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Government Enforcement & White Collar

ArentFox Schiff is a destination firm for companies, executives, and public officials when the stakes are at their highest.

Our Work

Our Government Enforcement & White Collar team combines creative, effective advocacy with a proven track record of successfully representing businesses and individuals in investigations, regulatory and enforcement matters, and complex litigation throughout the United States.  Made up of former United States Attorneys (including one former U.S. Senator), numerous former federal and state prosecutors, former government officials, and dedicated career defense attorneys, our highly credentialed team has the experience to handle any situation.

Our team is trial-tested and prides itself on our strategic, thorough, and results-driven approach.  We have a demonstrated ability to advocate for our clients regardless of the circumstance. We represent clients in internal, government, and congressional investigations;  investigations and enforcement actions by federal and state law enforcement agencies and whistleblowers; grand jury proceedings; federal and state criminal trials and parallel civil litigation; and appeals.  Our practice is more than just reactive—our team routinely handles proactive internal investigations, compliance reviews and counseling, and monitorships to help our clients mitigate risk and stay ahead of potential government scrutiny.

With the Firm’s industry-focused approach to client service, our team regularly collaborates with other groups to provide comprehensive guidance to our clients as we help navigate the complexities and intersection of regulations, investigations and enforcement actions.  For example, we frequently coordinate with our nationally recognized International Trade & Investment, Government Contracting, Healthcare, National Security, and Environmental, Social and Governance groups.  Our areas of collaboration include export/import violations, healthcare fraud, securities fraud, employment, tax offenses, and others.

From counseling to trial, ArentFox Schiff’s Government Enforcement & White Collar team provides full-service support to clients facing any type of governmental or regulatory scrutiny.

Insights on Government Enforcement & White Collar

How We Help

Our team has experience handling government enforcement and white collar matters across a variety of areas, including:

  • Accounting and Tax Fraud
  • Anti-Corruption, Bribery, & FCPA
  • Anti-Money Laundering
  • Commodities and Securities Fraud
  • Compliance Reviews & Counseling
  • Congressional Investigations
  • Cross-Border Investigations
  • Crypto Currency
  • Customs and International Trade
  • Embezzlement and Theft
  • Environmental
  • False Claims Act
  • Financial Fraud
  • Government Contracting and Procurement
  • Healthcare Fraud, including Stark, Anti-Kickback, and EKRA violations
  • Immigration
  • Insider Trading
  • Intellectual Property & Trade Secret Crimes
  • Internal Investigations
  • Monitorships
  • National Security
  • Political Corruption
  • Privacy, Data Protection, and Data Security
  • Trials

Representative Matters

Our deep bench of highly-qualified attorneys has extensive experience across all aspects of government enforcement and white collar work. A few of our team’s representative matters include:

Successful Acquittals & Dismissals 

  • Won an acquittal for the CFO of a major, publicly-traded healthcare company charged with conspiring to commit securities fraud following a jury trial in the Western District of Oklahoma.
  • Won acquittals for former federal law enforcement agent charged with obstruction of justice and conspiracy following a trial in the Eastern District of Virginia.
  • Won complete acquittals and exoneration for a University of Kansas professor charged with ten felonies in the District of Kansas.
  • Won dismissal of all charges against an individual charged in the District of the District of Columbia, in connection with so-called “Shot Show” FCPA sting case, in which DOJ alleged that 22 defense contractors paid bribes to African defense minister in connection with sale of military hardware.  
  • Won dismissal of all charges, following two-years of pre-trial litigation, against a CEO of a US military and law enforcement equipment company who was indicted for trying to bribe African officials in an undercover sting operation.
  • Won dismissal of all wire fraud counts filed in the Southern District of Texas against an engineer charged in twenty-two-count indictment alleging violating export laws, wire fraud, false statements, and tax counts and persuaded the government to dismiss export charges.
  • Obtained dismissal of an eight-count indictment filed against scientist charged with computer hacking, theft, and false statements.  
  • Obtained dismissal of an indictment filed against an entrepreneur accused of export-control violations in the Middle District of Florida.
  • Obtained dismissal on behalf of a global pharmaceutical manufacturer in a False Claims Act litigation brought by a qui tam relator, upheld on appeal by the First and Second Circuits.
  • Obtained dismissal of a public hospital in four False Claims Act Cases brought by its  former General Counsel in the Northern District of California.
  • Obtained dismissal of a vaccine manufacturer in a False Claims Act litigation in the Western District of Michigan.
  • Obtained dismissal on behalf of an individual in a commodity options fraud case brought by the U.S. Commodities & Future Trading Commission.
  • Obtained dismissal of a four-count indictment filed against the Chair of Temple University Physics Department suspected of espionage on behalf of China.
  • Obtained dismissal of charges after pre-trial diversion in representation of businessman charged with bank fraud in Norther District of California.
  • Obtained pre-trial probation and dismissal after six months on behalf of businessman charged in a ten-count indictment, with no admission of wrong-doing.

Declinations

  • Obtained declination on behalf of the former president of a benefit management company in a False Claims Act investigation (the former company entered into a $54 million settlement).
  • Obtained declination on behalf of an international medical device manufacturer in an investigation by the DOJ Consumer Protection Branch and U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts into possible False Claims Act violations and criminal or civil violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
  • Obtained declination on behalf of two proton therapy centers in a False Claims Act, Stark Law, and Anti-Kickback Statute investigation by the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.
  • Obtained declination on behalf of a national vein clinic following investigation by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland and various Offices of Inspector General.
  • Obtained declination on behalf of a publicly-held company following DOJ and SEC investigations for alleged bribes paid in Asia to obtain licenses and visas.
  • Obtained declination on behalf of a municipal advisor entity investigated by the SEC for alleged undisclosed conflicts of interest in connection with a bond offering, and provided related compliance counseling.
  • Obtained declinations on behalf of university and professor following investigations by the DOJ and NSF-OIG into disclosures made in federal research grant proposals.
  • Represented president of Fortune 500 company on allegations of insider trading and persuaded state and federal prosecutors that charges not warranted.
  • Represented the Board of Directors of a nursing school in FBI and DOE investigation regarding fraud, and successfully negotiated the dismissal of the entire investigation and return of all seized money.
  • Represented foreign bank in DOJ investigation of alleged OFAC violations and persuaded federal prosecutors to decline charges.
  • Represented publicly-held company in a qui tam case in which relator alleged that company overcharged US Army for meals and travel-related expenses in Pakistan and persuaded government not to intervene in case.
  • Represented federal law enforcement official a DOJ investigation for conspiracy, false statements, and visa fraud and successfully persuaded DOJ to decline prosecution.
  • Represented hedge fund in DOJ and SEC investigations into possible insider trading and no enforcement action was brought against the client.
  • Represented senior marketing officers of a public pharmaceutical company in an off-label marketing and anti-kickback investigation by DOJ and no enforcement action was brought against the clients.
  • Represented former chair of the board of a technology company in DOJ and SEC investigations of alleged stock options backdating and no charges were brought against the client, although others were prosecuted.
  • Represented officers of a public pharmaceutical company in an off-label marketing and anti-kickback investigation by DOJ and no enforcement action was brought against the clients.
  • Represented former CEO of a publicly-traded pharmaceutical company in FCPA investigations conducted by DOJ and SEC and no enforcement action was brought against the client.

Investigations & Monitorships

  • Conducted a global internal FCPA investigation for a large multinational Fortune 500 corporation in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe.
  • Conducted an internal investigation of possible compliance lapses and retaliation at a large multinational corporation and authored the investigation report.
  • Conducted internal investigations and successful negotiations for multiple clients with matters before the New York State Attorney General’s Office.
  • Served as court-appointed Monitor in an SEC enforcement action pending in the Eastern District of New York.
  • Appointed Independent Consultant for Credit Agricole by The New York State Department of Financial Services, on behalf of the US Department of Justice, the Federal Reserve, the US Department of Treasury, and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
  • Conducted multiple compliance monitorships for The World Bank, including a “Top Ten” FCPA matter.
  • Served as monitor on the first multi-year DOJ/SEC FCPA compliance monitorship of a Russian company and its 25 subsidiaries.
  • Appointed the independent monitor to oversee implementation of the multi-year consent decree outlining reforms for the Chicago Police Department.
  • Led an independent review of the City of Chicago school district’s policies and procedures following the Chicago Tribune’s investigation that revealed cases where students were sexually abused by Chicago Public School employees.
  • Appointed Executive Inspector General for the Agencies of the Illinois Governor.

Counseling & Advice

  • Represented global health care company in connection with a wide range of FCPA-related matters, including conducting internal investigations in numerous jurisdictions; advising on extensive enhancements to the company’s global compliance program, including coordinating local legal advice in more than 50 countries; and conducting compliance due diligence on proposed business transactions and third-party relationships around the globe.
  • Led FCPA due diligence associated with an acquisition of a target company in the Middle East by a multinational Fortune 500 energy corporation.
  • Conducted hundreds of anti-corruption training sessions for multiple clients’ employees and higher risk third parties around the globe and in multiple languages.
  • Serve as global anti-corruption compliance counsel to global financial services company, advising on policies and procedures, and conducting regular training programs across multiple offices.

Key Contacts