John C. Gurganus, Acting U.S. Attorney

John C. Gurganus is the Acting United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.  In this position, Mr. Gurganus leads a staff of nearly 90 employees representing the United States in Courts throughout 33 counties in Pennsylvania, including staffed offices in Scranton, Harrisburg, and Williamsport.

Mr. Gurganus began his 36-year legal career with the United States Department of Justice through the Attorney General’s Honors Program in 1988, as a Trial Attorney with the Antitrust Division in the New York City Field Office.  In 1989, he was appointed an Assistant United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, and has been based in the Scranton, Pennsylvania office since that time. During his tenure with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mr. Gurganus has held several positions including that of United States Attorney in 2021 and 2022, First Assistant U.S. Attorney, Criminal Chief, Deputy Criminal Chief, and Lead Task Force Attorney for the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.

His experience includes the prosecution of a wide variety of cases, including drug trafficking, violent crimes, public corruption, tax evasion, child pornography, extortion, kidnapping, firearms, and fraud offenses.  Mr. Gurganus received two Department of Justice Director’s Awards for Superior Performance as an Assistant U.S Attorney: one for work in prosecuting drug overdose cases, and the other for obtaining a guilty verdict for an individual who attempted to provide material support to a terrorist organization. 

Before joining the Department of Justice, Mr. Gurganus served as a law clerk to the late Honorable Richard P. Conaboy, United States District Court Judge, Scranton, Pennsylvania.  He earned a B.A. from Villanova University in 1983 and received his law degree in 1986 from the University of Notre Dame Law School.  He resides in South Abington Township, Pennsylvania.