William Anders Folk

First Assistant U.S. Attorney W. Anders Folk has been named the new interim Top Federal Prosecutor for the District of Minnesota. U.S. Attorney Erica H. MacDonald is to step down from the highest position in the Office of the United States Attorney by the end of February. The changes in the Office were made in line with the request announced by Acting U.S. Attorney General Monty Wilkinson on February 9, 2021, urging the remaining 55 Trump-appointed U.S. Attorneys to vacate their posts. The dismissal of presidentially-appointed U.S. Attorneys is considered a routine in the transition between administrations. W. Anders Folk will officially take over in the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota on March 1, 2021, by virtue of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. Acting U.S. Attorney Folk shall remain in the position until the Biden Administration has put forth nominations and has confirmed a new U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota.

 

Appointment

Veteran federal prosecutor William Anders Folk is taking over in the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota as interim Chief Federal Law Enforcement Official, filling in the position that is currently held by the outgoing U.S. Attorney Erica H. MacDonald. United States Attorney MacDonald, who was previously appointed by former President Donald Trump, is stepping down from the highest position in the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota, as requested by the Biden Administration. On February 9, 2021, Acting U.S. Attorney Robert M. “Monty” Wilkinson made the announcement to ask the remaining 55 presidentially-appointed Top Federal Prosecutors to tender their resignations on or before February 28, 2021, in order to prepare for the transitioning of President-elect Joe Biden into incumbency. It is deemed customary for a U.S. Attorney to vacate one’s post upon the take-over of a new administration. First Assistant United States Attorney W. Anders Folk will officially be named Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota on March 1, 2021, pursuant to the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. His appointment shall remain in effect for the subsequent 300 days, or until such time, President Joe Biden and the Senate have appointed and confirmed a new U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota.

 

Educational Background and Military Service

W. Anders Folk is an alumnus of the University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts, graduating with a degree in Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, German in 1998. During his undergraduate years, he spent time as an active member of the Phi Beta Kappa and the Pi Kappa Alpha. In 2001, U.S. Attorney Folk earned his Doctor of Law from the University of Minnesota. In between those years, he joined the United States Marine Corps as a commissioned officer. His service to the United States Marine Corps began in 2000, where he served as a judge advocate at Camp Pendleton. For five years, until 2005, U.S. Attorney Folk prosecuted and defended Marines and sailors who have been charged with criminal offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice in Marine Corps courts-martial, as well as in separate hearings. Overall, U.S. Attorney Folk was able to litigate 16 jury trials to verdict at Camp Pendleton successfully.

 

Early Legal Career

In October of 2005, U.S. Attorney Anders Folk joined the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota as an Assistant United States Attorney. During his five-year stint in the Office, Anders Folk has proficiently tried 15 jury trials to verdict and has briefed and argued a significant number of cases before the Eight Circuit Court of Appeals. Moreover, as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota, Anders Folk has led several complexes, as well as long-term grand jury investigations and prosecutions across a wide range of practice areas. He has covered matters involving bank fraud, forged securities, immigration fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, narcotics conspiracies, obstruction of justice, terrorism, wire fraud, and violent crime, among others. With excellent skills and efficiency in handling prosecutions of complex criminal cases, the role of U.S. Attorney Folk as a federal prosecutor has reached beyond the boundaries of the nation, as he has also conducted extensive work internationally. Acting U.S. Attorney Folk, in many instances, has collaborated with foreign governments in order to conduct investigations and prosecutions on matters involving national security. The first tenure of U.S. Attorney Folk in the Office concluded in December of 2010.

 

Stint Private Practice

Following his first term of government service in the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota, U.S. Attorney Folk shifted to private practice and joined Stinson Leonard Street, LLP, then Leonard, Street, and Deinard. For almost eight years, from January of 2011 to August of 2018, U.S. Attorney Anders Folk performed duties as a partner and as an attorney of the White Collar, Internal Investigations, Securities Litigation, and Cyber Law units of the law firm, and has also led its Class Action Defense and Securities Litigation Division. At the time, Anders Folk focused his practice on conducting internal investigations, prosecution of complex business and commercial litigation, as well as prosecution of matters involving the cyber law, client defense in relation to regulatory and criminal investigations, securities litigation, and white-collar criminal defense.

 

Tenure as First Assistant U.S. Attorney

Two months after being officially appointed by former President Trump as Top Federal Prosecutor for the District of Minnesota, former U.S. Attorney Erica MacDonald tapped W. Anders Folk to be her First Assistant U.S. Attorney. In August of 2018, U.S. Attorney Folk then returned to the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota as second-in-command. For almost three years, Folk partnered with former U.S. Attorney MacDonald in serving and protecting the district of Minnesota and has supervised the Office’s criminal, civil, appellate, and daily administrative operations divisions. In the time that he served as First Assistant U.S. Attorney to former U.S. Attorney MacDonald, the Office has put focus on Child Exploitation, Cyber Crimes, crimes involving the elderly, cases involving the federal code as Indian Country, Human trafficking, illegal possession of firearms, narcotics, and violent crime.

 

Honors and Awards

U.S. Attorney W. Anders Folk has the depth and breadth of experience and has showcased legal expertise through and through. He is an accomplished trial lawyer with extensive experience in building and prosecuting complex cases. Within his more than two decades of service in the legal field, U.S. Attorney Folk has been given numerous honors and awards to commemorate his excellent service. In 2004, U.S. Attorney Folk was awarded as Defense Counsel of the Year by the US Marine Corps West Coast Judge Advocates for being the top Marine Judge Advocate in the Western Region of the United States. In 2008, the Federal Bar Association named Folk as the Federal Bar Association’s Younger Federal Attorney. He was one of only five national recipients and the only Assistant U.S. Attorney to receive the award. In 2010, he was named as the Minnesota Lawyer of the Year. A year later, in 2011, U.S. Attorney Folk received the Justice Award given by the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota. In 2012, Folk was named in the Forty Under Forty list of the Minnesota/St. Paul Business Journal. In October of 2013, U.S. Attorney Folk was given the Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in Furthering the Interests of U.S. National Security.

On top of that, for three consecutive years, from 2013 to 2015, U.S. Attorney Folk has been named a Rising Star under the Super Lawyers. From 2016 to 2018, Folk was then named under the Minnesota Super Lawyer. Acting U.S. Attorney Folk has undoubtedly demonstrated extensive knowledge and skills in both the private sector and public service.

 

Membership and Organizations

Apart from being an exceptional prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Folk has also been an active member of several organizations, including the Federal Bar Association, since 2005. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Orchestra since December of 2015 and has been the Chair of the Board of Directors of one of the largest CBO providers of Adult Basic Education services throughout the State of Minnesota – the International Education Center – since 2006.

 

Publications

Among the publications released by U.S. Attorney Folk is the Prepared testimony of W. Anders Folk before the Committee on Homeland Security aired in the Minnesota Public Radio in July 2011, which spoke of the case of al-Shabaab. Acting U.S. Attorney Folk has also previously contributed in the 2011 Edition of The U.S. Intelligence Community Law Sourcebook of the American Bar Association, writing on the National Security Investigations and the Private Sector: Considerations for Corporate Counsel. Anders Folk was also co-author of the June 2017 publication of the Minnesota Continuing Legal Education, the Subpoenas, Search Warrants, and Other Government Requests for Information in Handling Internal Investigations Handbook.

 

Office Jurisdiction

William Anders Folk was named the Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota. As Chief Federal Law Enforcement Official for the district, he is responsible for leading the Office in the prosecution of federal crimes within the district, including those that involve child exploitation, firearms, financial fraud, healthcare fraud, human trafficking, narcotics, public corruption, tribal justice concerns, terrorism, among others. Furthermore, Acting U.S. Attorney W. Anders Folk shall also be in charge of heading the Office in representing the United States in affirmative and defensive civil cases, along with assisting communities throughout the State of Minnesota, with regards to community-building efforts, which are designed to enhance public safety. The Office of the United States for the District of Minnesota is composed of approximately 130 staff, comprising of 65 Assistant U.S. Attorneys and 65 support personnel that have been distributed among the two branch offices of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota.

 

Contact Details

Full Name: William Anders Folk
District/State: Minnesota
Public email ID: anders.folk@usdoj.gov

Minneapolis Branch Office

U.S. Courthouse
300 S 4th Street
Suite 600
Minneapolis, MN 55415

(612) 664-5600
Main

(612) 664-5787
Fax

St. Paul Branch Office

U.S. Courthouse
316 N. Robert Street
Suite 404
St. Paul, MN 55101

(651) 848-1950
Main

Media

Tasha Zerna
Public Affairs Specialist

(612) 664-5743
Main

 

Social Media Profiles of William Anders Folk

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Updated: April 17, 2021

 

Andrew M. Luger is the next State’s Attorney for the District of Minnesota.

Updated: May 15, 2023