques. 

Ms. Argentieri joined the Criminal Division in May 2022 as Chief of Staff to Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr.  In September 2022, Ms. Argentieri became the Criminal Division’s Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, and she has served as the head of the Division since August 2023.  Ms. Argentieri previously served in the Justice Department for over a decade as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York, where she was Chief of the Public Integrity Section among other leadership positions.  In recognition of her efforts, she was the 2017 recipient of the New York City Bar Association’s Henry L. Stimson Award for outstanding prosecution.  Prior to joining the Criminal Division, Ms. Argentieri was a partner at a large international law firm, where she focused on white collar defense and corporate investigations, leading investigations into allegations involving international bribery and corruption, sexual harassment and assault, accounting irregularities, and whistleblower complaints.

Ms. Argentieri is a graduate of Columbia University with a B.A. in English and a cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she served as the Associate Editor of the Journal of Labor and Employment Law.