White Collar Criminal & Government Investigations

Sonnenschein's White Collar Criminal Practice has over 20 attorneys nationwide who specialize in all aspects of state and federal white collar criminal litigation, as well as civil litigation involving allegations of criminal misconduct or other types of malfeasance. The group represents corporate and individual clients who are either the subject of ongoing grand jury investigations or named defendants in criminal indictments. This work covers the entire range of white collar crime, including tax and securities violations, antitrust violations, health care fraud, public corruption violations, Foreign Corrupt Practice Act (“FCPA”) matters, campaign finance violations, environmental violations, computer crimes and Internet enforcement, government contractor fraud, and mail and wire fraud.

In the civil area, the group represents corporate and individual clients in cases involving civil RICO claims, qui tam actions or other allegations of fraud, including cases brought on behalf of clients who have been victimized by such conduct.

The group also devotes a substantial amount of attention to two areas of corporate governance and self-regulation. First, the group conducts internal investigations for corporations that have discovered suspected misconduct by their employees. Such misconduct typically involves acts that directly victimize the company (embezzlement, theft, etc.) or acts that harm third parties and thus give rise to potential civil or criminal liability (antitrust or environmental crimes, government contractor fraud, etc.). The investigations generally consist of intensive document reviews, employee interviews, a final report to senior management and, if appropriate, subsequent contacts with federal law enforcement authorities.

The second area is the development and implementation of corporate compliance programs and codes of conduct. This area has become especially timely in the wake of the federal sentencing guidelines for corporations, which reward organizations that develop and implement effective programs for deterring and detecting employee misconduct. In working with corporate clients, the group has stressed the importance of such programs in preventing employee negligence and misconduct that directly victimizes the corporation or gives rise to civil or criminal liability.

Members of the White Collar Criminal Group include:

• Former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas who served on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee.
• A former Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York who also served as Associate Investigative Counsel for the Webster Commission Review of FBI Security Matters and trial attorney with the Department of Justice's Public Integrity Division.
• Two former Assistant United States Attorneys for the Northern District of Illinois with extensive experience with federal criminal prosecutions and grand jury matters, both as prosecuting and defense counsel. They have both prosecuted and defended a wide range of federal criminal cases including cases involving allegations of antitrust, tax, RICO and mail fraud violations.
• Former Assistant United States Attorneys for the District of Columbia, Eastern District of Virginia, Central District of California, District of Maryland, and Western District of North Carolina.
• Chief Counsel to the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services who also served as a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice and Deputy Assistant Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
• Two former trial attorneys with The United States Department of Justice, Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.
• Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney’s Office.

White Collar Criminal/Federal Regulatory Recent Representative Engagements

• Represented a Fortune 500 company in a federal criminal trial involving allegations of antitrust violations. The trial resulted in the acquittal of the company, its joint venture and all of its executives.
• Represented one of the nation's largest insurance companies in numerous matters involving allegations of fraudulent sales practices.
• Represented one of the nation's largest defense contractors in numerous cases involving litigation against the government, including a default termination of a major weapons system.
• Conducted internal antitrust investigations for numerous companies and represented the companies in separate grand jury investigations of alleged price-fixing or bid-rigging activities.
• Represented a major United States retailer in connection with allegations of alleged environmental crimes.
• Represented numerous hospitals and corporate executives in cases involving allegations of health care fraud. 
• Conducted an internal investigation of a major chemical manufacturing company and represented the company in a subsequent federal investigation of alleged false claims made in connection with a government contract.
• Represented a major hospital foundation defrauded of millions of dollars in insurance proceeds by an insurance agency.
• Represented two corporate executives in a federal appeal, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, from a price-fixing conviction.
• Represented a medical supplies company in a grand jury investigation of alleged health care fraud.
• Represented the director and former president of an environmental products company indicted on charges of making false claims to the government in connection with a government contract.
• Represented an employee of a major oil company in a grand jury investigation of an oil spill.
• Represented major financial institution in investigation of alleged computer intrusions.
• Developed or upgraded the codes of business conduct or internal compliance programs for numerous corporations.
• Representation of both corporations and individuals in numerous cases involving government allegations of antitrust, environmental and other federal criminal violations.