The settlement agreements will resolve claims against the United States for the FBI's alleged failure to conduct an adequate investigation into Nassar's conduct. It will also likely end years of efforts by some gymnasts, including Olympic gold medalists Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney, to hold federal authorities accountable for failing to adequately investigate dozens of allegations.
In addition to being a sports doctor at Michigan State University, Nassar was the head doctor of Indianapolis-based USA Gymnastics. For nearly two decades, he sexually abused hundreds of victims, including elite and gold medal Olympic gymnasts, under the guise of medical treatment.
In 2016, he was arrested by Michigan authorities and later sentenced to decades in prison. In 2021, the Justice Department's Inspector General's Office released a report criticizing the FBI's response and investigation into the allegations against Nassar.
The Justice Department investigation found that the FBI mismanaged the case against Nassar and failed to respond to the allegations "with the extreme seriousness and urgency they deserved and needed." The Justice Department also said in its July 2021 report that the FBI made numerous and fundamental errors and violated numerous policies in the process.
The Justice Department had previously announced that it would not indict the FBI agents who mishandled the Nassar case. In 2021, USA Gymnastics agreed to pay $380 million to hundreds of survivors to settle their claims.
In the Justice Department's statement, Acting Attorney General Benjamin Mizer said: "While these settlements will not undo the damage done by Nassar, our hope is that they will help provide the victims of his crimes with some of the critical support they need to continue to heal. "
Nassar was attacked multiple times in prison, including multiple stabbings last year.
