Source: Office of United States Attorneys
INDIANAPOLIS— United States Attorney Zachary A. Myers announced today that he has tendered his resignation to the President and the Attorney General and will conclude his service effective January 18, 2025.
“It has been a privilege to lead this office of talented professionals who strive every day to make the public safer, hold lawbreakers accountable, and ensure that our rights are protected,” said U.S. Attorney Myers. “The rule of law is not self-executing. It requires the hard work and sacrifice of public servants acting with dedication and fairness. Alongside our outstanding law enforcement partners, we sought to maximize our impact for the public’s benefit and always strove to do the right thing the right way. I am so very proud of all we accomplished together and know that the office will continue to do extraordinary work on behalf of the people we serve. I am deeply grateful to the President for nominating me, and to the Attorney General, Senator Young, Former Senator Braun, and Congressman Carson for their support. Serving on behalf of the United States has been the professional honor of a lifetime.”
Under Myers’ leadership, the United States Attorney’s Office successfully implemented his strategic plan, focused on maximizing the impact of the office by bringing cases against the most serious offenses and offenders, expanding the office’s resources, working closely with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, and increasing community outreach:
Combatting Gun Violence and Other Violent Crimes
Combatting gun violence has been a top priority for the office throughout U.S. Attorney Myers’ tenure. The office has focused on bringing impactful cases against offenders who engage in serial gun crimes and who continue to illegally arm themselves notwithstanding a significant, violent criminal history.
During Myers’s tenure, the office has successfully prosecuted the murders of a mail carrier during the pandemic, a victim of a series of online marketplace robberies, and fellow inmates at the federal prison in Terre Haute. The office has focused on gun trafficking as a source of violence, prosecuting two brothers who manufactured and distributed machine guns intended for ISIS, and offenders who illegally trafficked guns to violent criminals in Indianapolis, Chicago, and allegedly Mexico. The office responded to the illegal proliferation of “Glock switches” and “ghost guns,” securing significant federal prison sentences against criminals who illegally manufactured and trafficked the weapons in Evansville, Franklin, and Indianapolis. U.S. Attorney Myers secured a partnership with the City of Indianapolis to create three Special Assistant U.S. Attorney positions to increase the resources available to federally prosecute armed, violent criminals in the city.
U.S. Attorney Myers prioritized the office’s LEATH Initiative, a partnership initiated in 2020 to focus federal prosecution resources on illegally armed domestic abusers in honor of IMPD Officer Breann Leath, who was killed in the line of duty while responding to a domestic violence call. Over the past three years, the office has brought significant cases, securing serious federal prison sentences for illegally armed domestic abusers. U.S. Attorney Myers and prosecutors in the office have increased outreach to better inform domestic violence service providers, law enforcement, and local prosecutors and judges about federal gun laws and the office’s commitment to addressing domestic gun violence through federal prosecution.
Disrupting the Trafficking of Deadly Drugs
The acceleration of drug overdoses caused thousands of deaths and tremendous suffering in Indiana and nationwide, largely fueled by the explosion in the availability of synthetic opioids like fentanyl, manufactured by cartels based in Mexico and smuggled into the United States. Under U.S. Attorney Myers, the office has focused its efforts on disrupting the trafficking of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other deadly drugs by targeting the traffickers causing the most harm in our communities. Working closely with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, the office successfully dismantled prolific drug trafficking conspiracies, took down a drug trafficking outlaw motorcycle gang, and prosecuted traffickers responsible for pumping poisons into neighborhoods from Kokomo, to Indianapolis, to Evansville. The office targeted significant traffickers who were responsible for bringing fentanyl from Mexico into our communities, armed themselves with arsenals including with machineguns, and engaged in violence including dog fighting.
Working closely with our partners at the DEA and other law enforcement agencies, the office sought justice for deaths resulting from fentanyl trafficking, including drugs sold through social media, and allegedly causing the death of a toddler and near-fatal overdose of an infant. U.S. Attorney Myers worked closely with our community and law enforcement partners on numerous community outreach and engagement efforts to spread awareness of the dangers of counterfeit fentanyl pills, and that “One Pill Can Kill.”
Fighting Hate and Discrimination
As U.S. Attorney, Myers prioritized protecting federal civil rights, significantly expanding staffing and outreach to prosecute hate crimes and stop illegal discrimination. Myers and the office’s civil rights attorneys have led the United Against Hate initiative, educating communities across the district about the Department of Justice’s enforcement efforts and how to report hate and bias incidents. Under U.S. Attorney Myers, the office successfully prosecuted a violent hate crime against an Asian-American student and antisemitic death threats against offices of the Anti-Defamation League. The office also secured court orders halting unlawful discrimination against a police officer with HIV and a Muslim group seeking to build a religious seminary and residential housing.
Protecting Children from Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking
U.S. Attorney Myers prioritized prosecution of heinous criminals who sexually exploited and trafficked our children. Under his leadership, the office worked closely with Indiana’s nationally-renowned Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and other law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute the predators who seek gratification through abuse of the most vulnerable. Under U.S. Attorney Myers’ leadership, the office prosecuted pedophiles who identified and groomed their victims using online platforms and games including Roblox, Snapchat, Instagram, and Kik. The office secured decades-long prison sentences against a man who solicited a hitman to murder his child victim and her family, two predators who conspired to sexually exploit a child they drugged with methamphetamine, parents who recorded themselves sexually abusing their baby, and a couple who conspired with Jared Fogle to sexually exploit children.
U.S. Attorney Myers and the office’s prosecutors also worked to expand the office’s efforts to fight human trafficking, bringing impactful prosecutions against pimps and abusers who trafficked children for sex, and investing significant resources in outreach including hosting a two-day training seminar for law enforcement and victim organizations.
Holding Public Officials Accountable for Violations of Public Trust
Government officials who engage in corruption betray the public’s trust in furtherance of personal gain. Law enforcement officers who violate Hoosiers’ civil rights betray the public’s trust and erode support for their sisters and brothers who serve honorably. Under U.S. Attorney Myers, federal prosecutors successfully disrupted a culture of public corruption in Muncie’s City Hall and held three former Indiana state legislators accountable for taking bribes and illegal campaign contributions from casino companies.
U.S. Attorney Myers’ significantly increased the resources dedicated to investigating and prosecuting law enforcement officers engaged in police brutality, and under his leadership the office secured serious prison sentences for five Muncie police officers responsible for a series of illegal beatings and their attempted coverup, an IMPD Sergeant who stomped on the head of a defenseless arrestee on Monument Circle, and a New Castle police Lieutenant who assaulted three defenseless men causing serious injuries, including a fractured spine.
Combatting Frauds Against Individuals, Businesses, and the Government
Under U.S. Attorney Myers’ leadership, the office prioritized criminal prosecution and civil enforcement of fraud and abuse targeting government programs, small businesses, and vulnerable individuals. The office worked with its law enforcement and Justice Department partners to bring indictments in an alleged $45 million fraudulent virtual school scheme, dismantle a nationwide “grandparent scam,” hold an insurance broker accountable for a multi-million dollar “Ponzi” scheme, and aggressively pursue civil enforcement including recovering $345 million from a hospital system alleged to have illegally overpaid doctors to incentivize referrals.
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During his tenure as U.S. Attorney, Myers served in additional leadership roles including as chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Subcommittee on Cyber and Intellectual Property and as a member of various committees and working groups developing policy and addressing issues relating to cybercrime and technology. Myers regularly spoke to public and private sector groups about cybercrime, cybersecurity, and the importance of working with federal law enforcement in responding to a critical cyber incident.
Before assuming office as U.S. Attorney, Myers spent more than a decade as an AUSA in the Southern District of Indiana and the District of Maryland focused on cyber- and technology-facilitated offenses. He earned his undergraduate degree from Stanford University, graduate degree from George Washington University, and law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center. Before becoming a federal prosecutor, Myers worked in the private sector and on Capitol Hill. Myers grew up in Indianapolis and is the first Black person to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the district.
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Upon U.S. Attorney Myers’ departure, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan E. Childress will serve as Acting U.S. Attorney under the Vacancies Reform Act.
Mr. Childress first joined the Department of Justice as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in 2001. He previously served as both First Assistant United States Attorney and Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana and the Central District of Illinois.
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