SACRAMENTO, Calif. November 10, 2009 - The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California announced today that Benjamin B. Wagner was sworn in as the new United States Attorney by United States District Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr. Wagner's nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Thursday, November 5, and signed by President Barack Obama on Friday, November 6. Wagner, 49, of Sacramento, will be the 10th presidentially appointed U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District.
United States Attorney McGregor Scott resigned in January 2009, and Lawrence G. Brown was appointed interim U.S. Attorney. The Eastern District covers 34 counties throughout the Central Valley and the Sierras, from the Oregon border in the north to Los Angeles County line in the south. The office has 80 attorneys and an equal number of non-attorney staff, with offices in Sacramento and Fresno. The U.S. Attorney is responsible for prosecuting federal criminal cases and representing the United States in civil litigation.
Benjamin B. Wagner has been a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California for over 17 years. Since 2000, he has served as Chief of the Special Prosecutions Unit, which is responsible for prosecuting public corruption, financial fraud, tax evasion, corporate fraud, cyber crimes, identity theft, and other federal crimes. He has also served as the district antiterrorism coordinator for the last two years, overseeing national security and terrorism-related investigations and prosecutions. He has received national awards for his work in prosecuting public corruption, money laundering, tax evasion, domestic terrorism, and health care fraud cases.
From 2005 to 2006, Wagner was stationed in Jakarta, Indonesia as the U.S. Department of Justice's Resident Legal Advisor, advising Indonesian prosecutors on combating corruption, terrorism, money laundering, and related criminal justice issues. He was awarded the Meritorious Honor Award by the U.S. State Department for his work in Indonesia.
Before joining the U.S. Department of Justice in 1992, Wagner spent over five years as an associate at the New York City law firm of Cahill, Gordon & Reindel. He graduated from the New York University School of Law in 1986, where he was Managing Editor of the NYU Journal of International Law and Politics, and from Dartmouth College in 1982.
"It will be an honor to lead the men and women of this outstanding office," Wagner said. He also thanked Lawrence G. Brown for his stewardship of the office over the last 10 months. "Larry Brown is a true professional," Wagner said, "and we are fortunate that he has agreed to continue to serve the office in a leadership position."
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