United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero Concludes Her Tenure as Chief Federal Law Enforcement Officer for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

PHILADELPHIA – Jacqueline C. Romero announced the conclusion of her tenure as United States Attorney, effective immediately.

Ms. Romero was sworn in as the chief federal law enforcement officer for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (EDPA) on June 21, 2022, following her nomination by President Joseph R. Biden and confirmation by the U.S. Senate. She oversaw one of the largest Districts in the country, with nearly six million residents across nine counties, and one of the busiest United States Attorney’s Offices, with a staff of over 300 located at offices in Philadelphia and Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Prior to her appointment as U.S. Attorney, Ms. Romero had served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the same Office for 16 years, specializing in fraud investigations and civil rights cases.

“When I came here, almost 20 years ago now, it was to do the job, to be a prosecutor. I didn’t come here for a title,” said Ms. Romero. “But it has been the absolute honor of my life to hold this title of U.S. Attorney. The work we’ve done these last years — scores of violent offenders and child predators taken off the street, fraudsters who preyed on investors and the elderly locked up, drug dealers and dirty doctors who poisoned our communities brought to justice, civil rights violations brought to light, and much more — all of it has made the Eastern District of Pennsylvania safer, stronger, and more just.”

“I’m extraordinarily proud, too, of our outreach efforts,” Ms. Romero said. “My team and I have gone out and met the people of this District where they are. It’s helped build trust in the community and that isn’t just something, it’s everything. I know that all of my colleagues here, no matter their role, will carry on this Office’s important work, on behalf of the people of southeastern Pennsylvania.”

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Under Ms. Romero’s leadership, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania prioritized both the prosecution of violent crime, fraud, and civil rights violations, and proactive anti-crime efforts through community engagement, youth outreach, and reentry initiatives.

U.S. Attorney Romero also oversaw the expansion of EDPA’s Allentown office to better serve the residents of Lancaster, Berks, Lehigh, and Northampton Counties, hiring three experienced Assistant District Attorneys from Lehigh, Berks, and Northampton Counties, to add to an experienced team with deep roots in the area. The expansion also increased the office’s physical footprint and upgraded its facilities, to meet the increased investigative workload from the Office’s law enforcement partners from the Lehigh Valley to Lancaster.

Violent Crime

U.S. Attorney Romero doubled the size of EDPA’s Violent Crime Unit, pursuing data-driven prosecutions that targeted the predominant drivers of violence in the District. Through focused partnerships with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, the Office took illegal guns off the street, dismantled dangerous gangs and drug trafficking organizations, and sent a message to area carjackers and other violent offenders. These collaborative efforts significantly contributed to a 40 percent drop in violent crime in many areas of the District.

During Ms. Romero’s tenure:

• Her Office, the ATF, FBI, and Philadelphia Police Department, working together as the Philadelphia Carjacking Task Force, charged dozens of carjackers federally, resulting in substantial prison sentences.
• USAO-EDPA, following an investigation by HSI and the Reading Police Department, secured life imprisonment for the leaders of a violent drug and sex trafficking gang known as the Sevens, putting a permanent end to their reign of terror in the city.
• EDPA prosecutors secured the conviction at trial of Rafael Vega-Rodriguez for the attempted murder of three FBI agents, resulting in a 45-year prison sentence.

White Collar Crime

Under U.S. Attorney Romero, the Office successfully prosecuted numerous complex financial fraud and public corruption cases.

Among them:

• Bringing racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud, and related charges against Joseph LaForte and James LaForte, the main principals of the fraudulent investment vehicle Par Funding, which is alleged to have generated over $100 million in illegal proceeds for the defendants to the detriment of Par Funding’s numerous investors. The brothers have both pleaded guilty and await sentencing.
• The convictions at trial of former Local 98 business manager John Dougherty and former Local 98 president Brian Burrows for embezzling union funds and related charges. Dougherty was sentenced to six years in prison for these offenses and public corruption crimes for which he was convicted at an earlier trial; Burrows was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment.

• The conviction at trial of Joseph Cammarata for stealing more than $40 million in a years-long securities fraud scheme carried out with two codefendants. Cammarata, a securities claims aggregator, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was subsequently convicted at a separate trial of tax evasion related to the securities scheme and sentenced to a partially concurrent term of 72 months in prison.

Civil Enforcements

Under U.S. Attorney Romero, EDPA maintained one of the most active affirmative civil enforcement dockets in the country, including False Claims Act qui tams, civil Controlled Substances Act investigations, and civil rights matters. U.S. Attorney Romero was able to do so while supporting the Civil Division’s handling of an increased defensive litigation docket.

During her tenure:

• The District recovered hundreds of millions of dollars through False Claims Act settlements, including $172 million from national insurer the Cigna Group; almost $60 million in total from cardiac monitoring company BioTelemetry Inc. and two of its subsidiaries; $25 million from generic drug manufacturer Glenmark Pharmaceuticals; $20 million from durable medical equipment supplier Electrostim Medical Services, Inc. and its chairman; more than $16 million from optical lens and lens equipment maker Essilor; more than $15 million from Kansas chiropractic company Titan Medical Compliance and its owner; and over $8 million from the Boeing Company for allegedly failing to adhere to critical manufacturing specifications in the production of composite parts for V-22 Osprey military aircraft.
• The District sued AmerisourceBergen, one of the country’s largest wholesale pharmaceutical distributors, for allegedly violating federal law in connection with the distribution of controlled substances to pharmacies and other customers across the country, thereby contributing to the prescription opioid epidemic. That litigation is ongoing.
• Ms. Romero prioritized the Office’s civil rights work. This included the resolution of the most redlining investigations in the country, in which EDPA held financial institutions like Citadel Federal Credit Union, ESSA Bank & Trust, and Trident Mortgage Company accountable for such alleged practices.

Community Outreach

U.S. Attorney Romero was committed to strengthening the Office’s partnerships in the diverse communities it serves throughout the District, particularly those struggling with violent crime, opioid abuse, and the legacy of systemic exclusion from education, health care, housing, and employment.

She expanded the Office’s outreach efforts, adding a youth engagement coordinator and other personnel to form a dedicated External Engagement team, which bolsters EDPA’s public safety mission.

U.S. Attorney Romero and the team worked proactively with local leaders, schools, and organizations to identify potential issues that could be addressed through better community engagement, outreach to area youth, and support for people returning home to our communities from prison.

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Nelson S.T. Thayer, Jr., the District’s First Assistant United States Attorney, is now Acting U.S. Attorney upon Ms. Romero’s departure from the Office. Mr. Thayer is a career prosecutor with over three decades of experience in the Department of Justice.