Gentry Locke Welcomes Former Federal Prosecutor Melissa E. O’Boyle to Its Criminal & Government Investigations Group
RICHMOND, Va. (January 19, 2023) – The Virginia law firm Gentry Locke is pleased to announce that former federal prosecutor Melissa E. O’Boyle has joined the firm’s Criminal & Government Investigations practice group as a partner.
“Melissa has established herself as a leading federal prosecutor in Virginia and is well-known in the Eastern District for her exceptional work on matters involving public corruption and financial fraud,” said Gentry Locke Managing Partner Brett Marston. “We are thrilled to welcome her to the firm and know that her experience in handling complex criminal cases and in leading investigations will make her an asset to our team and our clients.”
Prior to joining Gentry Locke, O’Boyle worked for more than 15 years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, investigating and prosecuting a broad array of criminal matters and coordinating relationships with law enforcement and regulatory partners. Most recently, she served as the chief of criminal prosecutions for Norfolk’s Criminal Division, where she oversaw 19 federal prosecutors and managed the white-collar unit responsible for authorizing and managing fraud, public corruption, securities, national security, and civil rights investigations and prosecutions. As an AUSA, O’Boyle successfully litigated some of the district’s highest-profile public corruption trials, including cases against former Norfolk Sheriff Robert McCabe, former Norfolk Vice Mayor Anthony Burfoot, former Norfolk Police Detective Robert Glenn Ford, and the case against community activist and congressional candidate Shaun Brown. She also led the investigation and prosecution of numerous complex criminal fraud cases, such as the case against executives responsible for the financial collapse of the Bank of the Commonwealth, a $25 million securities fraud case against the Chief Executive Officer of an investment firm, and a $7 million real estate Ponzi scheme involving former Virginia attorney Troy Titus.
As a member of the firm’s Criminal & Government Investigations practice, O’Boyle will work with clients to ensure compliance with increased regulatory oversight across a variety of industries including insurance, healthcare, government contracting, natural resources, banking, securities and financial institutions. She will draw on her vast experience as a federal white-collar prosecutor to advise individual and corporate clients facing criminal and civil enforcement actions and conduct internal investigations to provide strategic counsel to businesses to minimize legal risk.
O’Boyle received her J.D. from the Washington and Lee University School of Law and her B.A. from Capital University in Ohio. In 2022, she was recognized with a Top Prosecutor Award by the Women in Federal Law Enforcement (WIFLE) for exemplary achievements in prosecutions of federal crimes. O’Boyle also was recognized with the EOUSA Director’s Award for Superior Performance as an Assistant United States Attorney in 2011 and 2016 and was a recipient of the FBI Director’s Citation for Excellence in Prosecution in 2014.
About Gentry Locke
With more than 80 lawyers practicing across a range of disciplines, Gentry Locke brings uncommon thinking and deep experience to the legal and business challenges of companies, institutions, organizations and individuals—a commitment the firm has met since 1923. Operating from offices in Roanoke, Lynchburg, and Richmond, Virginia, Gentry Locke serves clients in Virginia and across the United States. Meet the firm’s dynamic attorneys and learn more about its fierce drive to achieve success for its clients by exploring our website.
