Jeffrey J. Izant

Prior to joining Pillsbury, Jeff was the Acting Chief of Staff in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). He was also previously an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) for the District of Maryland, where he served as Cybercrime Counsel, the Computer Hacking & Intellectual Property AUSA, and a National Security Cyber Specialist.

• Representing government contractor in defense against putative class action alleging federal and state law violations.
• Representing witness in connection with federal accounting fraud investigation.
• Represented indigent defendant pro bono on Ninth Circuit appeal from federal criminal sentence.

Government Experience

• Jeff most recently served as the third-most senior official in DOJ’s Criminal Division, overseeing the day-to-day strategic, operational and personnel management of over 550 federal prosecutors and 1,000 staff in 15 cities nationally and 65 countries worldwide, with an active budget of approximately $1 billion.
• During his seven years as an AUSA, Jeff investigated and prosecuted complex criminal cases, from inception through trial and appeal, involving cybercrime, cryptocurrency, export controls, fraud, identity theft, money laundering, public corruption, violent crime, terrorism and witness tampering.
• As Acting Chief of Staff, Jeff helped Department leadership supervise the Division’s investigations, prosecutions and appeals in high-visibility cases involving Bank Secrecy Act violations, corruption, cybercrime, fraud, money laundering, racketeering and sanctions violations, including the charging, litigation and resolution of cases involving corporate defendants prosecuted by the Fraud Section and the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section’s Bank Integrity Unit.
• As an AUSA, Jeff investigated and prosecuted national security crimes involving cyber advanced persistent threat groups, counterintelligence, international terrorism, domestic terrorism and export control violations.
• He also led complex, transnational cybercrime investigations relating to computer intrusions, account takeovers, data breaches, ransomware schemes, darkweb markets, cryptocurrency fraud and unlawful money transmitters, including investigations that led to the takedown of:

-  The Phobos ransomware organization including the indictment and arrest of the group’s leaders; and

-  The cryptocurrency money laundering exchange Cryptex, which offered complete anonymity to users and advertised itself directly to cybercriminals.

• Prosecuted the attempted material support of terrorism for ISIS-inspired plot to drive a truck through crowds at Dulles Airport and the National Harbor (U.S. v. Henry).
• Tried and convicted perpetrator of cross-country fentanyl trafficking conspiracy involving multiple defendants and thousands of Title III wiretap communications (U.S. v. Dewitt).
• Tried and convicted CEO of government IT contracting business during two-week trial for $50 million bank fraud and money laundering scheme (U.S. v. Gaver).
• Tried and convicted Sinaloa cartel member for trafficking hundreds of kilograms of controlled substances throughout the United States (U.S. v. Chaidez-Mesa).
• Briefed numerous Fourth Circuit appeals, including successfully arguing appeal defending district court’s order authorizing involuntary medication of incompetent pretrial detainee (U.S. v. Abney).
• Acted as the District’s chief legal counsel on all matters relating to cybercrime and cyber-enabled offenses, including the collection and admission of electronic evidence.
• Founded and chaired the District’s Dark Markets and Digital Currency Crimes Task Force, after recruiting leadership from more than 11 investigating agencies to provide resources to target use of darkweb services and cryptocurrency to facilitate crime.

• “What the Trade Needs to Know (and Do) About the DOJ’s New Trade Fraud Task Force,” Pillsbury's Global Trade and Sanctions Blog,  Sept. 25, 2025. Coauthor.
• “Attorney General Bondi Issues Guidance to Recipients of Federal Funding “Regarding Unlawful Discrimination,” Pillsbury Alert,  Aug. 4, 2025. Coauthor.
• “New DOJ Initiative Expands FCA Use to Enforce Civil Rights Compliance and Target DEI Initiatives,” Pillsbury Alert,  May 21, 2025. Coauthor.
• “DOJ Announces Shift in Approach to Prosecuting Corporate Crime,” Pillsbury Alert,  May 12, 2025. Coauthor.
• “U.S. Department of Justice Curtails ‘Regulation by Prosecution’ in Digital Asset Enforcement,” Pillsbury Alert,  April 10, 2025. Coauthor.
• “Newman Addresses Divisive Insider Trading Issue,” N.Y.L.J.,  July 7, 2014. Coauthor.
• “Mens Rea and the Martin Act: A Weapon of Choice for Securities Fraud Prosecutions?,” 2012 Colum. Bus. L. Rev. 913,  2012. Author.

• Speaking Engagements
  • “From Compliance to Confidence: Navigating CUI, CMMC, and the New Cyber Mandates,” 2026 GovCon East Summit, Jan. 22, 2026. Panelist.
  • “DOJ’s Enforcement- Trump 2.0,” 2025 VA CLE Marathon, Sept. 25, 2025. Panelist.
  • “Crypto Assets in the Trump 2.0 Era: Regulatory, Enforcement, and Practical Considerations,” 2025 NY CLE Marathon, June 5, 2025. Panelist.
  • “Trends in Cybersecurity – Threat Assessment,” University of Maryland Cybersecurity Conference, Nov. 6, 2023. Panelist.
  • “Cybercrime and Counterintelligence,” FBI InfraGuard Maryland Conference, May 2023. Panelist.
• Press Mentions
  • Quoted in “A Unified CEP: The VSD Calculus,” Anti-Corruption Report, April 22, 2026.
  • Quoted in “A Unified CEP: One Policy to Rule Them All?,” Anti-Corruption Report, April 8, 2026.
  • Quoted in “DoJ self-disclosure policy goes for carrot over stick,” Commercial Dispute Resolution, March 20, 2026.
• Honors & Awards
  • Editor-in-Chief, Columbia Business Law Review, 2012–2013
  • James Kent Scholar (2012, 2013)
  • Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar (2011)