Trump administration dismisses prosecutor involved in abandoned Adani fraud case

The Trump administration has sacked a federal prosecutor from the Justice Department’s fraud division who had been handling the now-defunct case against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani. The attorney, one of two who asked to be removed shortly after Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter moved in May to drop the charges, was dismissed a month later, according to two insiders. Adani had been charged in November 2024 with a scheme to cheat U.S. investors and pay Indian officials to secure a massive solar-plant contract, claims he denied and called baseless.

U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis eventually dismissed the indictment, rebuking the administration’s “highly unusual” conduct, while leaving some counts against co-defendants intact due to insufficient factual justification. An email from U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella showed the Justice Department rejected a $10 billion investment proposal from Adani’s defense team. The Justice Department defended the dismissal, with McCotter stating the case was indefensible regardless of any investment offers. The prosecutor has not responded to requests for comment.