White Collar Criminal Defense

Known for its fierce advocacy for clients in both high-profile litigations and high-stakes investigations, Hecker Fink's team of litigators, which includes eleven former federal prosecutors and four former public defenders, has extensive experience in both the public and private sectors and is nationally recognized as a go-to law firm for fraud, corruption, and other white collar criminal defense matters.

We represent companies, boards of directors, and executives in internal investigations, criminal investigations, enforcement, and regulatory proceedings. Drawing on their government experience, our lawyers have deep-rooted knowledge of all stages of the investigation and litigation process, including representation of clients at trial. Across diverse industries and a wide range of settings, our efficient, talented lawyers rely on their significant and diverse subject matter proficiency to deliver superlative results.

Hecker Fink’s white collar and investigations practice is consistently ranked among the top in the market. Chambers USA ranks it Band 1 and its 2026 White-Collar Criminal Defense Boutique Firm of the Year, while Benchmark Litigation designates the firm “Highly Recommended” and named it 2026 White Collar Crime/Investigations Firm of the Year. Legal 500 likewise recognizes the firm as a leader in corporate investigations and white-collar and securities defense. As one peer observed, Hecker Fink has “very quickly established itself as one of the best ‘go-to’ white collar boutiques in New York,” citing its deep bench, Sean Hecker’s leadership, and its strength in handling high-stakes matters—particularly for individuals facing government investigations.

Sean Hecker was named “White Collar Crime/Investigations Litigator of the Year” by Benchmark Litigation for the second time in 2025. Chambers further recognized Sean, as well as partners Shawn Crowley, Jenna Dabbs, Mike Ferrara, David Gopstein, Amy Jeffress, Marshall Miller, and David Patton, as top litigators in white collar crime and government investigations. Client and peer feedback gathered by the legal guide notes that Sean “has a very compelling client manner, a ton of relevant experience and he does a fantastic job at putting people at ease and navigating difficult circumstances” and that Jenna is “strategically powerful and razor-sharp in her intellect.” Mike is described as “dedicated to his clients,” Shawn is commended for possessing a “fantastic reputation and a marvelous presence,” David Gopstein is praised as “a fantastic advocate” who is “great at oral arguments,” Amy is described as “terrific” and “one of the premier white-collar crime lawyers in DC,” Marshall is lauded as “a brilliant strategist and a smart and fair negotiator,” with sources noting that “you do not find his level of experience every day,” and David Patton is noted for having “credibility with judges.”

The firm’s victories for its white collar clients include a “rare” acquittal for Robert Bogucki, the former head of the Barclays’ foreign-exchange trading desk in New York, who had been charged with wire fraud for allegedly engaging in a “front-running” scheme in connection with a 6-billion-pound foreign exchange transaction between Barclays and Hewlett-Packard Co. The team successfully argued that no jury could reasonably convict our client based on the evidence presented, resulting in Judge Charles Breyer granting a full acquittal—the first of its kind in the Judge’s twenty years on the bench. Global Investigations Review honored our work in the matter by naming it the “Most Important Court Case of the Year,” while Benchmark Litigation recognized the case as the “Impact Case of the Year.”

Representative White Collar Criminal Defense Matters

• Representation of Michele Spagnuolo in second-ever insider trading prosecution for alleged bets on prediction markets.
• Secured the dismissal of all charges brought by the Southern District of New York (SDNY) against Miami-based lawyer David Macey for allegedly bribing U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officials.
• Representation of Do Kwon, the founder of Terraform Labs, in connection with an SDNY indictment and a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement action.
• Representation of Patrick O’Connor, who was charged in a multi-defendant insider trading indictment by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the SDNY.
• Representation of a former executive of a Dubai private equity firm in a securities and wire fraud case in the SDNY. The indictment alleged executives lied to investors about the performance of the firm’s funds, inflating the funds’ values by more than $500 million.
• Representation of Glen Point Capital founder and former Chief Investment Officer who was indicted in the SDNY on commodities and wire fraud charges for alleged manipulative trading in connection with a foreign currency option. With less than three weeks to trial, the government voluntarily dismissed the most serious charges, which carried the highest statutory maximum penalties. A jury trial on the remaining counts culminated in an acquittal on one count and a conviction on the other count.
• Representation of a former employee of a non-governmental organization (NGO) in a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) case brought in the SDNY. Our client was extradited to the United States from Thailand to face charges for conspiracy to violate the FCPA, substantive violations of the FCPA, conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering, resulting in a swift guilty plea to one of five charges and a sentence of time served. The judge overseeing the proceeding commented that she would have sentenced our client to less than time served if it were possible to do so.
• Representation of the former Iconix Brand Group CEO in his re-trial on securities fraud charges that allege he inflated Iconix’s revenue by $11 million in 2013 and 2014. On appeal, his conviction was reversed on double jeopardy grounds litigated in the district court. Subsequently, the SEC voluntarily dismissed its parallel civil enforcement action.
• Representation of a public utility company in connection with federal and state criminal investigations relating to invoicing practices in connection with energy efficiency programs. The U.S. Attorney’s Office responsible for the federal investigation agreed to close its investigation without bringing any charges.
• Representation of President Biden’s daughter Ashley Biden in connection with an SDNY criminal investigation that led to three convictions involving the theft of Ashley’s personal diary.
• Representation of a client who—along with ten other individuals and entities—was charged by the SEC for allegedly participating in long-running fraudulent schemes, securing a favorable settlement for our client.
• Representation of a client, fending off an investigation into potential insider trading and violations of SEC rules related to trading in non-firm trading accounts. After multiple presentations and client testimony with the SEC, both the DOJ and the SEC declined to bring charges.
• Representation of numerous individuals in connection with DOJ and SEC investigations of alleged accounting improprieties, resulting in both agencies declining to bring charges in one recent representation.
• Representation of individuals in connection with DOJ investigations into “spoofing” violations.
• Representation of multiple individuals in connection with Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) investigations of certain bond issuances and related swaps trading.
• Representation of a former executive in connection with an SEC investigation into earnings management issues.
• Representation of numerous individuals in connection with multiple parallel SDNY and SEC investigations of various corporate accounting practices.
• Representation of various individuals in separate federal criminal investigations into insider trading, resulting in the DOJ declining to prosecute in two recent representations.