Justice Department Chases Criminals Eager to Profit From Pandemic

'The worst of the worst'

"These are the worst of the worst individuals, in my mind,” he says. “We're all in this together. This is a time when Americans — even though we're isolated and separated from one another — we need to be there for each other, we need to support one another.

"And people who prey on the circumstance that we all find ourselves in, in order to make a buck, are just the worst of the worst human beings, as far as I'm concerned."

What motivates them?

"It doesn't matter to us what motivates them,” he tells AARP, “but it's almost entirely greed."

Fraud complaints pour in

As of the week of April 27, the National Center for Disaster Fraud had received more than 12,000 calls and emails, with 4,200 of these deemed worthy of criminal investigation, Benczkowski says. Depending on the severity and scope of the allegations, probes could be launched by federal, state or local law enforcement or regulatory agencies, he says.

"If somebody says, ‘There's a guy who is trying to charge $50 for a six-pack of toilet paper at his local store,’ “ at best that may be referred to state or local officials, he says.

The center, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was created to combat fraud tied to government relief programs that arose after Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005.

A man on a mission

Speaking Feb. 5 at American University’s Washington College of Law, Benczkowski opened by quoting some inscriptions on the Justice Department’s headquarters building on Pennsylvania Avenue, including: “Where law ends, tyranny begins.”

The department’s mission is to “deter and punish serious wrongs,” he said. “Our job is to hold those who inflict harm to account. And we must vindicate and provide redress to victims of crime, whether that’s a person who has been defrauded, a child who has been subjected to unthinkable crimes, or someone who lives in fear of violence. And we do so in accordance with the law. That is the work the Criminal Division does, on a daily basis.”

Less than two years on the job, Benczkowski is no newcomer to the department, as this is his sixth posting there. Early in his career he was a staff member to lawmakers in the U.S. Senate and House. Before returning to the Justice Department, Benczkowski was a partner for eight years for the Kirkland & Ellis law firm in D.C. His practice centered on white-collar defense and internal and congressional investigations.

A native of Fairfax, Virginia, Benczkowski graduated with majors in archaeology and sociology from the University of Virginia in 1991 and earned a law degree at Washington University in St. Louis in 1994. His wife is also a lawyer.

He describes himself as “introverted” and “direct.” He’s proud of his Russian and Polish heritage, and has a poster in his home office for the Polish trade union Solidarity featuring actor Gary Cooper from High Noon, the legendary Western film in which a town marshal, played by Cooper, faces down a deadly gang of outlaws.

Elder fraud is also on the radar

Elder fraud is another Justice Department priority, Benczkowski says. He’s counseled his 74-year-old mother on how to avoid the crooks and con artists who reach out in emails and calls, preying on older Americans. A high school graduate, she retired as divisional manager of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Haven, Connecticut.

“You’ve been around long enough now to know who your friends are,” so be “very skeptical” of unsolicited phone calls and emails, he’s told his mother. If there’s a whiff of fraud, hang up the phone, delete the email and never click on links in suspicious emails.

When a stranger reaches out, “unfortunately, in this day and age that we live in, you should be very skeptical.”