WHEELING, W.Va. — U.S. Attorney for Northern West Virginia Bill Ihlenfeld resigned a minute before Donald Trump became President Donald Trump Monday afternoon.

“Serving as United States Attorney has been an honor and a privilege,” Ilhenfeld said. “I’m deeply saddened to leave, but as I walk out the door today, I do so with tremendous pride because of all this team has accomplished over the past four years. Drug overdoses have decreased, national security has increased, child predators have been locked up, and white-collar criminals have been held to account.”
Ihlefeld was appointed by new former President Joe Biden. Trump will appoint a Republican.
Monday brings to a close Ihlenfeld’s second stint at U.S. Attorney. He served previously from 2010-2016. Ihlenfeld won a seat in the state Senate and served until his reappointment.
A news release issued Monday listing his office’s accomplishments said the office has been one of the most active nationwide for drug prosecutions, finishing 2024 with top ranking in the country of 93 U.S. Attorney’s Offices.
“This office is small but mighty, always punching above its weight class, and regularly bringing cases of national and international significance,” Ihlenfeld said. “We can all take comfort in knowing that this cadre of federal prosecutors will continue to keep West Virginia safe no matter who becomes the next U.S. Attorney.”
Ihlenfeld plans to return to the private sector. It’s likely an acting U.S. Attorney will be appointed before Trump nominates someone for the job.
Some significant cases include the indictment of 82 people last January in the dismantling of Baltimore-based fentanyl trafficking organization; the takedown of a Philadelphia-based drug and indictment of 25 people in February; dismantling a group in Martinsburg tied to the Sinaloa Drug Cartel; and the indictment of the Rico McGhee organization in 2023, which ended supply from the top source of illicit drugs to the Ohio Valley.
Other convictions highlighted by Ihlenfeld’s office:
• Jonathan and Diana Toebbe, husband and wife, who received two of the longest
sentences ever imposed for espionage (19 years and 21 years, respectively) after
attempting to sell U.S. defense technology to a foreign adversary;
• Ayodele Arosokun received 34 years for orchestrating an international tax scheme;
• Sam Bunner received 10 years after stealing $2 million from an elderly Jefferson
County man;
• Shelly Leipham received 7 years in a lottery scheme targeting older West Virginians;
• Phillip Conley was sentenced to 7 years for defrauding churches, pastors and others
of nearly $5 million in a sophisticated investment scheme;
• Dr. Nitesh Ratnakar of Wheeling was convicted on 41 counts of tax fraud for failing
to pay over withholdings from his employees’ paychecks;
• Jeffrey Morris, a Wheeling real estate developer, was sentenced to 5 years after
stealing millions from investors;
• Hardy Lloyd of Follansbee was sentenced to more than 6 years for threatening jurors
and witnesses in the Pittsburgh Tree of Life trial;
• Jasper and Christine Shook, husband and wife, of Grant County were sentenced to a
combined 50 years for production and distribution of child pornography;
• Destiny Somersall of Martinsburg was sentenced to 40 years for human trafficking;
• Daniel Eliazar Ramos Rosa received 27 years for coercing and enticing a 10-year-old
Jefferson County girl
• David McCauley of Buckhannon faces 10 years for possession of child pornography.
Story by Mike Nolting, WAJR