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Introductory Statement by United States Attorney Kevin V. Ryan
The United States Attorney's Office is responsible for representing the federal government in virtually all litigation involving the United States in the Northern District of California, including all criminal prosecutions for violations of federal law, civil lawsuits against the government, and actions to collect judgments and restitution on behalf of victims and taxpayers.
The Northern District of California is undoubtedly one of the most exceptional districts in the nation. The District stretches from the Monterey Coast in the South to California's northern border with Oregon, and from the Pacific Ocean in the West nearly to Sacramento in the east. We have three major metropolitan areas that are very different politically, culturally, and from a law enforcement perspective: San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose. Our district also includes Silicon Valley, which has experienced one of the most explosive periods of economic growth in the history of our country. The total population of our district is more than 7.3 million.
The Office has been at the forefront in confronting new types of crime, such as computer hacking, internet fraud and intellectual property theft; new spins on old crimes, such as accounting and securities fraud and computer chip theft; and traditional crimes like narcotics trafficking, bank robbery, guns, violence, environmental crime, civil rights violations and fraud. Since the events of September 11, 2001, the Office, along with other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, has redoubled its anti-terrorist efforts by increasing resources devoted to terrorist investigations.
In addition to prosecuting federal crimes, the Office also continues to bring and defend civil cases in which the United States is a party, and also to collect debts owed to the federal government.
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