Judge Nancy Brasel
Minnesota U.S. District Court
Nancy Ellen Brasel was born in 1969 in Durham, United Kingdom. She earned an undergraduate degree from Trinity University, a master’s from the University of Texas at Austin, and received her Juris Doctor from the University of Minnesota. She clerked for a judge in the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, then entered private practice in Minneapolis.
Brasel became a partner with a firm where she handled business and employment litigation. She then served as assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota. She was appointed to the state judicial bench in 2011. Brasel also chaired the Board of Directors of the Domestic Abuse Project in Minneapolis.
President Donald Trump nominated Brasel as a federal judge in 2018 at Senator Amy Klobuchar’s recommendation. She was confirmed by the Senate in August and received her commission in September 2018.
In the News…
District Judge Nancy Brasel has presided over cases related to the Feeding Our Future fraud scandal in Minneapolis. She most recently determined that the federal government may seize assets from a ringleader of the fraudulent child nutrition programs, which illegally obtained approximately $250 million in taxpayer funding.
After the conviction of the ringleader and another conspirator, Judge Brasel ordered them to remain in custody until sentencing. The judge stated, “The fraud scheme was based on deception,” and the pair could use similar deception to flee now that they’re facing “a significant sentence.”
At another fraudster’s sentencing, Judge Brasel stated, “Where others saw a crisis and rushed to help, you saw money and rushed to steal.”
The forfeited assets of the ringleader include $3.7 million in bank accounts and cash, a 2013 Porsche, and electronics, clothing, and jewelry worth a total of roughly $5.2 million. The permanent forfeiture decision will be handed down when the defendant is sentenced.
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Judge Brasel today? You can let her know at:
The Honorable Nancy Brasel
U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota
Diana E. Murphy United States Courthouse
300 South Fourth Street
Minneapolis, MN 55415
