Kate Payerle

Kate Payerle began serving as Deputy Assistant Attorney General (DAAG) in October 2026.  In this role, Kate oversees the Criminal Division’s White Collar and Corporate Enforcement Section (White Collar Section) and Appellate Section. Her responsibilities include supervising domestic and multijurisdictional fraud and foreign corruption matters, as well as violations of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) and other laws enacted to protect the health and safety of Americans. She also reviews all corporate resolution and declination terms in the White Collar Section to ensure consistent implementation of the Department’s Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy. 

Kate started her career in the Department in 2016 as a Trial Attorney in Health Care Fraud Unit where she prosecuted multi-million dollar health care fraud schemes before becoming an Assistant Chief in the Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid Strike Force. In 2021 and 2022, she served on detail to the Embassy of the United States in Guatemala as a Resident Legal Advisor.  Upon her return to the United States, she served as the Chief of the Litigation Unit of the White Collar Section (then, the Fraud Section).  In that role, she supervised and coached trial teams for every jury trial in the Section and managed the Section’s most sensitive litigation issues. Most recently, she helped to incorporate criminal prosecutors from the Consumer Protection Branch into the White Collar Section, serving as the Chief of the Health and Safety Unit until she was appointed as a DAAG.   

She is the recipient of an Assistant Attorney General award for her work on the prescription opioid strike force, was recognized by Women in Federal Law Enforcement (WIFLE) as a Top Prosecutor, and received the Department of Health and Human Services – OIG Award for Excellence in Fighting Fraud, Waste, and Abuse.

Prior to joining the Department, Kate was a commercial litigation attorney for the law firm of Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson. Additionally, she clerked for the Honorable Dana M. Sabraw in the Southern District of California.

Kate is a graduate of the University of San Diego School of Law. She received her Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the University of North Carolina and a Master of Pacific International Affairs from the University of California – San Diego.