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WHEELING — The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed the nomination of William Ihlenfeld as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia.
Also Tuesday, the Senate approved William S. Thompson as the new U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia.
Ihlenfeld, 49, is a Wheeling resident who previously served as U.S. Attorney for the district from 2010-16. He has served as a West Virginia state senator representing the 1st Senatorial District since 2018, and his Senate seat will be up for grabs now that he has his new post.
Late Tuesday, Ihlenfeld said, "I'm humbled and honored to have the opportunity to return to the Department of Justice. There's much to be done and I'm anxious to get sworn in and get to work."
During his first six years as U.S. Attorney, Ihlenfield honed in on drug crimes, disrupting trafficking networks from outside the state, prosecuting dealers and going after doctors and pharmacists involved in the improper prescribing of painkillers. He also went after white collar crimes and conducted several civil rights investigations.
Perhaps his most notable case came in a filing against HSBC Bank. Ihlenfeld and his office spearheaded an investigation into the bank and its practices that resulted in the bank paying almost $2 billion in forfeitures and penalties.
He takes over for William Powell, who served as U.S. Attorney from October 2017 through February.