Indian American Prerak Shah, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Resigns
- He was named to the post on Jan. 10, after previously serving as the First Assistant United States Attorney.
Prerak Shah, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, has announced his resignation, effective Oct 1. The Indian American was named the Acting United States Attorney on Jan. 10, after previously serving as the First Assistant United States Attorney. He will resume private practice.
According to a Department of Justice press release, Shah led a staff of approximately 250 people across five-division offices. He was responsible for all federal criminal prosecutions and civil litigation involving the United States in his district. “Under his leadership, the office advanced a number of Justice Department priorities, from violent crime and cybersecurity to corporate fraud and False Claims Act enforcement,” the DOJ said. The Northern District covers 100 counties, more than 96,000 square miles, and a population of approximately eight million people.
Some of the cases Shah led included prosecuting “a would-be bomber allegedly plotting to attack Amazon,” bringing down “an $18 million pill mill scheme,” and securing a conviction against “a real estate developer for bribing two members of the Dallas City Council,” the DOJ said. “The office also successfully tried a trade school owner for operating a $72 million fraud scheme, convicted two men who concealed a capital murder suspect who was on the FBI’s ’10 Most Wanted’ list, prosecuted an ADT technician for hacking into over 200 customers’ video feeds, and obtained over $22 million through a deferred prosecution agreement with a multinational medical device corporation.” On the civil side, the Northern District resolved a number of False Claims Act matters, the DOJ said.
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve the 8 million people of North Texas as Acting United States Attorney,” the press release quoted Shah as saying. “I was privileged to work with not only the best federal prosecutors in the nation, but to work side-by-side with peerless federal, state, and local law enforcement partners. I am proud to have played a part in this office’s proud legacy of pursuing justice and liberty for all.”
Before serving as Acting U.S. Attorney, Shah held multiple senior leadership roles at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., including Deputy Associate Attorney General in the office overseeing the civil and criminal work of the Department’s Antitrust, Civil, Civil Rights, Environment & Natural Resources, and Tax divisions. He also served as the Deputy Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department’s Natural Resources Section.
Before joining the Justice Department, Shah served as chief of staff and chief counsel to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz and served as the Senior Counsel to the Attorney General of Texas.
(Top photo, courtesy KCBD, Texas)