United States of America v. Dennis W. McNamara

A former Columbus, Ohio, lawyer has been sentenced in the Southern District of Ohio to two years of probation and a $15,000 fine on his conviction for making false statements to the FBI, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.



Chief United States District Judge Sarah D. Morrison imposed the sentence on Dennis W. McNamara, 74, of Columbus, on August 21, 2025.



According to information presented to the Court, McNamara—then a practicing lawyer in the Southern District of Ohio—represented a cooperating witness who provided information into a drug trafficking and sex trafficking organization operating in Columbus. At the time, McNamara was separately engaged in a sexual relationship with a female sex worker. McNamara informed the sex worker that he represented the cooperating witness and provided the woman with details of his client's cooperation, placing his client at great risk of potential harm. When agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation questioned him regarding his disclosures, McNamara lied to agents about having revealed the information.



In imposing the sentence, Judge Morrison emphasized the seriousness of the offense.



The United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio was recused from the investigation and prosecution of this matter; the matter then was assigned to the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania.



Assistant United States Attorney Mark V. Gurzo prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.



Acting United States Attorney Rivetti commended the FBI's Southern Ohio Public Corruption Task Force, which includes special agents and officers from the FBI, Ohio Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and Columbus Division of Police, as well as the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of McNamara.