SAN DIEGO (Press Release) – Adam L. Braverman, a veteran prosecutor who has spent a significant part of his government career pursuing large-scale international drug trafficking cartels, took the oath of office today to become U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California following his interim appointment by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
“It is an honor and privilege to be asked to lead an office that is so close to my heart,” Braverman said. “I intend to support all the excellent work that is underway in this office, and also to pursue new, comprehensive, long-term solutions to our most challenging issues – particularly those crimes committed by transnational criminal organizations.”
Braverman, a native of Columbus, Ohio, has been a federal prosecutor in San Diego since 2008. He was most recently deputy chief of the Criminal Enterprises Section, which investigates and prosecutes international and domestic narcotics trafficking organizations and criminal street gangs.
During his tenure as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Braverman led one of the Department of Justice’s most successful investigations and prosecutions of the Sinaloa Cartel, which resulted in the indictments of more than 125 people, including the command and control structure of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Braverman has been the recipient of numerous significant awards in recent years, including a Justice Department honor for superior performance as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in 2017 and the prestigious J. Michael Bradford Award from the National Association of Former United States Attorneys in 2016 for most outstanding performance by an Assistant U.S. Attorney.
With his appointment, Braverman becomes the top-ranking federal law enforcement official in the Southern District of California, which includes San Diego and Imperial counties. The office is responsible for prosecuting federal crimes in the district, including crimes related to terrorism, public corruption, child exploitation, firearms, immigration and narcotics. The office also defends the United States in civil cases and collects debts owed to the United States.
Braverman earned his bachelor’s degree in political science and criminal justice from The George Washington University in 1997 and his law degree from The George Washington University School of Law in 2000. He began his legal career as a law clerk, first for Washington, D.C. Superior Court Judge Ann O’Regan Keary in 2000 and then for U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton in the District of Columbia in 2002.
In 2004, Braverman went to work in private practice at Goodwin Procter in Washington, D.C. and then became a law clerk for Judge Consuelo M. Callahan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 2007. He joined the U.S. Attorney’s office in San Diego in 2008.
Braverman replaces Alana Robinson, who was appointed by Department of Justice officials in January to be acting U.S. attorney on a temporary basis for up to 300 days, a period that expired today. Chief U.S. District Judge Barry T. Moskowitz officiated over the swearing-in ceremony.
*
Preceding provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.