Tessa M. Gorman appointed Acting United States Attorney

 Long-time leader takes over from Brian T. Moran

Seattle – The U.S. Department of Justice today appointed Tessa M. Gorman as Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington.  Ms. Gorman is a 24‑year veteran of the Department of Justice, having served in high-profile leadership roles for both the U. S. Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bar Association.  Acting U.S. Attorney Gorman takes over from Brian T. Moran who resigned the post February 28, 2021, as is traditional with the change in administration.

As First Assistant United States Attorney, Tessa Gorman provided guidance to the Civil, Criminal, and Appellate Divisions of the United States Attorney’s Office.  She is involved in the ongoing supervision of the Seattle Police Department Consent Decree and other civil rights litigation.  Ms. Gorman has supervised some of the most high profile cases in the office, such as the prosecution of Huawei for theft of trade secrets, cybercrime cases such as the hack on Capital One, and the investigation and civil settlement with Bradken Inc., over metal it supplied to Navy submarines.  Gorman supervised cases involving pain clinics belonging to a Seattle doctor who defrauded the government and the criminal prosecution of an environmental disposal firm that was committing fraud by falsely claiming it met environmental protection standards.

Earlier in her career, Ms. Gorman prosecuted a wide variety of cases from violent crime to complex frauds.  In 2008, Ms. Gorman and the trial team were honored with a Director’s Award for the successful prosecution of the Washington Nomads chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club as a racketeering-influenced criminal organization (RICO).  The gang was convicted for crimes including murder and assault, and the verdicts represented the first RICO jury verdicts against the Hells Angels in twenty-five years.

As an Assistant United States Attorney, Ms. Gorman also prosecuted complex fraud cases, including a $30 million Ponzi scheme and a bank fraud case that grew out of the failure of a south sound bank, as well as homicides and sexual assaults in Indian Country.  Ms. Gorman began her career with the Department of Justice in 1998 as part of the highly selective Honors Program in Washington, D.C.  In 2001, she was hired by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Washington.

Ms. Gorman has been active in the Federal Bar Association in Western Washington, serving in leadership roles and as President in 2015-16.  In 2015, the District Court Judges in Western Washington chose Ms. Gorman to serve a three‑year term as a District Court Lawyer Representative to the Ninth Circuit.  Ms. Gorman has taught Trial Advocacy at the University of Washington School of Law and has served as a professional mentor for students at both University of Washington and Seattle University Schools of Law.

Tessa M. Gorman grew up in Olympia, Washington and is a graduate of Yale College.  She earned her law degree at University of California’s Berkeley Law School.