Executive Office
Vic Maddox serves as the Deputy Attorney General to Attorney General Daniel Cameron. In that role, he oversees all civil and criminal investigations, litigation, and advocacy for the Office and provides legal and policy advice to the Attorney General. Prior to joining Attorney General Cameron’s administration, Maddox was engaged in the practice of law for 38 years. He also served as a trial attorney with the Civil Division of the United States Department of Justice and served as Counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee for Senator Mitch McConnell, where he provided legal and policy advice to the Senator and oversaw all matters coming before the Committee. Maddox has served as a Special Justice on the Kentucky Supreme Court and as a member of the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance. He received a Presidential appointment with Senate confirmation and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation, a federally-chartered non-profit that provides funding to 134 grantees providing civil legal aid to low-income Americans. In that capacity, Maddox served as chairman of the Audit Committee and co-chaired the organization's Fiscal Oversight Task Force and Opioid Task Force. Maddox is a graduate of Ohio University and the Indiana University Maurer School of Law.
Carmine G. Iaccarino serves as Chief of Staff and Counsel to the Attorney General. In that role, he provides strategic, policy, and legal advice and counsel to the Attorney General. He also oversees the administration of the office and external affairs, including communications, legislative affairs, and constituent services, advises the Attorney General's executive staff, and provides guidance on matters involving general government law, ethics, and compliance. He previously served as Executive Director of the Office of Civil & Environmental Law, where he was a chief trial advocate for the Commonwealth's statutes, judges, and executive branch employees, and oversaw appeals brought under the Open Meetings and Open Records Acts. Before joining the Office of the Attorney General, Carmine served as General Counsel of the Kentucky Public Protection Cabinet, where he was the chief counsel to the Cabinet and agencies that regulated horse racing, financial institutions, insurance, alcoholic beverages, construction, professional licensing, and charitable gaming. Carmine attended law school at The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, and earned his bachelor's degree in international affairs and political science at The George Washington University in Washington, DC. Graduating with cum laude distinction from both universities, Carmine later practiced administrative law at a large federal agency before relocating to Central Kentucky with his wife in 2013 to practice general civil litigation across the Commonwealth.
Krista Buckel serves as the Communications Director for the Attorney General. Buckel previously served as Executive Director for the Office of Communications and Public Outreach for the Kentucky Public Protection Cabinet, where she was responsible for overseeing a coordinated communications strategy for the Cabinet and its agencies. She previously served as the Business Development and Marketing Director for California-based architecture firm Nicholas, Melburg & Rossetto and was the Marketing Director for the Redding Convention & Visitors Bureau. Buckel earned a degree in English from Asbury University. She is a native of Fayette County.
Criminal Division
Amy Burke heads the Criminal Branch in the Office of the Attorney General. Most recently, Burke served as the Chief Prosecutor for the Kenton County Attorney's Office, where she specialized in prosecuting cases involving serious injuries to children, dependency abuse and neglect, domestic violence, and sexual assault. In this position, Burke provided training and legal advice to law enforcement, and allied professionals, including Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) and Domestic and Other Violence Emergencies (DOVE) nurses, Cabinet for Health and Family Service workers, and Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) volunteers. Burke began her legal career as a law clerk at the Kenton County Attorney's Office in 1995 before becoming an Assistant Kenton County Attorney a few years later. Burke has also served as an Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney for the 16th Judicial District in Kenton County, where she prosecuted felony cases ranging from drug crimes and gun violence prosecutions to sexual assaults against children. Burke has mentored young prosecutors throughout her service to the Commonwealth. She has served as faculty at the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina, and at the Kentucky Prosecutor's Institute. Since 2001, she has also served as an adjunct faculty member at Northern Kentucky University in the Department of Criminal Justice Studies. Burke attended Eastern Kentucky University and the Salmon P. Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University. She is a native of Grant County.
Heather Wagers oversees the Office of Trafficking and Abuse Prevention and Prosecution. Previously, she served as Deputy General Counsel and Legislative Director of the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet. In that capacity, Wagers provided legal counsel to four major departments, including State Police, Criminal Justice Training, Corrections, and Juvenile Justice. Wagers earned her Bachelor of Science in Accounting and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Kentucky and her Juris Doctorate from Salmon P. Chase College of Law. She started her career with the Department of Kentucky State Police, where she trained, represented, and provided counsel to Troopers, Officers, and civilians. Wagers served as the chief legal advisor on employment cases. Wagers was a board member of the Kentucky Personnel Board from 2016-2018. Wagers grew up in Clay County.
Robyn Diez d’Aux currently serves as the Executive Director of the Office of Victims Advocacy. She previously served as the Deputy Director of the office. Before that, she was the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) program manager within the Attorney General’s Office and coordinated the completion of Kentucky’s previously untested SAFE kits. In that role, she helped secure a $2 million grant from the United States Department of Justice to provide training and technical assistance to criminal justice professionals working to improve sexual assault response across the Commonwealth. Prior to joining the Attorney General’s Office, Diez d’ Aux worked at the Justice & Public Safety Cabinet where she was a grant manager for the STOP Violence Against Women, Victims of Crime Act, and Sexual Assault Services Program funding for the Commonwealth. She holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Kentucky’s Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce, and a Bachelor’s in Communications from the University of Kentucky.
Greg Wolf serves as the Commissioner of the Department of Criminal Investigations (DCI). In this position, his responsibilities include oversight for the strategic management of all DCI responsibilities, including budgets, operations, and administration. Wolf has over 38 years of Law Enforcement experience. He has been with DCI since 2011 and has been a Branch Manager since 2013. Prior to joining DCI, Wolf was with the Kentucky State Police for 26 years. He has had numerous assignments during his career, including public integrity, special investigations, narcotics, special operations, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations Joint Terrorism Task Force. Wolf is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University and is a native of Woodford County.
Matthew Kleinert serves as the Executive Director of the Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control. Previously, Kleinert served as Deputy Director of the Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control. Kleinert joined the Office of the Attorney General in January of 2020. Prior to this position, Kleinert served as Deputy General Counsel for Kentucky's Cabinet for Health and Family Services. In this role, he represented the Department for Community Based Services and the Department for Medicaid Services in civil litigation matters. He is a 2005 graduate of Bellarmine University and a 2008 graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Law. Kleinert is a Fayette County native.
Rewa Zakharia serves as the Director of the Office of Special Prosecutions. In this role, she oversees the prosecution of criminal cases, assists state prosecutors upon request, and manages the investigation and prosecution of suspected election law violations, environmental crimes, and ethics law violations. Zakharia was previously a Special Victims' Prosecutor within the Attorney General's Office of Trafficking and Abuse Prevention and Prosecution, where she specialized in the prosecution of cases involving child abuse and sexual assault and provided training regarding special victim cases, investigations, and constitutional law. Prior to joining the Attorney General's office in 2019, she served under Ray Larson and Lou Anna Red Corn as an Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney for the 22nd Judicial Circuit. In this role, she served as a felony prosecutor in the Special Victim's Unit and prosecuted homicide, human trafficking, child abuse, sex crimes, and violent offender cases. As an Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney, Zakharia tried what is believed to be the first labor trafficking case in Kentucky. Born and raised in Hamat, Lebanon, she graduated from the Charlotte School of Law and earned her bachelor's degree in Business Finance from Transylvania University. Zakharia lives in Fayette County with her husband.
Civil Division
Christopher Thacker heads the Civil Division in the Office of the Attorney General. Prior to joining the office, Thacker practiced law with the Billings Law Firm and Stoll Keenon Ogden in Lexington, with a focus on civil and appellate litigation. In his private practice, Thacker represented individuals and businesses—from family-run "mom and pop" businesses to Fortune 500 companies—in venues ranging from the state district court to the U.S. Supreme Court. Thacker previously served as Chairman of the Kentucky Executive Branch Ethics Commission and was appointed to serve as a Special Justice on the Kentucky Supreme Court. Thacker graduated from Yale University and the University of Kentucky College of Law. A native of Pike County, Thacker and his family reside in Winchester.
Heather Becker is privileged to serve as the Executive Director of the Office of Civil & Environmental Law. In this role, she provides trial advocacy for the Commonwealth’s statutes, judges, and executive branch employees, and oversees appeals brought under the Open Meetings and Open Records Acts. Before joining the Office of the Attorney General, Becker served as General Counsel of the Kentucky Real Estate Authority within the Public Protection Cabinet, and prior to that, she served as a staff attorney to the Honorable Thomas D. Wingate of the Franklin Circuit Court. Becker attended law school at the University of Kentucky College of Law and earned her bachelor’s degree in political science and philosophy, with honors, from Hofstra University.
John G. Horne, II, serves as Executive Director of the Office of Rate Intervention. Most recently, he served as General Counsel of the Energy and Environment Cabinet. In that capacity, Horne oversaw all facets of administering Kentucky’s environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, RCRA, CERCLA, and SMCRA. Horne was previously an Of Counsel Partner with Dinsmore & Shohl in their Frankfort Office, representing clients in regulatory, administrative, and environmental affairs. Horne began his legal career as Staff Attorney with the Energy and Environment Cabinet and became General Counsel for the Department of Environmental Protection before retiring. He holds an undergraduate and law degree from the University of Kentucky.
W. Bryan Hubbard serves as Chair and Executive Director of the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission as well as Special Counsel to the Attorney General's Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control. He previously served within Kentucky's Cabinet for Health and Family Services as Commissioner for the Department for Income Support. In this capacity, he was responsible for leading and managing the Commonwealth's Social Security Disability and Child Support Enforcement programs. During his time of service, he led a research team of policy experts in drafting "Social Security Disability in Kentucky: The Evolution of Dependence, 1980-2015," which provided a foundation for reforms proposed to the White House Domestic Policy Council and the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration. Hubbard attended law school at the University of Kentucky where he was president of the Moot Court Board and selected as its most outstanding member. After law school, he practiced workers' compensation law across the state for 16 years. This experience allowed him to examine the relationship between joblessness, poverty, disability, and drug dependence. He was raised in Virginia's coalfields and has lived in Kentucky since 1997.
Chris Lewis serves as Commissioner of the Office of Consumer Protection. Most recently, he worked as General Counsel for the Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet. In this position, he oversaw legal counsel for the Cabinet and handled complex state procurement and contractual matters. Prior to his appointment to the Finance and Administration Cabinet, Lewis served as the Executive Director of the Office of Employee Relations within the Kentucky Personnel Cabinet, providing budgetary and regulatory compliance oversight for numerous agency programs, including the Commonwealth's largest Self-Insured Workers' Compensation Fund and Return to Work Program. In addition to his public service, Lewis brings considerable appellate and trial experience from his tenure in the private sector where he handled cases related to insurance, healthcare, mass tort, and contract law. Lewis is a graduate of Asbury College and the University Of Kentucky College Of Law, where he served as an Editor on the Journal of Natural Resources and Environmental Law and a member of the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Moot Arbitration Team.
Philip Heleringer serves as Executive Director of the Office of Consumer Protection. In that role, he oversees all aspects of the office's enforcement of the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act. Prior to this position, he served as the Deputy Executive Director of the Office of Consumer Protection, where he supervised all consumer protection matters and served as lead trial counsel for select matters. Before joining the Attorney General's Office, he worked in private practice at Stoll Keenon Ogden in Louisville with a focus on business litigation. He is a graduate of Indiana University and the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law, where he was a member of the Brandeis Honor Society and a senior editor of The University of Louisville Law Review. Heleringer is a native of Jefferson County.
LaDonna Koebel serves as Executive Director of the Office of Senior Protection and Mediation. Koebel previously served as Chief of Staff to the Kentucky Personnel Cabinet, where she oversaw the Cabinet's communications and employee outreach initiatives, project implementation, TipLine investigations, and coordination of the Kentucky Conference on Leadership and Diversity. Koebel's tenure in state service also includes eleven years as an Assistant General Counsel in the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet and as Acting Commissioner to the Department of Juvenile Justice. Prior to her state service, she worked in private practice handling civil litigation. Koebel earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Kentucky, a master's degree in criminal justice from Eastern Kentucky University's College of Justice and Safety, and a bachelor's degree from Kentucky Wesleyan College where she currently serves on the Alumni Board of Directors.
Appellate Division
Matt Kuhn serves as the Solicitor General of Kentucky. As Solicitor General, he oversees the office's civil and criminal appellate litigation and supervises the office's filing of amicus briefs. Since joining the Attorney General's office, he has argued in the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of Kentucky. Before joining the Attorney General's office, he served as Chief Deputy General Counsel to the Governor of Kentucky. He also worked in private practice at Jones Day in Washington, D.C. and Stoll Keenon Ogden in Louisville, and served as a law clerk for Judge Raymond Gruender of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He is a graduate of Furman University and Columbia Law School.
Jeffrey A. Cross serves as Deputy Solicitor General for Criminal Appeals, where he oversees criminal appellate litigation. Previously, Cross served as Assistant Attorney General and a member of the team he now manages. In his former role, he also served in a special unit dedicated to defending death penalty convictions. Prior to that, Cross worked in private practice, focusing on appellate and consumer litigation. He earned his law degree from the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law, where he was a member and editor of the Journal of Family Law and Journal of Law and Education.