U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant appoints prosecutors to leadership roles for the Western District of Tennessee

U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant Appoints Prosecutors to Leadership Roles for the Western District of Tennessee

Memphis, TN – United States Attorney D. Michael Dunavant is pleased to announce the appointments of four Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) for management and supervisory roles within the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Tennessee.

United States Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said, “All four of these AUSAs are career prosecutors with unquestioned reputations for effective prosecution and sound legal and ethical judgment. I have full faith and confidence in all of them to help me effectively lead the U.S. Attorney’s Office in West Tennessee, and I am proud to appoint them to these important positions.”

BETH C. BOSWELL
FIRST ASSISTANT UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

Beth Boswell was admitted to practice law in Texas in November 1992 and in Tennessee in September 1998. She started her path as a career prosecutor immediately after law school by working for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office in Houston, Texas, one of the largest District Attorney offices in the country, where she worked from 1992 to 1998.

Prior to joining the Department of Justice in 2014, Boswell served as the Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney General for Tennessee’s 24^th Judicial District Attorney General’s office for 16 years. During her service as Deputy Chief, she was the Senior Trial Prosecutor for all violent crimes and major drug cases covering a five-county district. While there, she also worked as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (SAUSA) for the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Tennessee (WDTN) from 2011 to 2014. Boswell then joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office as an Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA). She was assigned to the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Unit in the Jackson, Tennessee branch office, which focused on the prosecutions of long-term drug and gang cases. She served as the Lead AUSA of the unit from 2016 to 2018 and was then appointed as Criminal Chief, where she served until this promotion.

During her career as a prosecutor, Boswell has tried hundreds of felony cases to verdict, including complex gang and long-term narcotic prosecutions, firearms violations, murders, rapes, arsons, robberies, and other violent crimes. She has received the Department of Justice Criminal Division Assistant District Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service, as well as United States Attorney Awards for outstanding performance and distinguished service to the Western District of Tennessee.

Beth Boswell is a graduate of Cumberland University in Lebanon, TN, where she received an athletic and academic scholarship.  She graduated from Middle Tennessee University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee with a B.S. degree in Pre-Law/Political Science and received her Juris Doctorate degree from South Texas College of Law in Houston, Texas.

Boswell has been a regular speaker and instructor in various areas of public safety and has provided training to prosecutors, law enforcement, correctional officers, medical professionals, and the public.

PATRICK NEAL OLDHAM
CRIMINAL CHIEF

Patrick Neal Oldham is a native Memphian and grew up in the Whitehaven area. He attended St. Paul grade school and Bishop Byrne High School.  He attended the University of Memphis and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History.  After college, he worked as a Leadership Consultant for Sigma Chi International Fraternity.  Oldham then attended the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis and graduated in 2004.

Oldham began is legal career in 2004 as an Assistant District Attorney for the Tennessee’s 25th Judicial District, serving Tipton, Lauderdale, Fayette, Hardeman, and McNairy counties.  In 2009, Oldham joined the 30th Judicial District, serving Shelby County, and worked there for nine years before joining the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee in 2018 under a DOJ initiative to provide additional prosecutorial resources to target and combat violent crime.

GREGORY D. ALLEN
HOMELAND SECURITY TASK FORCE DEPUTY CHIEF

Gregory D. Allen is a graduate of the University of Memphis and Cecil C. Humphrey’s School of Law.  Prior to joining the Department of Justice, Allen practiced criminal law in state and federal courts in Memphis, Tennessee and surrounding areas.  He joined the Department of Justice in 2018 as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee and was assigned to the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Unit.

Allen has spent years in OCDETF collaborating with law enforcement partners on cases, participating in complex and lengthy investigations of narcotics traffickers, and completed numerous jury trials. He has litigated multiple carjackings, child exploitation, inmate escapes, firearms, and organized crime cases.

Allen has served as the Lead Homeland Security Task Force Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee. He also served as the First Step Act point of contact for the U.S. Attorney’s Office and is a well-respected mentor to other Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the district.

NAYA BEDINI
APPELLATE CHIEF

Naya Bedini earned a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science from Harding University, where she graduated magna cum laude and received an International Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Memphis Fogelman College of Business.  In 2014, she graduated magna cum laude from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphrey’s School of Law.

Prior to joining the Department of Justice, Bedini served as a clerk to Chief Magistrate Judge Diane K. Vescovo of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.  In 2018, Bedini joined the Department of Justice as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Appellate Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee. During her time in that role, Bedini wrote over 120 appellate briefs on a multitude of legal issues, argued several times before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, managed an extensive post-conviction docket, assisted in decisions regarding government appeals of adverse orders (in tandem with the Criminal Division at Main Justice and the Office of Solicitor General), responded to en banc petitions, and provided guidance to our attorneys regarding legal developments.

While maintaining her appellate caseload and responsibilities, Bedini has also successfully prosecuted several cases in the district court, completed several jury trials, and assisted in complex pretrial litigation cases. She also manages the student externship program for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

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