The Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) leads the Department's anti-money laundering and forfeiture enforcement efforts. MLARS provides leadership by: (1) prosecuting complex money laundering and asset forfeiture cases; (2) providing assistance and training to prosecutors, law enforcement personnel and foreign governments; (3) assisting policymakers by developing and reviewing legislative, regulatory, and policy initiatives; and (4) managing the asset forfeit program.
Summary
The Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) leads the Department's anti-money laundering and forfeiture enforcement efforts. MLARS provides leadership by: (1) prosecuting complex money laundering and asset forfeiture cases; (2) providing assistance and training to prosecutors, law enforcement personnel and foreign governments; (3) assisting policymakers by developing and reviewing legislative, regulatory, and policy initiatives; and (4) managing the asset forfeit program.
The incumbent serves as the Deputy Chief of the Money Laundering and Forfeiture Unit (MLFU), which prosecutes complex money laundering cases and litigates civil and criminal forfeiture actions. In addition to carrying a case load, the incumbent assists the Chief in managing the other members of the Unit, which consists of approximately 10 experienced trial attorneys and a senior attorney advisor, and supervises the work of up to 10 Forfeiture Fellows, ensuring these attorneys are provided with the support and supervision necessary to become contributing members of the Unit.
The incumbent:
Advises experienced attorneys and Fellows on strategic approaches to their money laundering and forfeiture investigations and cases. Assigns, oversees, and reviews the work of Forfeiture Fellows.
Advises the Chief with respect to the day-to-day operations of the Unit. With the Chief, plans and carries out the training and development of employees; ensures that Unit attorneys are properly prepared and trained to litigate complex matters, trains Unit attorneys on discovery obligations and ethical considerations.
Reviews search and seizures warrants, Lis pendens, restraining orders, complaints, criminal forfeiture allegations, indictments, prosecution memoranda, dispositive pretrial motions, and other pleadings.
Provides litigation advice to other Criminal Division litigating components, U.S. Attorneys' Offices, federal investigative agencies, and state and local prosecutors and agencies on money laundering and asset forfeiture issues.
Develops and maintains working relationships with partners at the U.S. Attorneys' Office, other litigating components and offices, and federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
Represents MLARS in inter-departmental and inter-agency meetings and communicates on matters concerning money laundering and asset forfeiture issues. With the Chief, influences development of Department policy regarding money laundering and asset forfeiture.
Leads and attends training courses, seminars, conferences and other classes to maintain and enhance professional competence, individually and on the part of more junior attorneys; keeps apprised of changes in legislation, case law, and program operating procedures to ensure compliance.
Evaluates Forfeiture Fellows' performance and recommends selections, promotions, awards, disciplinary actions and separations.
You must be a U.S. Citizen to qualify for this position.
You must undergo a pre-employment security investigation.
All male applicants born after 12/31/1959 must have registered for the selective service. If selected, the applicant must sign a statement certifying his registration, or the applicant must demonstrate exempt status under the Selective Service Law.
DIRECT DEPOSIT: All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
You must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
This position has supervisory/managerial responsibilities. A one-year supervisory/managerial probationary period is required upon selection. This may be waived if you have successfully completed the supervisory/managerial probationary period.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications: Interested applicants must possess a J.D., or equivalent, degree, be duly licensed and authorized to practice as an attorney under the laws of any State, territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia, and be an active member of the bar in good standing. To qualify at the GS-15 grade level, applicants must have at least four (4) years post J.D. legal experience, one of which was specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-14 grade level. Examples of specialized experience include: independently performing legal analysis; composing pleadings, briefs and other court documents involving unique and/or difficult legal issues in civil or criminal litigation; conducting highly complex civil or criminal litigation; and leading paralegals and support staff.
Preferred Qualifications:
This position requires a seasoned trial attorney with at least five years of criminal trial experience, and the skills and knowledge necessary to bring large, difficult, and complex cases to trial; experience with money laundering investigations and prosecutions; experience litigating federal civil and criminal forfeiture matters; the ability to write clearly and persuasively civil and criminal pleadings at the district court and appellate level; a high level of skill with regard to legal research, issue spotting, and legal analysis; attention to detail; ability to conduct concise yet thorough oral briefings; and the ability to exercise sound judgment with regard to litigation and management issues. In addition, the successful candidate must have strong interpersonal and leadership skills, and the ability to work successfully in a team setting.
Education
A J.D., or equivalent, degree.
Applicants who possess an equivalent degree rather than a J.D. may be subject to additional review by the Office of Attorney Recruitment and Management.
Additional information
Additional selections may be made from this vacancy announcement to fill vacancies that occur subsequent to this announcement.
An in-person interview in Washington, D.C. may be required for this position prior to final selection. The cost of travel to the interview site will be the responsibility of the applicant unless otherwise stated. Reasonable accommodation requests will be considered on an individual basis as requested by a person with a disability. Declining an invitation to interview may remove you from further consideration.
The Criminal Division participates in the Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification Program (E-Verify). E-Verify helps employers to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees.
The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. Except where otherwise provided by law, there will be no discrimination because of color, race, religion, national origin, political affiliation, marital status, disability (physical or mental), age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, status as a parent, membership or non-membership in an employee organization, on the basis of personal favoritism, or any non merit factor. The Department of Justice welcomes and encourages applications from persons with physical and mental disabilities. The Department is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department of Justice. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.
It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment. Employment is also contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation. Only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review and the United States Attorneys' Offices. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, non-U.S. Citizens may apply for employment with other organizations, but should be advised that appointments of non-U.S. Citizens are extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements. Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
The Department of Justice cannot control further dissemination and/or posting of information contained in this vacancy announcement. Such posting and/or dissemination is not an endorsement by the Department of the organization or group disseminating and/or posting the information.
If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
BASIS OF RATING: Once the announcement closes, your application will be automatically evaluated and rated by the system and a Human Resources Specialist. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your application and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating.
There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed (visit the OPM website, www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting document(s)). Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service-connected disabilities or receipt of nonservice-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that his or her retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that he/she was transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more).
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes the Assessment Questionnaire and the Required Documents indicated below. The Application Package must be received by 11:59 PM, Eastern Time, on 04/22/2021.
You are strongly encouraged to convert your resume to an Adobe PDF file prior to submitting your application, especially if you are submitting using a Mac system. Resumes not pre-converted to a PDF file will undergo conversion by the system. This conversion process may cause some formatting changes to your resume, including line and page break errors. To ensure your submitted resume does not display with formatting issues, please submit your resume as a PDF. This error does not affect USAjobs resumes.
A complete application package must include:
Cover Letter (highlighting relevant experience).
Resume - Applicants will be evaluated based on a comparison of the position requirements against the quality and extent of experience or related education as reflected in their resume. Applicants are encouraged to ensure work experiences clearly show the possession of knowledge of the subject matter pertinent to the position and the technical skills to successfully perform the duties of the position. Resumes of any length will be accepted, however only information contained in the first five (5) pages will be reviewed against the position requirements. Please ensure all information you believe is qualifying for the position is contained in the first five pages, or you may be marked ineligible. Additionally, your resume must include the following information for each job listed: month and year, start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008), and full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week).
Assessment Questionnaire (you will be prompted to complete this when you apply online).
Documentation of eligibility for special hiring authorities (if applicable) to prove appointment eligibility. Examples include: Schedule A disability letter, Peace Corps volunteer letter, military spouse hiring authority documentation, etc.
Current or Former Political Appointees (if applicable) - please note on your resume and attach an SF-50. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the HR Office.
Schedule A Documentation (if applicable) - The Criminal Division welcomes and encourages applications from persons with disabilities and is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department. The Criminal Division also encourages eligible Schedule A applicants to submit their resumes directly to the Criminal Division disability POC, LaToya Washington at LaToya.Washington@usdoj.gov.
If you are a discharged, non-disabled veteran, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 showing character discharge (Member 4 copy), or other Documentation of Service and Separation under Honorable Conditions. If you don't have your DD-214, you may request it after discharge from the National Archives at www.archives.gov/veterans.
If you are a veteran within 120 days of discharge, you must submit signed documentation from the Armed Forces certifying: 1) your expected release/retirement from active duty, 2) under honorable conditions, 3) your pay grade/rank/rate at time of discharge, 4) dates of active duty service, 5) any campaign or expeditionary medals received, and 6) dated within 120 days of your separation.
If you are a disabled veteran, Purple Heart recipient, or mother or spouse of a disabled or deceased veteran, you must submit a completed SF-15 http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf and all additional proof required by the SF-15, as applicable. If you don't have your Department of Veterans Affairs letter establishing proof of disability, you may request it at http://www.ebenefits.va.gov/ or call 1-800-827-1000.
To begin the process, click the Apply Online button to create an account or log in to your existing USAJOBS account. Follow the prompts to complete the assessment questionnaire.
Please ensure you click the "Submit My Answers" button at the end of the process.
Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section
c/o Human Resources
1400 New York Avenue NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20004
US
Next steps
We will notify you of your status as a candidate after each step of the recruitment process (receipt of application, determination of basic qualifications, notice of forward to selecting official, and final selection). After extending a tentative job offer and receiving acceptance by the selectee, we will conduct an employment suitability/security background investigation to confirm that the selectee meets all requirements to fill the position. We expect to make a final job offer once all such reviews have been completed.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes the Assessment Questionnaire and the Required Documents indicated below. The Application Package must be received by 11:59 PM, Eastern Time, on 04/22/2021.
You are strongly encouraged to convert your resume to an Adobe PDF file prior to submitting your application, especially if you are submitting using a Mac system. Resumes not pre-converted to a PDF file will undergo conversion by the system. This conversion process may cause some formatting changes to your resume, including line and page break errors. To ensure your submitted resume does not display with formatting issues, please submit your resume as a PDF. This error does not affect USAjobs resumes.
A complete application package must include:
Cover Letter (highlighting relevant experience).
Resume - Applicants will be evaluated based on a comparison of the position requirements against the quality and extent of experience or related education as reflected in their resume. Applicants are encouraged to ensure work experiences clearly show the possession of knowledge of the subject matter pertinent to the position and the technical skills to successfully perform the duties of the position. Resumes of any length will be accepted, however only information contained in the first five (5) pages will be reviewed against the position requirements. Please ensure all information you believe is qualifying for the position is contained in the first five pages, or you may be marked ineligible. Additionally, your resume must include the following information for each job listed: month and year, start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008), and full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week).
Assessment Questionnaire (you will be prompted to complete this when you apply online).
Documentation of eligibility for special hiring authorities (if applicable) to prove appointment eligibility. Examples include: Schedule A disability letter, Peace Corps volunteer letter, military spouse hiring authority documentation, etc.
Current or Former Political Appointees (if applicable) - please note on your resume and attach an SF-50. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the HR Office.
Schedule A Documentation (if applicable) - The Criminal Division welcomes and encourages applications from persons with disabilities and is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department. The Criminal Division also encourages eligible Schedule A applicants to submit their resumes directly to the Criminal Division disability POC, LaToya Washington at LaToya.Washington@usdoj.gov.
If you are a discharged, non-disabled veteran, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 showing character discharge (Member 4 copy), or other Documentation of Service and Separation under Honorable Conditions. If you don't have your DD-214, you may request it after discharge from the National Archives at www.archives.gov/veterans.
If you are a veteran within 120 days of discharge, you must submit signed documentation from the Armed Forces certifying: 1) your expected release/retirement from active duty, 2) under honorable conditions, 3) your pay grade/rank/rate at time of discharge, 4) dates of active duty service, 5) any campaign or expeditionary medals received, and 6) dated within 120 days of your separation.
If you are a disabled veteran, Purple Heart recipient, or mother or spouse of a disabled or deceased veteran, you must submit a completed SF-15 http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf and all additional proof required by the SF-15, as applicable. If you don't have your Department of Veterans Affairs letter establishing proof of disability, you may request it at http://www.ebenefits.va.gov/ or call 1-800-827-1000.
To begin the process, click the Apply Online button to create an account or log in to your existing USAJOBS account. Follow the prompts to complete the assessment questionnaire.
Please ensure you click the "Submit My Answers" button at the end of the process.
Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section
c/o Human Resources
1400 New York Avenue NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20004
US
Next steps
We will notify you of your status as a candidate after each step of the recruitment process (receipt of application, determination of basic qualifications, notice of forward to selecting official, and final selection). After extending a tentative job offer and receiving acceptance by the selectee, we will conduct an employment suitability/security background investigation to confirm that the selectee meets all requirements to fill the position. We expect to make a final job offer once all such reviews have been completed.
Fair and transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
