Established in 1992, the El Dorado Task Force is the oldest, largest and most successful anti-money laundering task force in the nation. It consists of more than 200 members from more than 30 law enforcement agencies in New York and New Jersey – including federal agents, international, state and local police investigators, intelligence analysts and federal prosecutors. The El Dorado Task Force is headquartered at the HSI New York Special Agent in Charge Office and operates at locations throughout the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area.
The El Dorado Task Force targets financial crime at all levels. Task force agents educate the private financial sector to identify and eliminate vulnerabilities and promote anti-money laundering legislation through training and other outreach programs. Prosecutors use a full range of criminal and civil laws to prosecute targets and forfeit the proceeds of their illicit activity. The focus of the El Dorado Task Force has evolved over the years to combat the continually changing trends in financial crime. While continuing to focus on the movement of drug proceeds, the El Dorado Task Force has expanded its mission to target a range of complex financial crimes including securities and investment scams, cyber and cryptocurrency schemes, foreign corruption money laundering and frauds against the U.S. government and banking system.
In April 2018, building upon the success of EDTF, HSI officially launched El Dorado Task Force – South (EDTF-S) out of the HSI Miami office. EDTF-S leverages resources and talent from a highly trained cadre of professionals from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies with a financial crime and anti-money laundering mandate in South Florida. By pursuing joint investigations and sharing valuable intelligence and analytical assets, EDTF-S can reduce duplicity and enhance effectiveness in efforts to detect and investigate financial crime and money laundering. The EDTF-S has also developed prosecutorial partnerships to apply the full extent of the law and ensure successful outcomes of prosecutions. EDTF-S is credited with more than $428 million in seizures to date.
