White Collar Criminal Defense & Special Investigations

Newspaper headlines continue to highlight the destructive impact of corporate scandals on the personal lives of companies' officers and directors, the reputation of financial and other business institutions, and the value of businesses for their shareholders. Federal and State prosecutors and regulatory agencies have focused their attention on the pursuit of corporate fraud. Corporate officers, bankers, accountants, healthcare professionals and real estate developers have all been affected by the expanding scope of government investigations. Berger Singerman provides effective advice and counsel to businesses and individuals facing such scrutiny.

Berger Singerman attorney team members are experienced in defending business entities and individuals facing charges of illegal or unethical conduct in both federal and state courts as well as before regulatory agencies and professional boards. We are familiar with complex financial crimes and have successfully defended cases involving securities violations, money-laundering, fraud, and other charges. We create and help companies implement compliance programs that establish ethical standards of corporate conduct, which mitigate exposure to such charges. We can also conduct internal investigations of alleged wrongdoing within the business, assist the entity in self-reporting such conduct to government authorities and thereby minimize the level of destructive publicity or even criminal liability incurred.

Attorney team members have extensive experience working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service and other federal and state agencies. We have been nationally and regionally recognized as skilled and passionate advocates in these fields. We assist clients in responding to inquiries made by federal and state grand juries. Our team includes former federal and state prosecutors who held senior positions at the U.S. Department of Justice and Florida Attorney General's office, who bring the benefit of important professional relationships with government officials to these representations. Our team members have been involved both in the prosecution and the defense of hundreds of business crime cases, from the grand jury investigation stage through jury trial and beyond. The team also draws on the expertise of employment attorneys with extensive knowledge and experience in that field, whose assistance provides comfort that corporate employees receive fair treatment in the context of an internal investigation or corporate criminal defense matter.

Our team has experience in matters involving allegations of:

• Health Care Fraud
• Pharmaceutical Fraud
• Criminal and Civil RICO
• Money Laundering
• Public Corruption
• Bribery
• Election & Campaign Finance Crimes
• Bank Fraud
• Mail and Wire Fraud
• Securities Fraud and Insider Trading
• Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
• Insurance Fraud
• Public Benefits Fraud
• Tax Fraud
• Environmental Offenses
• Ponzi Schemes

Our White Collar Criminal Defense & Special Investigations Practice Group provides legal guidance on corporate regulatory compliance before and during regulatory reviews and proceedings. We provide a strategy to deal with whistleblower complaints and civil or criminal investigations and the collateral impacts on the affected business. When an administrative, civil, or criminal case is filed by a federal, state or local agency, we can vigorously defend against any and all allegations of wrongdoing.