Michael Bosworth Named Bradford Award Winner

Michael Bosworth

Each year, NAFUSA recognizes an Assistant U.S. Attorney for outstanding performance through the J. Michael Bradford Memorial Award. The award is named after J. Michael Bradford, who served as a U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Texas from 1994 to 2001. Bradford, who died in 2003, had a distinguished career in public service, including successfully defending the government against lawsuits stemming from the 1993 siege of the Branch Davidian’s compound in Waco, Texas. NAFUSA annually solicits nominations from current U.S. Attorneys for the Bradford Award. Typically, the recipient has handled a significant investigation and prosecution or series of prosecutions that has had a significant impact and merits special recognition.

Once again, a number of exceptional nominations were made by U.S. Attorneys around the country. The Michael Bradford Award Committee was chaired by NAFUSA Vice President Matt Orwig. Its members included Ed Dowd, Hal Hardin, Karen Hewitt, Paul Coggins, Joe  Whitley and Rich Rossman. This year, the Board voted to give the award to Michael Bosworth.

Bosworth, shown above, is an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York and was nominated by his U.S. Attorney, Preet Bharara. Bosworth currently is the co-chief of the Complex Frauds Unit in the SDNY.  In that role, he oversees the Office’s criminal prosecutions of financial fraud, cybercrime, tax fraud, health care fraud, intellectual property crimes, and FCPA violations, among other white collar crimes.  Prior to his current assignment, he served as deputy chief of the Public Corruption Unit, where he successfully prosecuted former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, former New York State Senator Carl Kruger, and financial advisor Kenneth Starr.  Mr. Bosworth clerked for the Honorable Stephen G. Breyer of the U.S. Supreme Court, the Honorable Robert A. Katzmann of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the Honorable Jed S. Rakoff of the Southern District of New York. He graduated Princeton University summa cum laude in 2000 and graduated Yale Law School in 2003.

Bosworth supervises a team of senior AUSAs who handle the most complex cases in the SDNY. Perhaps his most notable case in the past year was the case against prominent hackers in the “Anonymous” case. He also handled the overseas tax evasion initiative of the office which led to the indictment and conviction of Wegelin & Co., Switzerland’s oldest bank, for conspiring with U.S. taxpayers to conceal more than $1.2 billion kept in Swiss bank accounts. He was also the driving force behind numerous financial fraud cases including the prosecution of of the massive $1 billion fraud in which employees of the Long Island Rail Road retired early and falsely claimed to be disabled; a $100 million fraud in which brokers defrauded insurance companies into issuing stranger-owned life insurance policies; and a $66 million mortgage fraud that resulted in the convictions of five corrupt attorneys.
Preet Bharara told the Bradford Award committee that Bosworth “is a mentor to others in the office.” He sees Bosworth as a practical thinker with a “great sense of humor.” In addition to his work in the office, Bosworth volunteers on weekends and nights on a suicide hotline.
Bosworth will be presented with the Bradford Award on Saturday, September 28, 2013, at NAFUSA’s conference in Washington.

The Board considered many other outstanding nominations made by U.S. Attorneys. In recognition for the exceptional work performed by these other assistant U.S. attorneys, NAFUSA will award a plaque to each AUSA, which will be presented by the U.S. Attorney in their respective office, along with in some cases a member of NAFUSA from that district.

The other nominees were:

  •  Michael K. Atkinson, nominated by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., District of Columbia, for his work in connection with his prosecution of Operation Five Aces, a $1 billion domestic bribery/federal contracting case.
  • Aloke S. Charkravarty, nominated by U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz, District of Massachusetts for his work in high profile national security cases and outreach to Arab, Sikh and Muslim communities.
  • Randal A. Sengel, nominated by the Western District of Oklahoma for a lifetime of achievement, including service on the Nichols prosecution team.
  • Elizabeth S. Tonkin, nominated by United States Attorney William C. Killian, Eastern District of Tennessee, for her work in settling the Hill-Rom case, a $41.8 million settlement with one of the nation’s largest suppliers of durable medical equipment.
  • Nichole A. Engisch, nominated by United States Attorney B. Todd Jones, District of Minnesota, for her work in prosecuting two of the largest corporate fraud cases in Minnesota history.
  • Deborah A. Griffin, nominated by the Southern District of Alabama for her work in prosecuting a conspiracy involving eBay and black market sales of stolen and fraudulently-obtained electronics.
  • Sheldon N. Light, nominated by United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade, Eastern District of Michigan, for his work in prosecuting public corruption and white collar cases.
  • Brian D. Pugh, nominated by United States Attorney Daniel G. Bogden, District of Nevada, for his prosecution of major mortgage fraud cases.
  • Robert H. Norman, nominated by the Northern District of Mississippi for his his prosecution of a series of prosecutions of judicial bribery cases, including Richard Scruggs.
  • John L. Walker, nominated by United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley, Western District of Louisiana, for his work in prosecuting the Dreamboard Child Exploitation cases, resulting in 46 convictions.
  • John J. Durham, nominated by United States Attorney Loretta E. Lynch, Eastern District of New York, for his prosecution of members of the notorious street gang, La Mara Salvatrucha (“MS-13”).
  • Barbara Bearnson, nominated by United States Attorney David B. Barlow, District of Utah, for her work in prosecution of sexual and physical abuse cases.