Governor-elect Murphy today introduced Bergen County Prosector Gurbir Grewal as the next Attorney General.
Grewal is a Democrat, and was appointed by Christie as County prosecutor.
About Grewal:
Gurbir S. Grewal was appointed as Acting Bergen County Prosecutor on January 4, 2016, and sworn in as Bergen County Prosecutor on November 14, 2016. As Prosecutor, he is the chief law enforcement officer of Bergen County – the most populous county in New Jersey and home to nearly 1 million residents living in 70 municipalities. He oversees a staff of approximately 265 personnel at the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office (“BCPO”), consisting of Assistant Prosecutors, Detectives, and support staff. He also exercises supervisory authority over approximately 2,700 sworn law enforcement officers in 72 law enforcement agencies that operate in Bergen County. In addition to conducting its own proactive investigations, the BCPO maintains specialized squads that assist municipal police departments in the investigation of crimes calling for increased personnel, specialized equipment, technical know-how, or highly specialized training. These crimes include arson, homicide, sex crimes, drug trafficking, traditional organized crime, domestic violence, financial crimes, and cyber crimes.
Prior to his appointment, Prosecutor Grewal worked as an Assistant United States Attorney (“AUSA”) in the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey from 2010 to 2016. While at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he served as Chief of the Economic Crimes Unit from 2014 to 2016 and oversaw the investigation and prosecution of all major white collar and cyber crimes in the District of New Jersey. Among others, he was the lead prosecutor in United States v. Drinkman, et al., the largest known data breach prosecution in which the conspirators participated in a worldwide scheme that targeted major corporate networks and stole more than 160 million credit card numbers, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. He was also the lead prosecutor in United States v. Weinstein, et al., a $200 million Ponzi scheme in which the lead defendant was sentenced to 24 years’ imprisonment. He also supervised the investigation and prosecution of United States v. Turchynov, et al., the largest known computer hacking and securities fraud scheme in which conspirators hacked into three business newswire services, stole yet-to-be published press releases containing non-public financial information, and then traded on that information to generate approximately $30 million in illegal profits.
Before becoming a federal prosecutor in New Jersey, Prosecutor Grewal also served as an AUSA in the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York from 2004 to 2007, where he was ultimately assigned to the Business and Securities Fraud Unit. As an AUSA in the Eastern District of New York, he investigated and prosecuted a wide range of narcotics offenses, white collar crimes, and terrorism cases. His significant matters included the successful prosecution of 12 men charged with providing material support to the Tamil Tigers terrorist organization.
In addition to his work as a federal prosecutor, Prosecutor Grewal has also worked in private practice, including at Howrey LLP (from 1999 to 2004 in Washington, D.C., and from 2008 to 2010 in New York, NY). While at Howrey LLP, he counseled clients on a range of matters including securities, trademark, antitrust and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act issues; represented individuals and companies in government investigations and criminal proceedings; conducted internal investigations for public corporations; and conducted civil trials.
Prosecutor Grewal graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in 1995. He obtained his law degree from the College of William & Mary, Marshall-Wythe School of Law in 1999.
He was also the one who instructed Mahwah not to enforce discriminatory park ban this past summer. Great Move!