U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer Stepping Down after Two Years as San Diego’s Chief Federal Law Enforcement Officer

Kelly Thornton (619) 546-9726    

NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – February 26, 2021

SAN DIEGO – U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer announced today that he has submitted his resignation to President Biden, effective at midnight on February 28, 2021, concluding more than two years in the position.

“Serving as U.S. Attorney has been the highlight of my 45-year legal career,” Mr. Brewer said. “I am humbled to have led the office’s remarkable public servants. Together we have made our community safer through perilous times. I have witnessed our attorneys and staff, alongside officers, agents, and first responders, work tirelessly to meet these unprecedented challenges. For your sacrifices and your courage, I am eternally grateful. In departing, I am confident that the office will continue its critical mission with the highest ethical standards, and I could not be more proud of the work we accomplished together.”

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman will become Acting U.S. Attorney immediately following the effective date of Brewer’s resignation.

Mr. Brewer continued, “Randy Grossman is an outstanding prosecutor and leader.  In addition to his vast experience as a trial attorney, Randy’s judgment and collegiality will ensure a smooth transition for the office. I wish him and every member of the office the best of luck in the continued pursuit of justice.”

During Mr. Brewer’s tenure, the office hired a record 48 new assistant U.S. attorneys – almost one-third of the entire ranks of federal prosecutors in this district; strengthened relationships with law enforcement partners; and reorganized the criminal division, including the addition of the Violent Crime and Human Trafficking Section (VCHT). VCHT is tasked with leading collaborations between federal and local law enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of cases involving violent crimes, firearms and gang cases; sex trafficking and child exploitation; civil rights, and labor trafficking.

Brewer also continued the great work of two of the Southern District of California’s diversion programs, the Alternative to Prison Solutions (APS) Diversion Program and the Veteran’s Diversion Program (VDP). These programs offer select criminal defendants who plead guilty to felony charges an alternative to incarceration with an opportunity to have their case dismissed after 12 months in exchange for compliance with certain court requirements, such as obtaining employment, enrolling in education programs, and obtaining mental health and addiction treatment.

Mr. Brewer made combatting opioids a top priority and directed a strong response when the already-serious drug epidemic collided with the coronavirus pandemic, causing overdose deaths to spike in San Diego County. The U.S. Attorney’s Office pursued more than 20 defendants in connection with fentanyl- and heroin-related overdose death cases, bringing justice and a sense of closure to devastated family members. 

Under Mr. Brewer’s leadership, attorneys in the office have prosecuted some of the most sophisticated and important cases in the nation, including:

• U.S. Representative Duncan Hunter was sentenced to 11 months in prison for stealing $250,000 in campaign funds to pay for his and his wife’s living and luxury expenses.
• Gina ChampionCain pleaded guilty to masterminding the longest Ponzi scheme in San Diego history with hundreds of victims throughout California and the nation and losses estimated as high as $400 million.
• Abdullahi Ahmed Abdullahi, a Canadian national, was successfully extradited to the United States and faces trial on federal conspiracy charges of providing material support to terrorists.
• U.S. Navy Captain David Haas and former U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Brooks Alonzo Parks pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery, representing the 22nd and 23rd defendants to have entered guilty pleas as part of the bribery and corruption scheme involving Glenn Defense Marine Asia and its leader, “Fat Leonard” Glenn Francis. The decadelong scandal involves scores of numerous U.S. Navy officials and officers, tens of millions of dollars in fraud, and millions of dollars in bribes. Eight more defendants await jury trial.
• Rabbi Ysiroel Goldstein, former Director of Chabad of Poway Synagogue, and five of his associates pleaded guilty to fraud charges, admitting they participated in a complex, yearslong, multi-million dollar tax-evasion scheme and other illegal financial transactions involving theft of public money.
• Former Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha and his wife, former Honolulu prosecutor Katherine Kealoha, were sentenced to 84 months and 156 months in prison, respectively, for a wide range of criminal conduct, including framing their relative with a crime to conceal their own fraud. Additionally, the Kealohas’ coconspirators, former Honolulu police officers Derek Wayne Hahn and Minh-Hung “Bobby” Nguyen, received 42 months and 54 months, respectively, for their involvement in what has been called the largest case of corruption in Hawaii in decades.
• Dr. Jennings Ryan Staley, a licensed physician, was indicted for mail fraud and additional crimes arising from his business venture selling alleged COVID19 “treatment kits” and agreeing with a Chinese supplier to smuggle hydroxychloroquine powder in the U.S., including lying to U.S. Customs by mislabeling a shipment as “yam extract.”

Mr. Brewer, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, former prosecutor and prominent San Diego litigator for decades, was sworn in on January 16, 2019 as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of California. President Trump nominated Mr. Brewer to serve as U.S. Attorney for this district on June 25, 2018. The full Senate unanimously confirmed his appointment on January 2, 2019.

Prior to becoming U.S. attorney, Mr. Brewer, a native of Ithaca, New York, was an Of Counsel litigation attorney at Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek. He previously served as a Deputy District Attorney in Los Angeles County from 1975 to 1977, and as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Central District of California from 1977 to 1982, where he successfully prosecuted a variety of cases including espionage, bank robbery, murder for hire and aircraft hijacking. He also held various management positions, including Assistant Chief of the Criminal Division.

From 1982 through the present, Mr. Brewer was in private practice, including from 1991 to 2009 as a partner at McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP, and from 2009 to 2014 as a partner at Jones Day. Before attending law school, Mr. Brewer served in the United States Army as an Airborne Ranger Infantry Officer and received the Silver Star and two Bronze Stars for his combat service in the Vietnam War. Mr. Brewer has been a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers since 1999.  He received the Daniel T. Broderick Award from the San Diego County Bar Association in 2009 and the Distinguished Graduate Award from the University of San Diego School of Law in 2016.  Mr. Brewer earned his B.A. from St. Lawrence University, and his J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law.