Nov.
27, 2018
Retired
federal agent named Distinguished West Virginian
Rowley
has helped secure millions for W.Va. law enforcement
CHARLESTON,
W.Va. – Governor Jim Justice has named a career federal
investigator a Distinguished West Virginian for helping West Virginia law
enforcement agencies recover more than $18 million from crime-related
activities over the past three decades.
Gov. Justice bestowed the honor upon Steve
Rowley, a retired special agent with the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal
Investigation section who now assists the U.S. Attorney for the Southern
District of West Virginia as a Litigation Financial Analyst.
As a federal agent, Rowley focused on
criminal tax cases, money laundering and investigations involving crimes
relating to the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act. As an LFA, he assists in all stages of
financial cases to develop evidence to support the seizure and forfeiture of
assets from defendants.
Military Affairs and Public Safety
Secretary Jeff Sandy, also a retired career U.S. Treasury Department agent,
worked with and supervised Rowley. Sandy cited Rowley’s role in cases involving
coal companies, health care providers, internet providers, pharmacists, drug
dealers, and financial institutions. He estimates that Rowley has helped secure
$16.07 million in cash forfeitures, five pieces of real estate valued over $2
million, and 28 vehicles for law enforcement.
“Mr. Rowley’s association with West
Virginia law enforcement from 1987 to present has never missed a beat,” said
Military Affairs and Public Safety Secretary Jeff Sandy. “To date, Mr. Rowley’s
leadership and investigative skills has resulted in countless individuals who
committed serious crimes in West Virginia to be prosecuted to the fullest
extent of the law and to forfeit the profits they earned from defrauding and
poisoning West Virginia citizens.”
Recipients of these recovered assets
include the West Virginia State Police, for whom it has funded training and the
purchase of vehicles, body armor and quantities of a drug that reverses opioid
overdoses.
A 1976 graduate of West Virginia State
College, Rowley retired from the IRS in December 2010 after 23 years of federal
law enforcement. An LFA since early 2011, the Dunbar native more recently
secured more than $1 million for the State Police from the First National Bank
of Williamson in May for civil violations of the Bank Secrecy Act.
“Mr. Rowley is very deserving of the
Distinguished West Virginian award as he has devoted his career to working with
federal, state and local law enforcement officers to seize illegal proceeds and
share forfeited funds with agencies like the West Virginia State Police,” said
United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “Mr.
Rowley is a rock star when it comes to working complex financial cases and we
are all fortunate to have him working with us in the Southern District of West
Virginia.”
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