Alert 04.10.25
U.S. Department of Justice Curtails “Regulation by Prosecution” in Digital Asset Enforcement
A new DOJ policy directs prosecutors to focus on crypto fraud and use of digital assets to facilitate other crimes.
Jeff Izant is a former Justice Department official and federal prosecutor who represents corporations and individuals in commercial litigation, government investigations and white collar defense.
Prior to joining Pillsbury, Jeff was the Acting Chief of Staff in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). He was also previously an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, where he served as Cybercrime Counsel, the Computer Hacking & Intellectual Property AUSA, and a National Security Cyber Specialist.
Representative Experience
- Jeff most recently served as the third-most senior official in DOJ’s Criminal Division, overseeing the day-to-day strategic, operational and personnel management of over 550 federal prosecutors and 1,000 staff in 15 cities nationally and 65 countries worldwide, with an active budget of approximately $1 billion.
- During his seven years as an AUSA, Jeff investigated and prosecuted complex criminal cases, from inception through trial and appeal, involving cybercrime, cryptocurrency, export controls, fraud, identity theft, money laundering, public corruption, violent crime, terrorism and witness tampering.
- Jeff also spent nearly two years at an AmLaw 50 firm representing U.S. and multinational companies and senior executives in government investigations on matters relating to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, insider trading, health care fraud, criminal antitrust, and sanctions, and in accompanying civil litigation.
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- As Acting Chief of Staff, Jeff helped Department leadership supervise the Division’s investigations, prosecutions and appeals in high-visibility cases involving Bank Secrecy Act violations, corruption, cybercrime, fraud, money laundering, racketeering and sanctions violations, including the charging, litigation and resolution of cases involving corporate defendants prosecuted by the Fraud Section and the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section’s Bank Integrity Unit.
- As an AUSA, Jeff investigated and prosecuted national security crimes involving cyber advanced persistent threat groups, counterintelligence, international terrorism, domestic terrorism and export control violations.
- He also led complex, transnational cybercrime investigations relating to computer intrusions, account takeovers, data breaches, ransomware schemes, darkweb markets, cryptocurrency fraud and unlawful money transmitters, including takedown of:
- Phobos ransomware organization and indictment and arrest of the group’s leaders; and
- cryptocurrency money laundering exchange Cryptex, which offered complete anonymity to users and advertised itself directly to cybercriminals.
- Prosecuted the attempted material support of terrorism for ISIS-inspired plot to drive a truck through crowds at Dulles Airport and the National Harbor (U.S. v. Henry).
- Tried and convicted perpetrator of cross-country fentanyl trafficking conspiracy involving multiple defendants and thousands of Title III wiretap communications (U.S. v. Dewitt).
- Tried and convicted CEO of government IT contracting business during two-week trial for $50 million bank fraud and money laundering scheme (U.S. v. Gaver).
- Tried and convicted Sinaloa cartel member for trafficking hundreds of kilograms of controlled substances throughout the United States (U.S. v. Chaidez-Mesa).
- Briefed numerous Fourth Circuit appeals, including successfully arguing appeal defending district court’s order authorizing involuntary medication of incompetent pretrial detainee (U.S. v. Abney).
- Acted as the District’s chief legal counsel on all matters relating to cybercrime and cyber-enabled offenses, including the collection and admission of electronic evidence.
- Founded and chaired the District’s Dark Markets and Digital Currency Crimes Task Force, after recruiting leadership from more than 11 investigating agencies to provide resources to target use of darkweb services and cryptocurrency to facilitate crime.
Professional Highlights
- “Trends in Cybersecurity – Threat Assessment,” University of Maryland Cybersecurity Conference, November 6, 2023. Panelist.
- “Cybercrime and Counterintelligence,” FBI InfraGuard Maryland Conference, May 2023. Panelist.
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- Benjamin Gruenstein & Jeffrey J. Izant, “Newman Addresses Divisive Insider Trading Issue,” N.Y.L.J. (July 7, 2014)
- Editor-in-Chief, Columbia Business Law Review, 2012 – 2013
- James Kent Scholar (2012, 2013)
- Jeffrey J. Izant, “Mens Rea and the Martin Act: A Weapon of Choice for Securities Fraud Prosecutions?,” 2012 Colum. Bus. L. Rev. 913 (2012)
- Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar (2011)
Education
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J.D., Columbia Law School, 2013
B.A., Princeton University, 2008
Admissions
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District of Columbia
New York
Courts
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U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Clerkships
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Law Clerk, Hon. Reena Raggi, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, 2015 – 2016
Law Clerk, Hon. Nicholas G. Garaufis, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, 2014 – 2015