U.S. Attorney’s Office adding prosecutors to focus on violent crime, federal aid fraud

LINCOLN — The United States Attorney’s Office will add three additional federal prosecutors, with one focusing on violent crime, another handling government fraud, and the third leading the office’s eLitigation program.

U.S. Attorney Steve Russell, in an announcement Tuesday, said the additional lawyers and two support staffers are a “significant investment of additional resources” to address violent crime and government fraud.

The fraud prosecutor will handle cases involving money laundering related to the CARES Act, passed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as misuse of Paycheck Protection Program funds and unemployment insurance.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska currently has 30 prosecutors working criminal and civil cases out of Omaha and Lincoln. That number will rise eventually to 34 assistant U.S. attorneys with the hiring of new staff and filling of current vacancies.