(Boise, ID), Josh Hurwit, 44, of Boise, concluded his service today as United States Attorney for the District of Idaho, the top federal law enforcement position in the state. It is customary for political appointees to depart at the start of a new presidential administration. Hurwit thanked President Biden for nominating him and Senators Jim Risch and Mike Crapo for their support during the nomination and confirmation process.
“It has been the honor of my professional life to serve as United States Attorney, and I am profoundly grateful to my colleagues and to all those who joined with us to fight crime and ensure justice for all Idahoans,” said former U.S. Attorney Hurwit. “Leading a team of dedicated and extremely talented public servants has been a privilege every single day. The professionals in the U.S. Attorney’s Office exemplify the highest standards of excellence in their commitment to justice. Alongside our local, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement partners, we have used collaborative strategies to address the most pressing threats to Idaho communities, like fentanyl trafficking and the online exploitation of children. Our efforts have made an impact, and I have no doubt that this office will continue to positively impact our communities and ensure Idaho remains a wonderful place to live.”
During U.S. Attorney Hurwit’s tenure, the office redoubled its efforts to dismantle cartel-connected networks responsible for bringing dangerous drugs into Idaho. Working with its law enforcement partners, the office successfully prosecuted several drug trafficking conspiracies involving more than 10 defendants, including the Perez-Gomez, et. al. case in Jerome and the Cisneros-Guzman, et. al. set of cases in Canyon County. As the Perez-Gomez prosecution shows, the U.S. Attorney’s Office focused on ensuring that state and local enforcement can use federal prosecution in all parts of Idaho, even more rural areas hours away from a federal courthouse. The office also is now poised to host a new Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in its Coeur d’Alene branch office as a result of a partnership between the State of Idaho, Shoshone County, and other counties and cities in North Idaho.
The office remained focused on the opioid epidemic and the deadly scourge of illicit fentanyl, prosecuting 13 cases against drug dealers whose conduct led to a death due to the use of illicit fentanyl. The Basil, Walsh, and Goforth cases exemplify the office’s commitment to holding fentanyl dealers accountable and deterring other dealers from selling fentanyl in Idaho.
Under U.S. Attorney Hurwit’s leadership, the office also addressed fentanyl through robust training and awareness programs across Idaho:
- Along with federal and state partners, the office designed and conducted multiple two‑day fentanyl enforcement trainings for local law enforcement. These trainings provided up‑to‑date intelligence and covered investigation best practices for approximately two dozen agencies, including many in rural Idaho.
- With the DEA and the Idaho Office of Drug Policy, the office held the first Fentanyl Family Summit in Idaho, which provided support to the families of eight victims of fentanyl poisoning and, through the courageous and selfless efforts, raised awareness about fentanyl.
- The office also supported Idaho’s first Fentanyl Youth Summit, which brought together middle school students from three school districts to design projects in their schools to raise awareness about dangerous drugs and support healthy decision-making.
The office also continued to grow its Project Safe Childhood program, through which the office prosecutes child exploitation crimes. Since June 2022, 135 such cases weren sentenced or charged. The Aguayo case from Pocatello, the Malone case from Boise, and the Richmond case from Post Falls are representative examples of how Project Safe Childhood removes dangerous predators from all parts of Idaho. This program is positioned to continue to excel through a broad array of partnerships, among them joint efforts with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force at the Idaho Office of the Attorney General and the Treasure Valley Human Trafficking Task Force.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office also remained focused on violent crime trends even as the violent crime rate declined in Idaho consistent with national trends. Through the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, the office’s prosecutors partnered with local and state law enforcement to target violent offenders in Idaho communities. The Bright, Logan, and Rhyne cases are prime examples. In eastern Idaho, the prosecution of Morales, et. al. broke up a dangerous criminal network through which drugs from the southern border were exchanged for firearms in Idaho, some of which were recovered at crime scenes in Idaho and states across the region.
During U.S. Attorney Hurwit’s tenure, the office also dedicated increased resources to financial fraud. U.S. Attorney Hurwit established a COVID-19 Fraud Task Force to investigate illegal misuse of pandemic relief funds. So far, this effort has resulted in cases against 17 criminal defendants and civil settlements with four defendants. The amount of fraud associated with these cases is over $8.5 million. The office’s prosecutors also obtained guilty jury verdicts against (i) defendants in Meridian who sold counterfeit electronic devices made in China, (ii) a defendant who defrauded his partners in a Rexburg construction project, and (iii) a defendant from Coeur d’Alene who committed financial fraud as part of his forestry management business. The office’s civil enforcement attorneys obtained $5.9 million in judgments and settlements in cases involving health care fraud and procurement fraud.
The office also emphasized civil rights and hate crimes enforcement, including by hosting “United Against Hate” forums with the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, the Nez Perce Tribe, the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, and the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, among many other partners. The office was proud to strengthen its government-to-government relationships with Idaho’s sovereign Native American Tribes in other ways—for example, co‑hosting a regional law enforcement workshop with the Nez Perce Tribe.
U.S. Attorney Hurwit streamlined the office’s financial collection and asset forfeiture functions into a reorganized Asset Recovery Division. This team collected approximately $17.25 million in criminal and civil judgments, fines, restitution, and forfeiture. These funds were returned to victims and taxpayers.
Between 2012 and his confirmation as U.S. Attorney in 2022, Hurwit served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Idaho, first in the Civil Division and then the Criminal Division. He primarily prosecuted complex financial and environmental crimes, and he led the investigation into the Aryan Knights white supremacist prison gang, which resulted in charges against 10 defendants under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. In 2015, he received the Director’s Award for Excellence by a Litigative Team for his work as part of the team that successfully prosecuted United States v. Swenson et. al., the securities and wire fraud case arising from the collapse of DBSI, Inc. Prior to government service, Hurwit worked at the law firms of Covington & Burling LLP and Kirkland & Ellis in San Francisco, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in New York City. After law school, Hurwit clerked for U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald in the Southern District of New York.
During his tenure as U.S. Attorney, Hurwit served on numerous Attorney General Advisory Council subcommittees. He was the Chair of the Border and Immigration Subcommittee, the Chair of the Hate Crimes Working Group within the Civil Rights Subcommittee, and served on the White Collar Crime and Cyber and Intellectual Property Subcommittees.
U.S. Attorney Hurwit proudly worked to strengthen relations between his office and tribal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, traveling to 40 of Idaho’s 44 counties to meet with sheriffs, police chiefs, and county prosecuting attorneys.
As provided for under the Vacancies Reform Act, the First Assistant U.S. Attorney will immediately assume office as Acting U.S. Attorney until further action by the new administration.
“I am excited to watch the office’s continued success,” said former U.S. Attorney Hurwit. “Every member of the team has the highest professional and ethical standards and, together with our law enforcement partners, they will ensure that the administration of justice will continue seamlessly in the District of Idaho.”
The District of Idaho covers all counties and five tribal reservations across the state. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, with staffed offices in Boise, Pocatello, and Coeur d’Alene, employs 31 attorneys and 28 support staff who are responsible for conducting all criminal and civil litigation in the district involving the United States government. U.S. Attorney Hurwit had the distinct privilege of hiring 15 of these career public servants.
U.S. Attorney Hurwit will continue to reside in Boise and has not yet decided on his future professional plans.
