Andrew Lelling

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Andrew Lelling
Andrew E. Lelling.jpg
United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts
In office
December 21, 2017 – February 28, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
Joe Biden
Preceded byCarmen Ortiz
Succeeded byRachael Rollins
Personal details
Born1970 (age 50–51)
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Dana Gershengorn
Children2
EducationBinghamton University (BA)
University of Pennsylvania (JD)
[1][2]

Andrew E. Lelling[3] (born 1970) is an American attorney who served as the United States Attorney for the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts from 2017 to 2021. Prior to becoming the U.S. Attorney, he was the senior litigation counsel for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts.[4]

Early life[]

Lelling grew up in Rockland County, New York, the son of a dentist.[2]

Education and early career[]

Lelling received a Bachelor of Arts in literature and rhetoric from Binghamton University in 1991 and graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1994.[5] Lelling clerked for Berry Avant Edenfield of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia. He went on to serve as counsel to the Assistant Attorney General at the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia.

U.S. Attorney's Office[]

At the time of his nomination to serve as U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, Lelling had served for 12 years as senior litigation counsel for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts, prosecuting white collar crime, international drug trafficking, and other offenses.[4][6] He is a member of the Federalist Society and a former member of the Boston Bar Journal's board of editors.[5] He assumed office on December 21, 2017.

During his tenure with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Massachusetts, Lelling led the prosecution of a billion-dollar pyramid scheme that defrauded almost 2 million investors. A former executive of Telexfree was sentenced to six years in federal prison for his involvement in the scheme.[7] Lelling also helped prosecute Carlos Rafael, a fishing magnate known as "the Codfather" who pleaded guilty to mislabeling hundreds of thousands of pounds of fish, allowing him to illegally increase his profit margin via environmental fraud.[8] He successfully prosecuted several golfing buddies for trading on inside information about American Superconductor.[7]

On February 8, 2021, along with 55 other Trump-era attorneys; Lelling was asked to resign.[9] Lelling announced his resignation on February 10, 2021, effective February 28.[10] Lelling is reported to be joining Cleveland-based law firm Jones Day following his resignation, and to be considering a future role in elective politics.[11]

2019 college admissions bribery scandal (Operation Varsity Blues)[]

In 2019, Lelling announced charges in the 2019 college admissions bribery scandal and is leading the prosecution.[12][13] Lelling heads the securities and financial fraud unit that is prosecuting the case. The unit includes Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric S. Rosen (the lead prosecutor on the case), Justin D. O’Connell, Leslie Wright, and Kristen A. Kearney.[14][15]

Indictment of Massachusetts trial court judge[]

Main article: United States v. Joseph

In April 2019, Lelling indicted Massachusetts trial court judge Shelley M. Richmond Joseph and now-retired Court Officer Wesley MacGregor on obstruction of justice charges in regards to an April 2, 2018, incident where the judge and the court officer helped a twice-deported illegal alien who had again illegally entered the U.S. to evade arrest from the Newton District Court. Joseph and MacGregor face three different obstruction charges: conspiracy, aiding and abetting a fugitive, and obstruction of a federal proceeding. MacGregor has also been charged with perjury. Lelling said "We did not bring this case in response to the public debate over immigration enforcement. There are reasonable arguments on both sides of that debate, but this isn't a policy seminar, it's a law enforcement action."[16][17]

Indictment of MIT Professor[]

On January 14, 2021, Lelling charged Dr. Gang Chen, a professor and researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in connection with failing to disclose contracts, appointments and awards from various entities in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to the U.S. Department of Energy.[18] Dr. Chen’s prosecution was the latest in the Justice Department’s two-year-old China Initiative,[19] which aims to root out research scientists passing sensitive technology to China.[20]

Personal life[]

Lelling is married to Massachusetts juvenile court judge Dana Gershengorn and they have two children.[2]

References[]

  1. ^ "Trump nominates Andrew Lelling as Mass. US attorney - the Boston Globe". Archived from the original on 2017-09-09.
  2. ^ a b c Murphy, Shelley (2019-10-14). "Andrew Lelling fills his office with meaning". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
  3. ^ "Andrew E. Lelling Profile | Boston, MA Lawyer". Martindale.com. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  4. ^ a b "President Donald J. Trump Announces Sixth Wave of United States Attorney Nominations". whitehouse.gov. September 8, 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017 – via National Archives.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ^ a b "Meet the U.S. Attorney". 2014-12-15. Retrieved 2018-08-09.
  6. ^ Metzger, Andy (September 8, 2017). "President Donald Trump nominates Andrew Lelling for top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts". MassLive. State House News Service. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  7. ^ a b Godoy, Jody (September 18, 2017). "Boston US Atty Nominee 'Wicked Smart,' Colleagues Say". Law360. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  8. ^ McDonald, Danny (September 8, 2017). "Trump nominates Andrew Lelling as Mass. US attorney". Boston Globe. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  9. ^ Balsamo, Michael (February 8, 2021). "Justice Dept. seeks resignations of Trump-era US attorneys". Associated Press. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  10. ^ "United States Attorney Andrew e. Lelling Announces Departure". 10 February 2021.
  11. ^ "U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling leaves office, joins law firm", by MARIE SZANISZLO Boston Herald, February 26, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  12. ^ Frank, Robert; Newburger, Emma (2019-03-12). "A slew of CEOs charged in alleged college entrance cheating scam". CNBC. Retrieved 2019-03-12.
  13. ^ "Wealthy parents, actresses, coaches, among those charged in massive college cheating admission scandal, federal prosecutors say", by Eric Levenson and Mark Morales, CNN, March 13, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  14. ^ United States Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusetts (March 12, 2019). "Arrests Made in Nationwide College Admissions Scam: Alleged Exam Cheating & Athletic Recruitment Scheme". Department of Justice. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  15. ^ "Meet the Big Law Alums Prosecuting the College Admissions Scandal", by Mike Scarcella and Nate Robson, Law.com, March 13, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2019
  16. ^ Dooling, Shannon (2019-04-25). "Mass. Judge, Retired Court Officer Face Federal Charges For Allegedly Helping Defendant Evade ICE". WBUR-FM. Archived from the original on 2019-04-25. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
  17. ^ Stack, Liam (2019-04-25). "Judge Is Charged With Helping Immigrant Escape ICE at Courthouse". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
  18. ^ "MIT Professor Arrested and Charged with Grant Fraud". Justice.gov. 14 January 2021.
  19. ^ "Attorney General Jeff Sessions Announces New Initiative to Combat Chinese Economic Espionage". Justice.gov. November 2018.
  20. ^ Barry, Ellen (26 January 2021). "A Scientist is Arrested, and Academics Push Back". The New York Times.

External links[]

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