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Boston Globe
04-03-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Former US Attorney Joshua Levy heads back to Boston law firm Ropes & Gray
Levy had left Ropes to serve as First Assistant US Attorney in January 2022. He had applied for the top job, but Rachael Rollins was picked instead. However, Levy ended up leading the office and its roughly 125 prosecutors in May of 2023 as acting US Attorney after Rollins resigned amid two ethics probes. President Joe Biden later nominated Levy for the permanent post in October of that year, but that nomination was held up in the Senate; then-Attorney General Merrick Garland eventually appointed Levy to the role of US Attorney last November, with two months left of the Biden administration. Levy had previously worked as a federal prosecutor in the Boston office from 1997 through 2004, and then worked at Ropes for 17 years, eventually co-chairing the firm's litigation practice. He'll return as a partner in that same practice. Advertisement 'It was a very intense several years for me,' Levy said of his most recent tenure in the US Attorney's office. 'What the office went through with the resignation of the former US Attorney, I developed some skills in the moment that I wasn't sure I had, to help the office rebound very quickly. ... I worked seven days a week for three years and would have kept doing it for longer.' Among the cases he's most proud of prosecuting during his three years as the office's leader or second-in-command: one involving Magellan Diagnostics, a Massachusetts company that improperly marketed the effectiveness of its lead-testing devices for children; consulting giant McKinsey & Co.'s $650 million settlements for its work advising opioid maker Purdue Pharma to 'turbocharge' sales of Oxycontin; and the successful insider trading pursuit of a Russian millionaire who hacked US computers to obtain earnings information and rack up tens of millions in illegal profits after trading with that secret information. (The businessman, Vladislav Klyushin, was later traded to Russia in the prisoner exchange that brought home Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.) Advertisement While Levy was in the office, he implemented new trial preparation procedures for prosecutors. Levy said that contributed to the US Attorney's office not losing one criminal trial in 2024 (though two of the 34 trials did end in hung juries). 'I'm not the one doing the work,' Levy said. 'The phenomenal people ... are doing the work in my office. It's such a high-quality office. I sometimes say I wish the public could see what's going on in a prosecutor's office like ours — the amount of time to get it right and the lack of discussion about politics at any stage.' Speaking of politics, what about the concerns that President Trump would deploy Department of Justice prosecutors for political ends? Levy said he has complete confidence in his successor, Foley, who had previously been deputy chief of the office's narcotics and money laundering unit. 'She's a true pro,' Levy said. 'I have full confidence in her ability ... to follow the facts of the law without consideration of external factors.' As he returns to private practice, Levy said he is looking forward to helping individuals and companies navigate the challenges they face when confronted with adverse government enforcement. Levy said he didn't think about going anywhere other than back to his old law firm, which also happens to be the biggest in Boston. Advertisement Ropes chair Julie Jones said in a statement that she's thrilled to have Levy back on her team, 'especially as the enforcement landscape gets more complex for our clients.' Jones described Levy as a 'powerhouse on both sides of the enforcement table, recently spearheading some of the government's most notable prosecutions and investigations.' And Jeff Katz, co-managing partner of the firm's Boston office, praised Levy's legal experience and knowledge. 'Through Josh's previous tenure at the firm, we've seen firsthand just how impactful his presence, insights and expertise are — for our clients, our attorneys, and the entire Ropes community,' Katz said in an email. Levy hasn't ruled out taking another government gig some day. In fact, he's hoping for it — if the timing and situation is right, either in Washington or Massachusetts. 'I did a lot of pro bono work before and I expect to do that again,' Levy said. 'I'm still trying to figure out a way to be active in public service. I'm just not sure what that is right now.' This is an installment of our weekly Bold Types column about the movers and shakers on Boston's business scene. Jon Chesto can be reached at
Boston Globe
07-02-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Former Republican state senator Dean Tran sentenced to 18 months for COVID unemployment fraud
In a prepared statement, Tran claimed he was the victim of a 'politically motivated witchunt' launched by former Democratic US Attorney Rachael Rollins to interfere with his 2022 congressional campaign 'and prevent me from seeking future office.' He accused federal agents of violating his rights and called on US Attorney General Pam Bondi to 'investigate these people and fire them.' Advertisement Leah B. Foley, a Republican recently appointed US Attorney for Massachusetts by Trump, defended the government's prosecution of Tran. 'He chose to violate the public's trust not once, but twice by defrauding the government out of unemployment benefits and willfully omitting his taxable income,' Foley said in press release after Tran was sentenced. 'His fraud and calculated deception erode the public's trust in elected officials and diverted money away from those who truly needed it.' Tran is currently awaiting federal trial on In September, a federal jury found Tran guilty of 20 counts of wire fraud and three counts of filing false tax returns. Prosecutors presented evidence that Tran was denied traditional unemployment benefits after failing to win reelection, then fraudulently collected $30,120 in pandemic unemployment benefits while working as a paid consultant for a New Hampshire-based auto parts company. They alleged that Tran concealed $54,700 in consulting income he received from the company on his 2021 federal income tax return; and that he concealed thousands of dollars in rental income he received from property in Fitchburg on his federal tax returns from 2020 to 2022. Advertisement 'There was no defrauding, stealing, or scheming of pandemic unemployment assistance,' Tran said Friday. Tran, a father of four, was born in Vietnam and emigrated to the United States with his family when he was 4. After serving 12 years as a Fitchburg city councilor, he became the first Vietnamese-American elected to the Massachusetts Senate when he won a 2017 special election in the Fitchburg-based Worcester and Middlesex District. In 2022, he ran unsuccessfully against US Representative Lori Trahan, a Westford Democrat. His attorney, Michael C. Walsh, argued that the government suffered no loss from Tran's actions and urged the judge to sentence him to two years probation, including five months of 'home confinement.' Prosecutors urged the judge to sentence Tran to two years in prison and argued in a sentencing memorandum that 'greed was at the center of Tran's crimes and he showed no remorse. 'Tran stole unemployment benefits from a program that was intended for the most vulnerable members of our community, who, unlike Tran were suffering true economic hardship during the COVID-19 Pandemic,' Assistant US attorneys Dustin Chao and John T. Mulcahy wrote in a court filing. 'Tran, as a former elected official, knew better than anyone else the importance and purpose of such government assistance programs and he exploited his unique knowledge and background for his own selfish motives.' Tran is awaiting trial in a separate federal case brought in federal court last year June charging him and his sister with obstruction of justice and making false statements as part of a related scheme to collect pandemic unemployment benefits. A trial date has yet to be set. Advertisement Tran is also 27tran - Senator Dean A. Tran, Republican of Worcester and Middlesex in 2018. (Sam Doran/State House News Service) Sam Doran/State House News Service continuing to fend off two criminal cases in state court. He is slated to stand trial March 10 in Worcester Superior Court on charges that he In a 2023 case brought by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, Tran was indicted for allegedly judge denied Tran's motion to dismiss that ndictment and he appealed to the state Supreme Judicial Court, where the case is now pending. Shelley Murphy can be reached at
