Latest news with #ErekL.Barron
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Erek Barron, former U.S. attorney for Maryland, joins D.C. law firm
Former U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron was honored in the House of Delegates and Senate in February, a week after he resigned. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters) Erek L. Barron, a former state delegate and the first Black U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland, has a new gig at a law firm in Washington, D.C. Barron will work for the white-collar defense and government investigations practice at Mintz, where he will lead the firm's crisis management and strategic response team that will include civil, criminal, and regulatory matters. 'Erek is a highly respected lawyer with an impressive background both in public service and private practice,' Bob Bodian, Mintz's managing member, said in a statement Monday. 'His extensive experience in high-stakes litigation, investigations, and corporate matters — combined with his various high-level positions in government — will bring immediate value to our clients across a broad range of industries.' Besides being recognized for its work on technology, biotech and life sciences, the firm's website said it was one of 765 U.S. businesses get to a perfect score of 100 from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation on its Corporate Equality Index for LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion. 'The firm has a commitment to core values which includes diversity, and absolutely something that is important to me,' Barron said in a brief interview Monday. 'I'm glad to be at a place that sticks by its principles.' Barron said he began working last week at the firm, where he expects some of the work to mirror work he did as U.S. attorney from October 2021 until he resigned February. Barron was nominated by President Joe Biden (D) and made history as the first Black U.S. attorney for Maryland when he was confirmed. 'We tackled a lot of big, complex problems across the board in the legal space, civil and criminal, touching nearly every substantive area of the law,' Barron said of his time as U.S. attorney. In one of the biggest cases of his tenure, the office charged three people in January 2024 for a nearly $2 billion cryptocurrency fraud scheme. Brenda Chunga of Severna Park pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud in connection with scheme, in which she allegedly received at least $3 million in proceeds. Prosecutors charge that Sam Lee, living in the United Arab Emirates, cofounded Hyperfund with Rodney Burton of Miami. The two, with Chunga, promoted the company and sold investment contracts through HyperFund's online investment platform between June 2020 and November 2022, but began to block investor withdrawals as early as July 2021. In December 2024, Barron's office announced the convictions of two people who lied to investors on the development of drugs to treat COVID-19 and HIV drugs by a publicly traded biotechnology company called CytoDyn Inc. A release from the office said Nader Pourhassan of Lake Oswego, Oregon, received more than $340,000 from sales of CytoDyn stock and Kazem Kazempour of Potomac received $4.4 million personally and his company received more than $22 million. Prior to his work as U.S. attorney, Barron worked with then-Sen. Joe Biden from 2007 to 2009 as counsel and policy adviser on the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs. Barron, who also worked as a partner at the D.C. firm of Whiteford Taylor & Preston, represented Prince George's County's 24th District in the House of Delegates from January 2015 to October 2021. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX He co-chaired a work group to assess budget and safety problems with Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and served on the state's Justice Reinvestment Coordinating Council. Its work to assess and improve the state's sentencing and corrections practices led to the Justice Reinvestment Act in 2016. Less than a week after Barron resigned from the U.S. attorney's office, he was honored by his former colleagues in the General Assembly in both chambers. 'Having known Erek for over two decades, I am confident that his leadership, collaborative approach, and successful track record in both the public and private sectors will be a tremendous asset to our D.C. office and to Mintz overall,' said Michelle Lipkowitz, managing member of the firm's D.C. office.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former U.S. attorney is a current favorite; a costly, crowded election; more notes
Former U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron was honored in both the House of Delegates and Senate Tuesday, a week after resigning his post. Barron served six years in the House of Delegates before becoming the first Black U.S. Attorney in Maryland. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters) Erek Barron added another 'former' to his resume last week, but apparently that didn't matter to one set of his former colleagues. Six days after announcing his resignation as U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, Barron, a former delegate from Prince George's County, was feted by both the House and the Senate during a visit to Annapolis on Tuesday. The House presented Barron with a resolution honoring his 'trailblazing career at the first Black U.S. attorney for Maryland and your commitment to safeguarding our communities.' Barron, who represented Prince George's County's 24th District from January 2015 to October 2021, was then mobbed at the speaker's rostrum by every delegate from Prince George's, along with Del. Heather Bagnall (D-Anne Arundel). After a group photo with the delegates and House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore County), Barron walked across the hall to the Senate chamber, where he received more hugs and pats on the back from nearly all the senators. Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) remarked on Barron's 'unbelievably effective service' and his 'incredible and historic service as U.S. attorney,' before the Senate unanimously voted to present him with a resolution. 'These are friends and family and former colleagues. They know more than most the journey that I've gone through,' Barron said in a brief interview Tuesday. He declined to comment on what he's been through as U.S. attorney, a job he held from Oct. 7, 2021, until he resigned last Wednesday. Barron was nominated to the U.S. attorney's job by former President Joe Biden (D). SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE He offered a few words in a statement released by the attorney's office last week, when he called his service 'the honor of a lifetime.' 'The office's career attorneys and administrative staff are public servants of exceptional caliber. In support of our mission, they perform their responsibilities with excellence while maintaining the highest standards of professional conduct, and working with them has been a great privilege,' the statement said. 'I am immeasurably proud of the justice we have done together.' Musical chairs apparently comes with a $4.2 million price tag. That's how much it will cost to run special and general elections this year in Prince George's County for the open county executive and county council District 5 seats. County Election Administrator Wendy Honesty-Bey confirmed in an email the special primary and special general elections will cost about $2.1 million each. Eleven candidates — eight Democrats and three Republicans — are in the race for executive, which had candidate forums on Saturday and again on Monday. The job came open when former County Executive Angela Alsobrooks was sworn in to a seat in the U.S. Senate that she won last fall, with two years left in her county term. But some county voters this year will also be choosing a new council member for District 5, which includes Cheverly, Fairmount Heights and Glenarden. It came open when County Council Chair Jolene Ivey (D) sought the at-large seat of former County Councilmember Mel Franklin, who was sentenced last year to one year in jail for theft of campaign funds. After Ivey's special election victory in November, she announced plans in December to run for executive, but dropped out of the race last week, leaving the field of 11. Meanwhile, six people are running for Ivey's old District 5 seat. (There were seven, but Cheverly Mayor Kayce Munyeneh, a Democrat, wrote to tell residents this week that she had dropped out of the race and would focus on serving as mayor instead.) The five Democrats currently vying for the council seat – Shayla Adams-Stafford, Theresa Mitchell Dudley, Kendal Gray, Ryan Middleton and Christopher Wade – faced off in a candidate's forum Monday night at the Cheverly American Legion Post 108. The forum was co-hosted with Progressive Cheverly. The lone Republican candidate, Fred Price Jr., didn't attend. The Democrats were asked about topics ranging from housing and economic development to immigration and illegal dumping. They were asked about what to do with the site of the Washington Commanders stadium in Landover if the team moves back to Washington, D.C. Here are their responses. In a series of yes/no questions, all but Gray committed to putting $475,000 toward the county's fair election fund next year, despite the county's current financial straits. Gray was also the only candidate to say no when asked if she supported ranked-choice voting for county offices. Early voting starts next week for the special March 4 primary, with the special general election for the executive and District 5 seats scheduled for June 3. The winners will serve out the remaining two years left on the terms for those two seats. Senate Minority Leader Stephen S. Hershey Jr. (R-Upper Shore) said he wanted to get it on the record — but he didn't appear to be all that enthused at the prospect. Hershey asked the Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics on Monday how it is that Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) does not face a conflict of interest between his job as Senate leader, where he may consider — or control — legislation relating to solar power, and his day job as senior legal adviser to CI Renewables. The company develops commercial-scale solar power projects and calls itself a pioneer in 'agrivoltaics,' or combining farmland with solar power projects. Ferguson, who took the job as senior vice president and counsel CI Renewables last year, disclosed that fact in his 'Disclaimer of an Apparent or Presumed Conflict of Interest' form filed with the Ethics Committee. The form said there could be an appearance of a conflict on issues 'related to solar or renewable energy generation in Maryland, including issues related to generation incentives and project siting.' But the form went on to say that, despite the appearance of a conflict, Ferguson would be able to 'participate in legislative action relating to the above fairly, objectively, and in the public interest.' Hershey, who is a member of the Ethics Committee, took pains to say that he was not questioning the integrity of Ferguson, but that other people had been asking him about it and he thought it was appropriate to get it on the record with the committee. 'Whether it's fair or not, he's the president of the Senate,' Hershey said Monday. 'This one just seems a little close to home.' Ethics Counsel Deadra Daly said that in a 'citizen legislature' like Maryland's, it's unavoidable that lawmakers will face issues that touch on their work lives. But committee guidelines say famers can still vote on agricultural measures and physicians can take part in debate on health care issues. It's only when their action would involve a 'very direct and personal financial interest' that lawmakers have to recuse themselves from an issue. That did not appear to be the case with Ferguson's job, Daly said. That was good enough for Hershey. 'OK, I checked the box. I asked,' he said. The Maryland Food Bank announced Tuesday that CEO Carmen Del Guercio is stepping down after eight years of leadership. Del Guercio will remain in the role through June 30 while the organization conducts a national search for his replacement. During his tenure, Del Guercio guided the organization through the COVID-19 pandemic and directed efforts to ensure food was provided when the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed last year. The food bank now distributes 52 million pounds of food a year, which equates to 43 million meals for the year, or 119,000 per day. 'Leading the Maryland Food Bank has been the greatest honor of my career,' Del Guercio said in a statement. 'I'm incredibly proud of what we've accomplished together and am confident the organization will continue to thrive in the years ahead.'
CBS News
13-02-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Erek L. Barron, the first Black U.S. Attorney for Maryland, announces resignation
BALTIMORE -- Erek L. Barron, the first Black U.S. Attorney in Maryland's history, resigned from his role effective immediately. Barron, who has served in the role since Oct. 7, 2021, announced his resignation in a statement on Wednesday. "Serving as United States Attorney has been the honor of a lifetime," Barron said. "The office's career attorneys and administrative staff are public servants of exceptional caliber. In support of our mission, they perform their responsibilities with excellence while maintaining the highest standards of professional conduct and working with them has been a great privilege. I am immeasurably proud of the justice we have done together." He was previously a partner at the law firm Whiteford Taylor & Preston LLP and has been a member of the Maryland legislature since 2015. He served as Counsel and Policy Advisor for then-Senator Biden from 2007 to 2009 on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs. Barron was also a federal prosecutor in the DOJ from 2006 to 2007 and a Maryland prosecutor in Prince George's County and Baltimore City. He received his Master of Laws degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 2007 and his Juris Doctor from the George Washington University Law School in 1999 and his bachelor's from the University of Maryland at College Park in 1996. Barron was nominated by President Joe Biden for the U.S. Attorney in Maryland in July 2021. Focus on stopping youth violence In 2023, Barron spoke with WJZ about an effort to curb gun violence impacting Maryland's youth. "We have to be relentless about it. We have to be relentless, and we have to work as a team," Barron said. Barron pushed for the community to be involved. He unveiled a new public service announcement during the Baltimore Ravens home opener in 2023. The message highlighted a young person dealing with the loss of a loved one and featured Barron, along with Baltimore City police. You can watch it here. "We have to get the message out, and the purpose of this public service announcement in particular is to highlight the very real and significant collateral consequences of gun violence," Barron said. "It has a huge impact on households, those we love, families, and it's not something that you hear enough about." Barron said the public service campaign was an attempt to get the entire community to pay attention. "All of us can have a role in ending gun violence, and all of us need to be working together for us to be successful. That's law enforcement, community-based organizations and private citizens," Barron said.
