Duties
The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York (NDNY) is seeking an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) to work in the Criminal Division's Asset Recovery Unit, as the Asset Forfeiture Coordinator in its Syracuse, New York office.
The United States Department of Justice has prioritized investigations and prosecutions relating to illegal immigration, Cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) and the illegal trafficking of dangerous drugs and human beings, collectively known as the Border District Surge (BDS). As part of this initiative, AUSAs work on various criminal and affirmative or defensive civil cases as well as related asset forfeiture efforts.
This position is in NDNY's Criminal Division which is comprised of approximately 39 attorneys and is responsible for enforcing federal criminal statutes. Within the Criminal Division, the Asset Forfeiture Program encompasses the seizure, management, forfeiture, and disposition of assets that represent the proceeds of, or were used to facilitate, federal crimes.
The selected AUSA will serve as the Asset Forfeiture Coordinator within the Criminal Division's Asset Recovery Unit. The Asset Recovery Unit is supervised by the Chief of the Criminal Division and includes both the Asset Forfeiture and Financial Litigation Programs. Together, they form a team dedicated to forfeiting the profits of crime, enforcing federal criminal monetary penalties, and vindicating the rights of crime victims under federal law. The Asset Forfeiture Program has four primary goals: (1) Punish and deter criminal activity by depriving criminals of property used in or acquired through illegal activities. (2) Promote and enhance cooperation among federal, state, local, tribal, and foreign law enforcement agencies. (3) Recover assets that may be used to compensate victims when authorized under federal law. (4) Ensure that the Program is administered professionally, lawfully, and in a manner consistent with sound public policy.
The Asset Forfeiture Coordinator is expected to effectively coordinate asset forfeiture and money laundering litigation throughout the Criminal Division, including by providing training to all Criminal Division Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSAs), instituting best practices and model pleadings for asset forfeiture litigation, providing consultation and guidance to AUSAs in individual cases, leading asset forfeiture litigation in complex matters as needed, overseeing the work of contract asset forfeiture personnel, fulfilling the Office's various reporting requirements, and coordinating efforts with the U.S. Marshals Service and other external partners. The work requires discretion and independent judgment in the application of specialized knowledge of particular laws, regulations, precedents and agency practices. The Asset Forfeiture Coordinator works closely with Criminal AUSAs to ensure appropriate forfeitures in criminal cases and bears primary responsibility for the litigation of civil asset forfeitures, and coordinates with the District's Financial Litigation Unit to maximize compensation to crime victims.
Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex, as training and experience progress.
Security Requirements: Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory preemployment adjudication. This includes fingerprint, credit and tax checks, and drug testing. In addition, continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation.
Selective Service Requirement: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See www.sss.gov.
Residency Requirement: Assistant United States Attorneys generally must reside in the district to which he or she is appointed or within 25 miles thereof. See 28 U.S.C. 545 for district-specific information.
Travel Requirement: Employment will require occasional travel to court at one of the designated District sites, namely Albany, Auburn, Binghamton, Malone, Plattsburgh, Syracuse, Utica, and Watertown. Other occasional travel within and/or outside the District may be required.
Required Documents
You must provide a complete Application Package, which includes the following information/documents in the format specified:
- Required: Your responses to the Online Occupational Questionnaire (This is completed automatically during the apply online process).
- Required: A cover letter not-to-exceed one page addressed to the United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III, C/O Brianna Strauss, Executive Assistant describing your qualifications and interest in NDNY.
- Required: Your resume not-to-exceed one page including relevant experience and dates of employment (include month/year) for each period (paid or volunteer), date J.D. was awarded (include month/year), and date of Bar Admission (include month/year).
- Required: A writing sample representing written legal advocacy. Please include a cover page to the writing sample with a short description of the source of the sample, the level of editing it received, and the degree of original work.
- Required, if applicable: A recent copy of an SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action), showing title, series, grade, and current salary; and a copy of your most recent performance appraisal.
- Required, if applicable: To get Veterans' Preference, you must indicate your preference in response to the appropriate question in your assessment questionnaire and you must submit the appropriate supporting documentation. See the "How you will be Evaluated" section for details regarding what is appropriate Veterans' Preference documentation. It is also recommended that you include veterans' preference information in your cover letter or resume.
Department of Justice Policies
Outreach and Recruitment for Qualified Applicants with Disabilities: The Department encourages qualified applicants with disabilities, including individuals with targeted/severe disabilities to apply in response to posted vacancy announcements. Qualified applicants with targeted/severe disabilities may be eligible for direct hire, non-competitive appointment under Schedule A (5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(u)) hiring authority. Individuals with targeted/severe disabilities are encouraged to contact one of the Department's Disability Points of Contact (DPOC) to express an interest in being considered for a position. See list of
DPOCs.
Suitability and Citizenship: 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. Congress generally prohibits agencies from employing non-citizens within the United States, except for a few narrow exceptions as set forth in the annual Appropriations Act (see,
https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/non-citizens/). Pursuant to DOJ component policies, only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review, U.S. Trustee's Offices, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, qualifying non-U.S. citizens meeting immigration and appropriations law criteria may apply for employment with other DOJ organizations. However, please be advised that the appointment of non-U.S. citizens is 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. All DOJ employees are subject to a residency requirement. Candidates who have lived outside the United States for two or more of the past five years will likely have difficulty being approved for appointments by the Department Security Staff. The two-year period is cumulative, not necessarily consecutive. Federal or military employees, or dependents of federal or military employees serving overseas, are excepted from this requirement.
Current or Former Political Appointees: 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, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office by providing a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment:
- Position title;
- Type of appointment (Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES, or Presidential Appointee);
- Agency; and
- Beginning and ending dates of appointment.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from
schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
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.
How to Apply
To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section.
The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 07/27/2025 to receive consideration.
1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
2. Click the Submit My Answers button to submit your application package. (It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation are submitted prior to the closing date.)
3. To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the more information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.
You are encouraged to apply online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application. However, should you not be able to apply online, please contact Maria Farrell at 315-449-0963 or email at maria.farrell@usdoj.gov, prior to the closing date of this announcement to request an alternate method of applying.
Next steps
We will notify you of the outcome after each step of the recruitment process has been completed. After making a tentative job offer, we will conduct a suitability/security background investigation, to include a credit and tax checks, and a drug test by urinalysis.
We expect to make a final job offer within 120 days after the closing date of the announcement.