U.S. Attorney Ross outlines her accomplishments

Ms. Ross also oversaw the filing of charges in multiple new cases, including addition high profile cases, of national and international interest, including:

U.S. v. Payton Gendron

U.S. v. Hadi Matar

U.S. v. Brandon Washington

Under Ms. Ross’s tenure, the violent crime rate decreased in several Western District of New York counties, including Erie and Monroe Counties, home to the Cities of Buffalo and Rochester.

In addition, approximately 120 appellate briefs were filed and 75 appellate oral arguments handled while Ms. Ross was U.S. Attorney, resulting in a near perfect rate of affirmations by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, notably:

U.S. v. Richard Leon Wilbern

U.S. v. George Moses

In civil matters, between 2022 and January 2025, approximately $80,000,000 was collected in criminal, civil and forfeiture actions. That funding collected is given to victims of crime, and provided as aid to state and local law enforcement agency partners who worked with the United States Attorney’s Office on criminal cases. And Ms. Ross oversaw the largest settlement in the history of the District with a $98,000,000 settlement with Independent Health.

In March, 2022, Ms. Ross was one of the first 12, of 93, United States Attorney’s to be selected to serve on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys (AGAC), which she served on until her term ended after a year and a half. The AGAC advises the Attorney General on matters of policy, procedure, and management impacting the Offices of the U.S. Attorneys and elevates the voices of U.S. Attorneys in Department policies. In addition, Ms. Ross was also selected as the Chairperson for the AGAC sub-committee on Law Enforcement Coordination, Victim Assistance and Community Relations (LEVC). In this role, Ms. Ross lead the sub-committee that advised the Attorney General on matters involving law enforcement, victim assistance, and community relations. In June, 2023, Ms. Ross hosted the LEVC meeting in Buffalo, bringing U.S. Attorneys from across the country to the Buffalo area for two days. The meeting included presentations and discussions on the May 14th tragedy, which included a visit to the Tops store on Jefferson Avenue, business, and community outreach efforts, as well as multiple presentations by law enforcement.

In June 2022, Ms. Ross arranged a visit by then Attorney General Merrick Garland, and other top DOJ and FBI officials, who came to Buffalo to meet with families and survivors of the Tops shooting and announce federal hate crime charges against defendant Payton Gendron.

Community outreach was a hallmark of Ms. Ross’s tenure as U.S. Attorney. She worked tirelessly to build better relationships between members of the community and law enforcement in both Buffalo and Rochester. Ms. Ross developed quarterly meetings with community leaders in both cities, establishing an ongoing dialogue and building trust. She also sought new and innovative ways to reach the community, including creating the first of its kind podcast in the U.S. Attorney’s community. “Feds Demystified” sought to pull back the curtain from federal law enforcement agencies to provide information about those agencies and educate the public. Ms. Ross also created a series of Public Service Announcements, sharing important messages on Human Trafficking, Black History, Women’s History, Juneteenth, Internet Safety, and Voting Rights. In addition, she empowered members of the U.S. Attorney’s Office to also get involved in the community by attending job and career fairs, speaking at local schools, and serving on the Erie County Overdose Prevention Task Force.

Throughout Ms. Ross’s time as U.S. Attorney, school districts, police departments, social service agencies, and local governments received approximately $55,000,000 in federal grant funding for youth and victim services, to battle human trafficking, and initiatives addressing law enforcement, the opiate epidemic, reentry and recidivism, among others.

As a result of her efforts, Ms. Ross was honored by multiple organizations for her work, including the New York State Bar Association, Erie County Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, the Minority Bar Association of WNY, and the Women’s Bar Association. She was also named as a top leader in WNY in several publications, some multiple times, including Buffalo Business First’s Power 100 Business Leader of Color; Business First’s Power 200 Woman; the Rochester Business Journal and The Daily Record Power 50 Law list; City & State’s Power of Diversity: Black 100 list; and City & State’s Law Power 100 list and was selected as a Woman of Distinction by the New York State Senate.

Ms. Ross was also a much sought after speaker locally and across the country. She spoke at two United States Attorney’s Conferences; numerous law enforcement conferences; victims’ rights conferences; several legal and professional conferences; as well as at colleges, U.B Law School and many community events.

Ms. Ross wants the community and staff in her office to know that as United States Attorney she was completely dedicated to the WNY community and the staff in her office. “I came to make positive changes inside and outside of the office, and I believe I was successful. I always want to leave a place better than when I showed up, that was the goal. And I believe I have reached that goal.”

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