Antoinette T. Bacon Named Acting U.S. Attorney

Published: September 10, 2020

On September 2, 2020, Attorney General William P. Barr announced the designation of Antoinette T. Bacon as the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 3345(a)(3).

Bacon replaced U.S. Attorney Grant C. Jaquith, who announced his resignation upon his confirmation and appointment as a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in Washington, D.C. Jaquith spent 31 years in the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Prior to her designation as Acting U.S. Attorney, Bacon served as the Department’s National Elder Justice Coordinator. She spearheaded three of the largest sweeps of Elder Fraud cases, expanded the Department’s efforts to dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations targeting older Americans, and launched the Money Mule Initiative and National Nursing Home Initiative to protect older Americans from fraud schemes and abuse.

As an Associate Deputy Attorney General, she assisted the Deputy Attorney General in formulating and implementing policies, including the landmark, bipartisan Criminal Justice Reform Legislation – The First Step Act.

Bacon is a seasoned and recognized litigator, most notably for leading prosecutions of fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio (NDOH). In the NDOH, she earned her reputation for her commitment to root out corruption. She successfully prosecuted nearly 100 targets and led one of the largest corruption cases in this country’s history. Dubbed the Cuyahoga County Corruption Case, this nine-year investigation involved the prosecution of 60+ public officials and business executives, including a County Commissioner, a County Auditor, a Cleveland City Council member, two sitting judges, nine attorneys including five former prosecutors, two union leaders, and two senior hospital executives. The prosecution inspired an overhaul in Cuyahoga County government.

Following her outstanding efforts in NDOH, Bacon went on to serve as the national White Collar Crime Coordinator at the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, where she collaborated with prosecutors in all 94 U. S. Attorney’s Offices, federal agencies, lawmakers, corporate counsel, and other stakeholders to address our nation’s most serious economic crime threats.

Bacon first joined the Department of Justice through the Honors Program, as a Trial Attorney in the Antitrust Division, where she investigated international price fixing cartels. Prior to joining the Antitrust Division, Antoinette clerked for the Honorable Henry Coke Morgan, Jr., U.S. District Judge, Eastern District of Virginia. She earned a J.D. from the University of Virginia and a B.A. in Communications, Law, Economics, and Government from American University.