White-Collar Criminal Defense and Investigations

We represent businesses, their executives, and their employees during federal and state grand jury investigations as well as regulatory matters involving the Securities and Exchange Commission and other federal and state government agencies. We also have experience representing witnesses in congressional investigations, and have represented companies and individuals (as both plaintiff and defendant) in a variety of civil fraud matters.

We conduct internal investigations for corporations and other institutions, on behalf of officers, boards of directors, audit committees, or outside directors or committees. Those reviews include the investigation and evaluation of the underlying allegations, identifying responsibility, advice on compliance or other solutions to prevent recurrence, and representation with regard to any related investigation or litigation.

Our clients have included individuals and corporations being investigated for insider trading, economic espionage, health insurance fraud, fraudulent marketing of securities, money laundering, price fixing, and tax evasion as well as violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the False Claims Act, and export control and customs regulations.

Among the firm's representations are the following:

• FKSA represented a business services provider in a two-year investigation into improper gifting and over-billing to the State of New Jersey, after which our client entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the New Jersey Attorney General's Office.

• FKSA was retained by the audit committee of a public company when the SEC opened an investigation into the fraudulent marketing of the company's securities and suspended their trading. FKSA was retained by the company's audit committee to conduct an internal investigation and made recommendations to improve the company's financial controls and corporate governance.

• FKSA represented the former CEO of an educational book and software publishing company who had been sued by the SEC for accounting fraud. We successfully resolved the matter on the eve of trial when the SEC agreed to drop the fraud charges against our client.

• FKSA conducted two internal investigations for a publicly traded communications company, whose foreign ventures were suspected of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. No charges were filed against the company by the SEC or the Department of Justice.

• FKSA represented an alleged "tipper" in insider trading charges involving alleged trading on advance information from investment banks.

• FKSA represented eight brokers in New York Stock Exchange investigations into market timing activities at a major Wall Street broker-dealer.