Government Investigations

The phone rings. Law enforcement agents are at your office door with a search warrant. What do you do?

Companies are under intense scrutiny from federal and state investigators following recent high-profile corporate scandals. In this hostile climate, businesses, even ones that are not knowingly breaking the law, need savvy legal counsel and well-crafted contingency plans.
 
Womble Carlyle’s team of veteran defense attorneys and former prosecutors know how government investigators operate. We guide companies through civil and white-collar criminal investigations related to claims of:
  • Fraud—Mail and wire fraud; securities and other financial fraud
  • False Claims Act allegations
  • Tax violations
  • Classification of independent contractors
  • Insider trading
  • Price fixing
  • Government procurement fraud
  • Environmental crimes
  • RICO allegations
  • Obstruction of justice
  • Medicare/Medicaid billing
  • Kickbacks and bribery
  • Misuse of office
  • Corporate embezzlement
We guide companies and corporate leaders through all stages of the legal process, from representing witnesses in grand jury investigations to defending clients in trial and on appeal. We also counsel companies through internal investigations designed to identify and mitigate or even eliminate potential violations.
 
In addition, companies rely on us to counsel them through the related problems caused by government investigations, including negative publicity, customer inquiries and stockholder concerns.
 
Our attorneys have represented companies in investigations involving the U.S. Department of Justice, Department of Labor, Securities and Exchange Commission, numerous State Attorneys General and local law enforcement. Our Government Investigations Team works closely with Womble Carlyle attorneys who practice in antitrust, government procurement, health care regulatory, banking and environmental law. Clients include businesses and executives from the pharmaceutical, health care, chemical, manufacturing, food and government contracting sectors.
 
Representative Cases (Government Investigations)
  • Counseled an international pharmaceutical company regarding alleged off-label sales and marketing practices and violation of federal anti-kickback statute
  • Counseled a Defense Department Contractor under investigation by Army Criminal Investigative Division and the Department of Justice for alleged irregularities in time keeping and overhead rates, and other procurement related conduct
  • Represented a national insurance company in multiple federal grand jury and regulatory investigations of loan fraud involving HUD and federally insured lenders
  • Defended a former executive before a grand jury investigating one of the largest residential real estate developers in Northern Virginia
  • Defended manufacturing company executives under investigation by a state Attorney General’s Office concerning fraud in the negotiation and implementation of price lists under a state procurement contract
  • Represented a highway contractor before a state grand jury investigation into alleged fraud against the state’s minority business program
  • Defended a title insurance company before the Department of Justice under investigation for violations of the Civil False Claims Act for fraud against HUD
  • Counseled a defense contractor in a Department of the Army debarment proceeding
  • Represented a major airplane manufacturer in an SEC investigation involving improper foreign payments. Structured compliance program to prevent future violations of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
  • Represented an individual in a Department of Defense investigation involving bribery, defense secrets, and espionage allegations
  • Defended a portfolio manager of a major mutual fund complex in an SEC investigation regarding stock market manipulation
  • Represented the chief financial officer of a major mutual fund complex in connection with an SEC investigation regarding improper trading practices
  • Counseled a major law firm in connection with an SEC investigation regarding a public offering of securities by a bank holding company
Representative Cases (White Collar Criminal Defense) 
  • Represented a former White House employee in a federal grand jury investigation concerning financial irregularities at the White House Travel Office
  • Defended commercial real estate developers against federal mail fraud charges related to the sale of fractional interests in a resort property
  • Counseled a former high-ranking corporate executive in parallel civil and criminal proceedings concerning allegations of RICO and mail fraud
  • Defended a former bank officer a federal grand jury proceeding concerning allegations of embezzlement
  • Represented an individual in federal grand jury and HHS investigations involving allegations of health care fraud in the nursing industry
  • Defended a corporate principal and officer in a federal grand jury investigation of mail and wire fraud allegations relating to the sale of a company
  • Counseled brokerage firms, managers and individual brokers in SEC investigations and customer actions concerning fraud, theft, and failure to supervise
  • Represented a corporate officer in a civil fraud tax case
  • Represented a corporation in parallel federal criminal and civil proceedings concerning allegations of corporate environmental crimes 
CONTACTS
Wayne Bond—(404) 888-7410 or wbond@wcsr.com
Bill Conley—(919) 755-2189 or wconley@wcsr.com
Tina Jones—(919) 755-2142 or tjones@wcsr.com
Gary Nunes—(703) 394-2200 or gnunes@wcsr.com
Tom Stukes—(336) 574-8065 or tstukes@wcsr.com
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