Criminal Division

The Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office is responsible for prosecuting violations of federal criminal laws. The offenses cover a wide range of crimes including violent crimes committed by street gangs, terrorism, narcotics trafficking, firearms offenses, health care fraud, public corruption, civil rights violations, securities fraud, tax crimes, identity theft, human trafficking, and child exploitation

The Criminal Division works closely with federal and state law enforcement agencies that investigate violations of federal law. These agencies include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Department of Health and Human Services, United States Marshals Service, Internal Revenue Service, United States Secret Service, United States Postal Inspection Service, Environmental Protection Agency, and the Offices of Inspector General for various federal agencies. The Criminal Division also works closely with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, and other local police departments, county sheriff’s offices, and drug task forces consisting of representatives from federal, state, and local law enforcement to enforce federal law.

The Criminal Division is divided into the following Units: the Organized Crime Unit, the White-Collar Crime Unit, and the General Crimes Unit.  A description of each Unit follows:

Organized Crime Unit

The Organized Crime Unit identifies, investigates, and prosecutes significant drug trafficking and money laundering organizations with the goal of disrupting and dismantling the operations of those organizations to reduce the drug supply in the Middle District of Tennessee and the United States. AUSA’s in the OCU also prosecute civil rights violations.

White-Collar Crime Unit

The White-Collar Crime Unit prosecutes corporations and individuals who commit violations of a wide variety of federal laws, including healthcare fraud, bank fraud, investment fraud, securities fraud, tax crimes, and theft from government programs. The investigations and prosecutions frequently involve complex criminal schemes implicating the bank, mail, and wire fraud statutes. 

General Crimes Unit

The General Crimes Unit (GCU) prosecutes violent crimes such as shootings, carjackings, and the armed robberies of banks, pharmacies, and other businesses. A focus of the GCU is the enforcement of federal firearm laws which prohibit the possession of firearms and ammunition by convicted felons and those individuals who possess firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes. AUSAs in the GCU also prosecute other offenses such as interstate violation of sex offender registry laws, inmates who escape from federal prison facilities, and identity theft related to mail or wire fraud.  

Anti-Terrorism

The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Tennessee has established and maintains an Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council (ATAC). The current function of each ATAC is to enhance training and information sharing among the district’s federal, state and local law enforcement, as well as other first responders and private parties, in matters related to terrorism. Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) Josh Kurtzman is the ATAC Coordinator for the Middle District of Tennessee.

The Nashville-area Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), which is led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and comprised of various other state and federal agencies, is the primary agency responsible for investigating potential terrorist related activities and suspicious incidents. Prosecutions are coordinated with the Criminal Division at the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The primary objectives of the JTTF are: 1) the prevention and disruption of terrorist activity by implementing the full range of resources available to investigate terrorist incidents; and 2) the vigorous prosecution of those who have committed, or intend to commit, terrorist acts in the United States.