Meet the U.S. Attorney

Acting United States Attorney Julie A. Beck has been an Assistant United States Attorney since 2003, serving most recently as the First Assistant and Acting Administrative Officer. She began her service as Acting United States Attorney on January 20, 2025.

As First Assistant, Ms. Beck led office operations, supervising all office divisions, including administrative, criminal, civil, appellate, and Branch offices comprised of approximately 235 staff and contractors. She served as co-lead of attorney hiring and interviewed all support and administrative staff. She was also responsible for the District’s security program, the Continuing Office Operations Plan, and Critical Incident Response Team.

Ms. Beck was the Acting Administrative Officer from October 2023, through December 2024, running the Administrative Division, including IT and Records Information Management, Litigation Technology, Human Resources, Procurement, Budget, and Facilities.

Ms. Beck started in the Forfeiture and Financial Litigation Unit in the Civil Division as a line AUSA. She  moved to the Controlled Substances Unit and worked on large-scale drug and money laundering conspiracy and OCDETF cases. She was awarded OCDETF Forfeiture Case of the Year in 2007 for her work on United States v. Flenory, a case she worked with former US Attorney Dawn Ison, which was a multi-defendant cocaine conspiracy and money laundering case. She also received a DOJ Criminal Division Award for her work on United States v. Ralsky, a CAN-SPAM case, in 2009.

Ms. Beck then returned to the Civil Division as Chief of the Forfeiture and Financial Litigation Unit, supervising about 26 staff comprised of AUSAs, paralegals, legal assistants, investigators, and contractors. In 2015, Ms. Beck received a Director’s Award for Excellence in Management. She subsequently served as the Civil Division Chief, which included supervision of Defensive Litigation, Affirmative Civil Enforcement, Civil Rights and Forfeiture and Financial Litigation – about 60 staff.

Ms. Beck returned to the Criminal Division as the Chief of the Drug Task Force. She was instrumental in launching the OCDETF Southeast Michigan Strike Force, which is an attorney-led Strike Force with about 75 federal, state and local law enforcement officers who are co-located and work together to combat the most significant drug trafficking and violent organizations in the District by pooling resources, intelligence and skills. She also served as the OCDETF Lead Task Force Attorney (LTFA) and participated as a Board Member for Michigan HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) and worked closely with federal, state, and local partners in that capacity.

Ms. Beck is a graduate of Brigham Young University, earning a BA in English and Education. After working for several years as a teacher, she attended the University of Michigan Law School. After law school, she completed a series of clerkships, first with the Honorable Horace W. Gilmore followed by the Honorable Paul D. Borman, both jurists for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, and an interim clerkship with the Honorable Cornelia Kennedy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. She also worked at the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, focusing on the Abandoned Properties Project and community development.