Safeguard your business from legal and reputational risks.
Financial Crimes
White collar criminal investigations tend to arrive without warning. A subpoena, a target letter, or a call from the company’s general counsel saying the government has been asking questions. By then, decisions have usually already been made — about documents, about conversations, about who said what to whom — that will matter more than almost anything that happens afterward.
The enforcement numbers reflect the stakes. In FY2025, the DOJ Fraud Section charged individuals in cases with an aggregate alleged intended loss of over $16 billion — more than double the year before. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center recorded $16.6 billion in losses from internet-based financial crimes in 2024, a 33 percent increase year-over-year. Federal white collar prosecutions have actually declined — FY2025 is projected to see fewer than 4,000, the lowest since records began in 1986. The government is pursuing fewer cases, but making them larger. If you’re the target of a federal financial crimes investigation, you’re in a small, high-stakes group.
Defending Against Financial Allegations
Wire fraud and mail fraud (18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1343) are the default charges in financial crimes cases because their elements are broad: a scheme to defraud, plus use of a wire or the mail. A single email can establish federal jurisdiction. Bank fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1344) covers misrepresentations to financial institutions, with maximum sentences of 30 years per count. Money laundering charges are frequently added because they increase sentencing exposure substantially, and because they can apply even to transactions that the defendant didn’t initiate.
Financial crimes almost always generate parallel proceedings. While federal prosecutors build a criminal case, the SEC, CFTC, or banking regulators open parallel civil enforcement proceedings. Private plaintiffs file their own litigation. The IRS may open an audit or criminal referral. A statement in a civil deposition can be used in the criminal case. Producing documents in the SEC investigation can waive privilege in related civil litigation. Managing parallel proceedings requires coordinating strategy across all of them from the moment the first subpoena arrives.
What We Offer
We represent executives, professionals, business owners, and companies in federal financial crimes investigations and prosecution. We work with forensic accountants and financial experts to develop defenses grounded in the actual financial evidence — not just legal arguments about what the law says. Early intervention, when there’s still an opportunity to shape how the government frames its case, typically produces better outcomes than waiting for an indictment to engage.
We practice in Texas, DC, Colorado, and California, with affiliated counsel wherever an investigation is centered. Related: Anti-Kickback Statute · Whistleblower Representation
