PAL BUSINESS LUNCHEON

Director Kash Patel has named James C. Barnacle, Jr. as the assistant director in charge of the New York Field Office. He most recently served as the special agent in charge of the Charlotte Field Office in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Mr. Barnacle joined the FBI as a special agent in 2006 and reported to the New York Field Office where he worked counterterrorism and complex financial crime.

In 2013, Mr. Barnacle was promoted to a supervisory special agent to oversee a public corruption squad in the New York Field Office.

Mr. Barnacle reported to FBI Headquarters in 2015 to serve as the unit chief of the Money Laundering, Forfeiture, and Bank Fraud Unit in the Criminal Investigative Division.

Mr. Barnacle was named as the assistant special agent in charge of the Detroit Field Office's Criminal Branch in 2020. In 2023, he was promoted to serve as the section chief of the Financial Crimes Section in the Criminal Investigative Division at FBI Headquarters where he was responsible for developing creative strategies to neutralize current and emerging financial threats while simultaneously serving as a liaison to financial institutions, government regulators, and other law enforcement agencies.

In 2024, Mr. Barnacle was selected to serve as the deputy assistant director of the Criminal Investigative Division at FBI Headquarters. He oversaw the FBI's Financial Crimes Section, Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section, Violent Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking Section, National Covert Operations Section, and the Branch II Criminal Intelligence Section. During his tenure as deputy assistant director, Mr. Barnacle pioneered "Take a Beat" and "Operation Level up" – two national campaigns designed to promote public awareness on common scam tactics and the proactive identification of unsuspecting victims of fraudulent activity.

Mr. Barnacle served as special agent in charge of the Charlotte Field Office from May 2025 until reporting to New York in January 2026.

Mr. Barnacle graduated from Pennsylvania State University and worked in the financial sector before joining the FBI.