Brian benczkowski on covid0-19, stimulus scams and more

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.”