Multi-agency White Collar Crimes Taskforce announced

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler and Sheriff Paul Arteta announced on Wednesday, March 1, 2023 the creation of a countywide Joint White-Collar Crimes Taskforce, which will focus on enhancing the investigation and prosecution of public corruption and financial crimes.

The Taskforce’s mandate includes the investigation of residential contractor fraud; crimes involving public integrity, public corruption, and ethics violations; embezzlement and other complex theft cases, crimes against revenue; wage theft and labor law violations.

The Task Force will operate out of the Orange County Emergency Services Center in Goshen and will seek aid in its cases from the Hudson Valley Crimes Analysis Center, which is located in the same facility. The Taskforce will be led by the District Attorney’s Office with designated Assistant District Attorneys, who will screen and monitor cases accepted for investigation and prosecution. The investigations adopted by the Taskforce will be directly supervised by Chief Trial Assistant District Attorney Richard Moran and Chief Assistant District Attorney Christopher Borek.

The Taskforce will include at least one full-time District Attorney’s Office Criminal Investigator and utilize the services of other District Attorney Office investigators as needed. The Taskforce will also be comprised of a Senior Investigator and two Investigators for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. The Taskforce is extending an invitation to all Orange County Law Enforcement agencies and various state agencies to pool their resources to investigate these complex cases which can be challenging for small agencies to pursue on their own, and which also can have severely detrimental and long-term effects on their victims. The Town of Newburgh Police Department has already agreed to assign a Detective to work with the Taskforce.

“The creation of this Joint White-Collar Crimes Taskforce is long overdue,” said District Attorney David M. Hoovler. “I am grateful to Sheriff Paul Arteta and Town of Newburgh Police Chief Bruce Campbell for recognizing the substantial manpower and commitment necessary to pursue complicated public corruption and financial fraud cases. Being the victim of a violent crime is certainly a life altering experience but being defrauded of the funds to build your dream home or losing your small business to fraud can also negatively affect victims’ lives for years. I hope that other law enforcement agencies will join us at the Taskforce. Law enforcement works best when its efforts are coordinated, cooperative and focused.”