Nicholas Acker, Deputy Inspector General
Nicholas Acker is Deputy Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Commerce. In this role, he partners with the Senior Official Performing the Duties of Inspector General to lead a nationwide workforce of investigators, auditors, evaluators, attorneys, and support staff. Their mission is to promote economy, efficiency and effectiveness—and deter fraud, waste, and abuse—in Department of Commerce programs and operations through independent, objective oversight.
Nick has served in the Inspector General community since 2020. Beginning in March 2023, he served in several capacities with the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), including as General Counsel to the Inspector General, Assistant Inspector General for the Office of Special Inquiry, and Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Investigation. From May 2020 to March 2023, he served as Chief Counsel to the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Energy.
Nick previously served at the U.S. Department of Justice for 25 years in multiple capacities. From 2010 to 2020, he was a Senior Trial Attorney with the Fraud Section of DOJ’s Criminal Division in Washington, D.C., where he prosecuted securities and financial fraud, health care fraud and violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) throughout the United States, and handled a wide range of policy matters. From 2006 to 2010, he was Regional Director for Central and Eastern Europe at the Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) of DOJ’s Criminal Division, where he oversaw criminal justice reform and rule-of-law programs in Central and Eastern Europe, supervising a dozen experienced U.S. prosecutors serving as Resident Legal Advisors at U.S. embassies in that region. From 2002 to 2006, he was the Department of Justice Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, Italy, where he led U.S.-Italian cooperation on criminal justice matters affecting both countries, including organized crime, terrorism, financial crime and corruption. From 1995 to 2002, Nick served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of New Jersey, where he specialized in white collar crime and environmental crimes. From 1989 to 1995, before joining DOJ, he worked as an Associate Attorney at a major international law firm based in New York City. From 1988 to 1989, he served as a judicial law clerk to U.S. District Judge Alfred M. Wolin of the District of New Jersey.
Nick graduated with honors from George Washington University Law School in 1988, where he was Articles Editor of the Law Review. He obtained a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from Cornell University in 1984, where he was a General Motors Scholar and Assistant Managing Editor of the Cornell Daily Sun. He is the author of a chapter of a book on U.S.-Italian cooperation in organized crime and terrorism matters. He is fluent in Italian and German and proficient in Spanish.
