A Primer on White-Collar Crime Prosecutions

What do the cases against Duke Cunningham,
Jerry Dominelli and Fat Leonard have in common?
This three-lecture series will give listeners an
insider’s view of federal white-collar criminal
investigations and prosecutions. Cases involving
public corruption, investment fraud, insider trading,
bank failures, Medicare fraud, tax schemes and
environmental crimes will be discussed to illustrate
the process from investigations to trial, to sentencing
and life thereafter.

April 8: Pre-Indictment Investigations
This lecture will detail how investigations typically
start. What investigative tools do prosecutors and
agents have at their disposal? What role does the
Grand Jury play in the investigation and decision to
file charges? What limitations do defense attorneys
have to deal with at this stage of the proceedings and
what can be done to work around them? How does
each side deal with the press?

April 22: Plea Bargaining and Trial
This lecture will begin with the plea-bargaining
process for both individual and corporate defendants.
It will then discuss pre-trial motions to suppress
evidence, dismiss the indictment and any other
imaginative arguments that the defense attorney can
think of. Finally, how a criminal trial proceeds and
different strategies the lawyers can utilize to try
to win will be discussed.

May 6: Sentencing and Life Thereafter
This concluding lecture will cover sentencing and
life thereafter. What are the Sentencing Guidelines?
What are the most effective arguments the defense
attorney can make? What options does the Judge
have? Do inmates at a “club fed” really get to hone
their golf/tennis games? Finally, what are the typical
collateral consequences for convicted professionals,
business executives and corporations? Explanations
of debarment/exclusion, licensing issues, and when
and why your friendly banker will close all of your
accounts will be discussed.