Carmen M. Ortiz, former U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts has extensive experience as a trial lawyer, investigator and crisis manager. As the U.S. Attorney from 2009 to 2017, Carmen led an office of more than 200 attorneys and support staff in Boston, Worcester and Springfield. She oversaw the investigation and litigation of many significant and complex criminal and civil cases in matters involving financial and securities fraud, healthcare fraud, public corruption, money laundering, cybercrimes, national security, organized crime and violent crime. Among the many cases she directed, she was personally involved with the high-profile prosecutions of Whitey Bulger and the Boston Marathon bomber. Carmen also did considerable work in the healthcare fraud arena, leading the District of Massachusetts to some of the largest civil settlements in U.S. history, including those of healthcare giants, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer and Merck. Given her interest in healthcare, Carmen served as Co-Chair of the Attorney General’s Healthcare Fraud Working Group from 2010 through 2015. In other leadership positions within the Department of Justice, Carmen was a member of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee from 2012 until 2014, and she was also a member of the AGAC’s subcommittees on Civil Rights, White Collar Crime, Terrorism and National Security and Cyber Crimes/Intellectual Property. Carmen was well respected and known for collaborating with the leadership of the Department of Justice and her colleagues from around the country on important and critical issues of the DOJ. Prior to becoming U.S. Attorney, Carmen honed her litigation skills as both a federal and state prosecutor, as well as a defense attorney, trying over 60 jury cases to verdict. In addition, she participated in a number of independent investigations, including on behalf of the National Football League, when she investigated allegations of sexual harassment made by a sportswriter against the New England Patriots, and also on behalf of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as a member of the team that investigated the “October Surprise,” the Congressional inquiry into allegations that members of the 1980 Reagan-Bush presidential campaign delayed the release of 52 Americans held hostage by Iran. Carmen was also a Program Associate and Training Coordinator at the Harvard Law School’s Center for Criminal Justice where she worked on the Harvard/Guatemala Criminal Justice Project, collaborating with the judiciary of Guatemala and other professionals to implement criminal justice reforms.
Carmen now focuses her practice at Anderson & Kreiger on sexual harassment investigations, employment litigation, internal investigations, corporate compliance, civil litigation, and white collar criminal defense.
In addition to her practice, Carmen continues to be dedicated to public service and sits on the Boards of Trustees for Adelphi University, Discovering Justice, Crossroads and the Massachusetts Women's Forum. She also serves as on the Advisory Board of Trustees for the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
For fun, Carmen enjoys traveling, music and spending time with her family and friends.