Neil Barofsky ’95, an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, was confirmed by the Senate on December 8 as special inspector general within the Treasury Department. Barofsky will audit and investigate spending by the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program that Congress and President George W. Bush established two months ago to rescue the nation’s financial sector.
Given the enormous amount of taxpayer money at stake, Congress specifically asked for three types of program oversight – one by the Government Accountability Office, another by a special congressional panel, and the third by the new inspector general.
As inspector general, Barofsky will have to file a report to Congress within 60 days detailing the purchases, obligations, expenditures, and revenues associated with the bailout plan. Congress has allocated $50 million to run the office.
A federal prosecutor for the past eight years, Barofsky has prosecuted mortgage fraud, predatory lending, deceptive foreclosure practices, and narcotics crimes.