Overview
When the government opens an investigation — through a subpoena, a search warrant, a target letter, or a civil investigative demand — the stakes are immediate. A company’s contracts, an executive’s career, and an individual’s liberty can turn on the decisions made in the first days. Those decisions should be made by lawyers who know how the government thinks.
The Rogers Joseph O’Donnell White-Collar Criminal Defense Practice Group represents companies, executives, and individuals in government investigations and prosecutions nationwide, from first contact with investigators through trial, sentencing, and appeal. We appear before the Department of Justice (DOJ), U.S. Attorney’s Offices, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and state and local prosecutors and regulators.
Our group is built from both sides of the courtroom. It includes former senior federal prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and former public defenders who carried hundreds of cases from arraignment to verdict. With offices in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, we bring that combined perspective to every matter.
Why Clients Choose RJO
We know how the government builds a case. Our former prosecutors supervised more than 1,000 prosecutions arising from the January 6, 2021 breach of the U.S. Capitol, managed hundreds of grand jury investigations, and led complex fraud, public corruption, and racketeering prosecutions. We use that experience to anticipate the government’s next move and to engage prosecutors credibly and early.
We try cases. Our attorneys have tried dozens of jury trials as prosecutors and as defense counsel. Prosecutors know which lawyers are prepared to go to verdict, and that credibility shapes negotiations long before a courtroom.
We understand government contracts, particularly defense and construction contracting. RJO is a nationally recognized government contracts firm. False Claims Act and procurement fraud matters sit where criminal exposure, civil liability, and suspension and debarment meet. Our white-collar lawyers work alongside the firm’s government contracts and construction practice to protect a contractor’s business, not just its legal position.
We handle sensitive matters. Members of the group have represented clients in national security matters, and the group includes multiple attorneys who held an active Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information clearance.
We are pragmatic. Where possible, we resolve matters before charges are filed, through advocacy with investigators and prosecutors. Where the government will not be reasonable, we are prepared to fight. Either way, we ensure our clients are treated fairly and their rights are respected.
Areas of Focus
- Government investigations, grand jury subpoenas, search warrants, and target letters
- False Claims Act, procurement fraud, and federal fund recipient fraud
Suspension and debarment
- Fraud and financial crimes, including wire, health care, tax, and cryptocurrency fraud
- Public corruption and conflict-of-interest matters
- SEC investigations and enforcement proceedings
- Antitrust investigations, including price-fixing and bid rigging
- National security matters, including national defense information, export controls, and trade sanctions
- Environmental crimes
- Internal investigations and coordination with law enforcement
- Witness and subject representation in federal and state investigations
- Parallel civil, criminal, and administrative proceedings
- Trial, sentencing, and appellate advocacy
Representative Matters
Government Contracts, Procurement Fraud, and Public Funds
- Defended government contractors and individuals in procurement fraud investigations and prosecutions
- Defended a technology services company and its chief executive, both subjects of a federal probe, through multiple meetings with enforcement officials, resulting in no prosecution
- Defeated all 65 counts in an administrative embezzlement and conflict-of-interest proceeding brought against a nonprofit organization by the City and County of San Francisco
- Defended Accenture in an investigation by the State of Ohio concerning the award of public contracts
- Defended a client charged with immigration fraud and theft of government funds
Fraud, Tax, and Financial Crimes
- Defended individuals charged with defrauding retail investors through cryptocurrency schemes
- Defended an individual charged with federal tax evasion and conspiracy to defraud the United States
- Represented an art gallery and its owner in a DOJ Tax Division investigation involving employer tax returns
- Represented a restaurateur in a federal investigation of the failure to collect and pay employee payroll taxes
- Defended an Enron energy trader prosecuted by the DOJ
- Represented an insurance agency in related civil and criminal actions against former personnel who submitted fraudulent life insurance applications, resulting in a significant restitution award
- Pursued recovery from a national bank on behalf of a company victimized by a fraud scheme
Securities and Antitrust
- Represented the director of a Marvell Semiconductor special committee in an SEC investigation of stock option backdating
- Represented the CEO of Samsung in the government’s DRAM price-fixing investigation and prosecution
- Represented startup internet company M&A West and its founder in a matter initiated by the SEC and the U.S. Attorney’s Office
- Represented private investors, directors, and officers in SEC investigations and enforcement proceedings
- Represented employees of Pasha Group and NEC America in antitrust grand jury investigations of price-fixing
- Represented the general manager of Haarman & Reimer in a grand jury investigation of citric acid price-fixing
- Represented employee in connection with FINRA inquiry into possible insider trading in connection with an Initial Public Offering
National Security, Sanctions, and Computer Crimes
- Defended individuals accused of unlawfully retaining and disclosing national defense information
- Represented law enforcement whistleblowers in matters implicating national security
- Represented an individual investigated by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control for trading with Iran
- Represented the founder of an internet search company investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for computer fraud
- Advised large consulting firm on sanctions and export control implications of an international transaction
Health Care and Life Sciences
- Obtained a non-incarceration sentence for an optometrist who pleaded guilty to more than $550,000 in health care fraud and faced up to 10 years in prison
- Represented Guidant/Endovascular Technologies in the government’s investigation and prosecution involving the Ancure medical device
- Defended medical device company Intermedics, Inc. in a U.S. Attorney’s Office investigation
- Defended Takeda Chemical in class action litigation involving the sale of Lupron
Counseled a company through a Drug Enforcement Administration investigation
Environmental Crimes
- Defended E-D Coat, Inc. and its founder in a pollution case brought by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and DOJ
- Defended Unocal in a Clean Air Act prosecution by the Contra Costa County District Attorney and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District
- Represented the City of Phoenix, Arizona in a DOJ and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers investigation involving wetlands
- Represented the general manager of a refinery in a Clean Air Act investigation by the EPA and the U.S. Attorney’s Office
- Represented employees of tanker companies in pollution investigations by the DOJ Environmental Crimes Section
Witnesses, Internal Investigations, and Regulatory Inquiries
- Prepared and represented witnesses in federal and state investigations in Washington, California, and New York, involving antitrust bid rigging, money laundering, environmental crimes, and wire fraud conspiracy
- Led an internal fraud investigation for a nonprofit and coordinated the findings with law enforcement
- Guided a nonprofit through a regulatory inquiry by the State of California
Constitutional and Appellate Advocacy
- Co-drafted and filed an amici curiae brief on behalf of more than 100 former senior DOJ officials in United States v. Comey (E.D. Va.), addressing the constitutional limits on vindictive and selective prosecution
References available upon request.
Our Team
Lauren Kramer Sujeeth, Shareholder and Chair (San Francisco). A seasoned trial lawyer and former deputy public defender, Ms. Sujeeth represents companies and individuals facing regulatory investigations and state and federal criminal charges, with a focus on public corruption, fraud, and cryptocurrency matters. She is also a long-time government contracts litigator.
Richard M. Harris, Shareholder (San Francisco). A former deputy public defender, Mr. Harris represented nearly 1,000 clients from arraignment through jury trial, including six jury trial acquittals in a single twelve-month period. He pairs that trial experience with deep knowledge of public works contracting.
William G. Hart, Of Counsel (Washington, D.C.). A former senior Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Fraud, Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, Mr. Hart led a government-wide investigation of federal employees moonlighting as government contractors and a first-of-its-kind racketeering prosecution of cryptocurrency fraudsters who stole and laundered more than $250 million in digital assets. He previously conducted internal investigations involving the FCPA, the False Claims Act, and sanctions and export controls at a large international firm.
Gregory P. Rosen, Shareholder (Washington, D.C.). A former chief at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, Mr. Rosen supervised more than 1,000 prosecutions arising from the January 6, 2021 breach of the U.S. Capitol and trained and managed more than 200 prosecutors. He has tried more than 50 jury trials and previously served as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in Loudoun County, Virginia. He teaches at the George Washington University Law School.
