White Collar Criminal Defense
In our white collar criminal defense practice,
we have represented firms and individuals in the areas of alleged
health care fraud, securities fraud, tax fraud, bid rigging, bribery
and perjury in the federal court system.
Our white collar criminal defense experience is enhanced by our
extensive antitrust defense experience, because, as we often see in
our antitrust practice, the Antitrust Division of the U.S.
Department of Justice will typically not only bring criminal
antitrust charges against a defendant, but it will also attempt to
assert other felony charges under Title 18 including, in addition to
the charges mentioned above, mail fraud, wire fraud, bribery,
obstruction of justice and related crimes, including racketeering
charges.
As with most other engagements in the criminal area, we are
typically engaged in the early stages of a proceeding where a client
has either been paid a visit by an agent of the FBI or other
government agency, has received a subpoena to produce documents and
things to the government or has been the subject of a search
warrant. For background and context regarding the procedures that
the government follows in cases of this type, please refer to our
description of our Federal Grand Jury Practice.
The enforcement arsenal available to the government prosecutors is
well stocked. We have the experience to identify the needs for each
particular case regardless of the industry on which the
investigation is focused. We also feel that over more than 37 years,
we have compiled the skills and knowledge necessary to provide the
high level of legal defense necessary to serve a client who has been
identified as the target of the government's investigation or is
facing an indictment.
Here are some specific examples of areas in which we have been able
to use our white collar defense experience to help clients:
Health Care Fraud: We have been involved in cases that involve
questionable conduct in medical practices such as overbilling,
improper CPT coding, use of medical procedures that lack efficacy,
excessive treatment, Stark Act and prescription drug abuse. We feel
that it is imperative that medical professionals become proactive
regarding any conduct that could be questioned by the government in
those areas. The government has been active in investigating and
prosecuting health care fraud cases that involve Medicare and
Medicaid fraud and, more recently, fraud committed on private
insurance companies under its broad statutory mandate. The
government does not hesitate to investigate, pursue and prosecute
medical doctors and other medical professionals if it feels that a
fraud has been committed.
Expert consultants exist - especially in the CPT coding area - who
can perform periodic reviews of a medical professional's practice to
assure strict compliance with all laws and regulations. It is well
worth the expense to engage these experts, because the legal fees
typically expended in convincing an investigating agent or
prosecutor of the correctness of a practice or the efficacy of a
procedure far exceed the cost of proactively having that practice or
procedure vetted by an expert.
If a federal agent or prosecutor discovers alleged wrongdoing
committed by a medical professional, we, as that professional's
lawyers, still have the ability to attempt either to convince the
government that prosecution is inappropriate or to suggest a
resolution. We have enjoyed success in convincing the government
that even though a particular practice could lie in a “gray area,”
it still does not constitute a violation of federal law. This is
especially true in the areas of alleged overtreatment, excessive
billing and medical efficacy. In circumstances involving these
issues, we work with our medical professional clients in identifying
the best and most appropriate experts who can provide objective
expert opinions to the government in order to establish either that
the particular practice is not fraudulent or that the medical
professional had no intent to violate the law.
Securities Fraud: We have also represented parties in securities
fraud investigations, an area that could be seeing renewed
government attention due to the present economic times. In this area
of practice, too, it is important to retain the appropriate expert
witness for assistance in fashioning an appropriate defense to the
issues raised by the government's investigation.
Tax Fraud: As mentioned above, we sometimes find ourselves defending
clients who are facing federal tax charges under Title 26. While we
do not consider ourselves to be tax experts, one of our most
significant successes was the complete acquittal on nine counts of
tax fraud and filing fraudulent returns of the former president of a
large trucking company in Calhoun, Georgia. Again, in cases such as
those that allege tax fraud, we consult with tax professionals in
order to prepare an appropriate defense and - in the event it is
necessary - prepare expert testimony to be presented to the jury.
What we don't handle: Because we lack sufficient experience handling
criminal cases in the Georgia court system, we do not accept cases
such as those involving possession or sale of drugs or narcotics,
assault, battery, robbery or homicide. We are happy to refer these
cases to members of the Georgia bar whom we consider to be experts
in handling state court criminal defense. We would only stay
involved in such a case for the limited purpose of assisting an
existing client and, only then, we would sit second chair behind the
lawyer better qualified to handle defense of such serious criminal
cases.
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