FBI Columbia - Investigative Programs

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is the lead federal agency in the fight against terrorism in the United States. The primary mission today is to identify, detect, and deter acts of terrorism, either domestic or international, directed against the United States, U.S. citizens, or U.S. interests, before they occur. To do this the FBI maintains close liaison with all elements of the United States Intelligence Community as well as the law enforcement agencies of our friends and allies overseas, and has established close working relationships with the law enforcement organizations within all of the FBI Divisions. The FBI conducts sensitive intelligence investigations to detect the planning and development of terrorist cells, as well as criminal investigations that lead to the prosecution of terrorists and those that provide them material support.

The Columbia Division of the FBI has established a Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) which brings federal, state, and local investigators and officers together in the fight against terrorism. Task Force Officers have been assigned to regional offices throughout South Carolina and significantly increase the ability of the FBI to address critical investigative taskings. The JTTF conducts investigations of alleged terrorist activity; pursues leads within South Carolina in national terrorism investigations; and ensures constant contact with Sheriff and Police Departments throughout South Carolina to increase and ensure information flow between the federal and local agencies.

The FBI Columbia White Collar Crime Program combats a number of complex crimes which include corruption, financial fraud and government fraud which victimizes the government, industry, businesses and individual citizens locally and nationally. White Collar Crime has a significant impact on the public's welfare and the economic well-being of its citizens. White Collar Crime has been conservatively estimated to cost the U.S. more than $300 billion annually.

The criminal tools or weapons used by white-collar criminals generally involve computers, telephones and the use of mail service to facilitate the criminal lies. The white collar criminal cannot be stereotyped. It could be the individual calling the elderly victim in a telemarketing scheme, the unscrupulous doctor cheating the health care system and causing higher premiums or it could be the crooked judge who for a bribe will pervert justice. These white collar crimes cheat the U.S. citizen of honest services.

Crimes covered under the White Collar Crime Program in Columbia include the following:

Public Corruption
Corporate/Securities and Commodity Fraud
Health Care Fraud
Financial Institution Fraud (FIF)
Money Laundering
Insurance Fraud
Fraud against the Government
Environmental Crimes
Telemarketing Fraud
Bankruptcy Fraud

The Violent Crimes Program is responsible for investigating violations of the Federal Statutes which include Kidnapping, Crimes Against Children, Interstate Property Crimes, Bank Robbery, Fugitive Matters, Crimes Aboard Aircraft, Safe Street violations, and Crimes on a Government Reservations. The Columbia Division utilizes three Violent Crimes Task Forces too successfully investigation crimes committed by criminal enterprises.

The Columbia Division investigates multi-jurisdictional organizations and criminal enterprises which engage in drug trafficking, money laundering, and both traditional and non-traditional organized crime activities. As appropriate, counter narcotics investigations utilize sophisticated investigative techniques, operate informants, and develop criminal intelligence. Many investigations are conducted through joint task forces such as the Organized Crime/Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) concept. Those efforts culminate in building prosecutable cases against individuals and criminal enterprises which engage in some of the most serious criminal offenses threatening our communities.

At the core of the FBI's Drug Program is the recognition that the greatest impact on drug trafficking groups is achieved by concentrating investigations on major international and domestic criminal organizations and on regional groups that control significant segments of illegal activities in the United States. The FBI's counter narcotics investigative resources are organizational-based and intelligence-driven. Such resources are used to disrupt and dismantle criminal organizations and enterprises through prosecution, as well as the seizure and forfeiture of assets derived from the proceeds of criminal activity and assets used to facilitate criminal activity.

Of the ten investigative priorities established within Columbia Division, the Organized Crime Program (OCP) is ranked seventh. Investigative efforts in Columbia Division's OCP are consistent with the FBI's national strategy on organized crime and are dedicated to identifying, disrupting, and dismantling traditional and non-traditional organized crime groups operating within its territory. While the presence of traditional organized crime groups such as the LCN have not been significant in South Carolina, non-traditional organized crime elements such as the Yugoslavian, Albanian, Croatian, Serbian and Asian Criminal Enterprises have been detected. In order to effectively address these organized crime groups, Columbia Division's OCP employs the Enterprise Theory of Investigation (ETI). The utilization of the ETI allows for the investigation and prosecution of entire organizations and hierarchies functioning as criminal enterprises. To further disrupt and dismantle these criminal organizations, Columbia Division's organized crime strategy also includes the effective employment of forfeiture laws in order to deny these criminal enterprises the ability to profit from their illegal activity.

The Columbia Division investigates civil rights violations in the state of South Carolina. The FBI as a whole investigates allegations of federal civil rights violations which include racial and religious discrimination, color of law/use of excessive force or misconduct by law enforcement officials and others, involuntary servitude and slavery, violence against reproductive health facilities, and violations of the Voting Rights of 1965, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act.