The U.S. Department of Justice is doubling the number of prosecutors on its cryptocurrency crime team that was first established in 2021.
In 2022, the Justice Department had more than 150 federal prosecutors across America working to combat the rise in crimes linked to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC).
The crypto team’s mandate to investigate and prosecute criminal offenses involving the abuse of cryptocurrencies is not changing, according to the Department of Justice.
However, the unit will focus more on ransomware crimes going forward. Additionally, the Justice Department has appointed a new leader for the crypto crime unit.
Claudia Quiroz has been named the new leader of the cryptocurrency team. She previously worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California.
Launched in 2021, Justice Department’s Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team has, to date, largely focused on thefts and hacks involving decentralized finance and cryptocurrencies.
