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A member of the White Collar and Corporate Investigations group, Lauren Resnick’s practice focuses on white collar and commercial litigation. A former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section Chief, and two-time recipient of the Department of Justice Director’s Award for Superior Performance, Lauren is regularly retained by executive management and audit committees of FORTUNE 500 corporations to conduct internal investigations on FCPA, AML, trade sanctions and OFAC, securities fraud, accounting and employment issues. She has directed numerous government-imposed monitorships in connection with BakerHostetler’s appointment by the Department of Justice and other governmental agencies to assess compliance controls at banking institutions, labor unions, corporations and municipalities. A member of the BakerHostetler team serving as Counsel to the Securities Investor Protection Act (SIPA) Trustee for the liquidation of the largest Ponzi scheme in history, Lauren supervises the extensive financial reconstruction of the decades-long operations of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC for the ongoing liquidation and litigation proceedings.

Representative Matters

Internal Investigations/Regulatory Compliance

• Conducted comprehensive investigation for audit committee and executive management of international financial services company regarding compliance with OFAC trade sanctions in Iran, Syria, Libya and Cuba. Analyzed anti-money laundering procedures and books and records to advise client on disclosure obligations.
• Conducted FCPA and securities fraud investigations for international financial services company and advised remediation plans.
• Represented international hedge fund accountant in SEC and FSA investigation.

White Collar Criminal Defense

• Primary author of motion to dismiss based on prosecutorial misconduct that secured unprecedented dismissal of 73-count state fraud and money laundering indictment against former CEO of half-billion-dollar commercial real estate conglomerate.
• Represented client in criminal prosecution for wire fraud and money laundering in connection with $30 million escrowed funds. Obtained favorable disposition following successful litigation of key evidentiary issues for trial.
• Represented multi-jurisdictional senior sales executive in connection with criminal antitrust investigation of auto parts manufacturers by DOJ and European Commission, analyzing criminal and civil exposure.

Complex Commercial Litigation

• Directs a team and oversees the SIPA Trustee’s forensic accounting consultants in identifying and analyzing the systems and procedures utilized by Bernard L. Madoff to report fictitious trading. Is core member of strategy team supervising the global investigation and litigation of hundreds of actions seeking recovery of fraudulent transfers for equitable distribution to the defrauded customers filed by the Trustee in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York against financial institutions, money managers, insiders and sophisticated investors.
• Represented senior government official in Iqbal v. Ashcroft, involving constitutional and statutory challenges to the detention policies following the September 11 terrorist attacks, resulting in a favorable U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the pleading standards required to bring actions in federal court.

Monitorships

• Supervised team enforcing Consent Decree requiring eradication of organized crime influence at operating engineers union, providing oversight to ensure fair job referral and election procedures in connection with firm’s appointment as Ethical Practices Attorney for Local 14, 14B.
• Managed team assessing bank’s global compliance on data privacy, government contracts, FCPA and other regulatory compliance matters in connection with firm appointment as Monitor of non-prosecution agreement between DOJ and Mellon Bank, N.A.
• Supervised lawyers and forensic specialists reporting directly to the government and banking regulators on the bank’s anti-money laundering compliance program in connection with firm’s appointment as Independent Examiner of a non-prosecution agreement between the DOJ and the Bank of New York.
• Managed team of lawyers and forensic specialists assessing the review of complex structured finance transactions and providing recommendations to senior management.in connection with BakerHostetler’s appointment as Monitor of a non-prosecution agreement between the DOJ and Merrill Lynch & Co., stemming from the Enron probe.

Professional Honors and Affiliations

• Listed in Best Lawyers in the area of Criminal Defense: White-Collar (2010 to present)
• Named a New York-Metro area “Super Lawyer” (2006 to present)
• Department of Justice Director’s Award for Superior Performance (two-time recipient)
• Association of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, Board Member
• NYC Prime Commission, Board Member

Prior Work Experience

• United States Department of Justice: Assistant U.S. Attorney, Chief of Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section, Eastern District of New York
  • Spearheaded DOJ’s global initiative to combat electronic crime.
  • Lead prosecutor in high profile civil rights cases, organized crime and business fraud prosecutions.
    • Prosecution of Lemrick Nelson for racially motivated fatal stabbing of Yankel Rosenbaum during the 1991 anti-Semitic riots in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
    • Prosecution of NYC police officers for 1997 sexual assault of Abner Louima.
• Law Clerk for the Honorable Raymond J. Dearie of the District Court for the Eastern District of New York