Marc A. Weinstein

Marc A. Weinstein is chair of the White Collar & Regulatory Defense group and a partner in the Securities Fraud Litigation and Professional Liability groups.

Marc represents corporate and individual clients at all stages of proceedings with federal and state law enforcement authorities and numerous regulatory agencies including the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). Marc has extensive trial and appellate experience, including a recent acquittal on behalf of a pro bono client in New York State Supreme Court, and has litigated numerous asset forfeiture matters. Recently, Marc obtained a judgment of acquittal at trial in a DOJ criminal antitrust “no-poach” case on behalf of an executive in the aerospace engineering industry. In another recent trial, Marc won a groundbreaking jury verdict for a former Wall Street executive defending against a securities class action over an alleged multimillion-dollar cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme.  Marc has negotiated corporate deferred prosecution and plea agreements with the Department of Justice. Marc was recently ranked by Chambers USA 2023 as a leading lawyer in White Collar Crime & Government Investigations for the twelfth straight year.

Marc honed his trial skills while serving as an assistant United States attorney in the Southern District of New York for more than eight years, during which he was the chief of the Major Crimes Unit, a member of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force, a founding member of the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Crimes Unit, and a member of the Asset Forfeiture Unit. In his role as chief of the Major Crimes Unit, Marc supervised the prosecution of complex white-collar offenses, including investment fraud, violations of the FCPA, health care fraud, computer crimes, and tax and money laundering offenses.

Selected Individual Representations

• Obtained a judgment of acquittal at trial in a DOJ criminal antitrust “no-poach” case on behalf of an executive in the aerospace engineering industry.
• Won a groundbreaking jury verdict for a former Wall Street executive defending against a securities class action over an alleged multimillion-dollar cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, the first case in which a jury addressed whether cryptocurrency products are securities.
• Representation of a hedge fund portfolio manager charged with securities fraud and insider trading in parallel DOJ and SEC criminal and civil proceedings stemming from the subprime meltdown, and in related investor class actions and arbitrations
• Successfully convinced SEC not to file charges against the former CEO of a publicly traded company after the SEC issued Wells notice
• Representation of a former derivatives trader at major financial institution in connection with parallel DOJ and SEC criminal and civil proceedings
• Representation of the head of global foreign exchange for a major financial institution in connection with global investigation of the foreign currency market
• Representation of an interest rate derivatives trader in connection with a global investigation of London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR)
• Representation of a derivatives trader in connection with the CFTC investigation of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association Fix
• Successfully convinced CFTC not to file charges against (ISDAFIX) hedge fund employee in a precious metals market manipulation investigation
• Obtained an acquittal after a trial in the New York State Supreme Court for a pro bono client charged with burglary in the second degree
• Successfully convinced CFTC not to file charges against a New York Mercantile Exchange company floor-broker for a global energy company in a natural gas market manipulation investigation after a Wells notice was issued
• Negotiated favorable resolutions for clients in DOJ asset-forfeiture proceedings
• Representation of engagement partners and other audit team members of Big Four accounting firms in connection with various SEC and PCAOB corporate accounting fraud investigations and proceedings

Selected Corporate Representations

• Successful defense of a foreign financial institution against DOJ civil money-laundering claims, resulting in the dismissal of action
• Lead member of the investigation team for the trustee in the Securities Investor Protection Act (SIPA) liquidation of Lehman Brothers Inc.
• Representation of a European bank in a LIBOR investigation by various state attorneys general
• Representation of a foreign financial institution in research analyst investigation by a state securities regulator
• Obtained dismissal on behalf of a foreign bank and asset manager of a securities fraud action arising out of structured investment vehicles invested in collateralized debt obligations and mortgage-backed securities
• Representation of Citibank in Citibank NA v. Solow, in which the trial court granted a $100.8 million judgment in favor of Citibank for breach of loan agreements, and the First Department affirmed judgment
• Member of the investigation team for the trustee in the SIPA liquidation of MF Global Inc.
• Representation of a foreign trading company in the successful resolution of a DOJ FCPA investigation
• Representation of a global entity in a state district attorney's money-laundering investigation
• Representation of Citibank in Citibank NA v. Silverman, in which the trial court granted a $57.2 million judgment in favor of Citibank for breach of loan agreements, and the First Department affirmed judgment
• Representation of a public utility in a criminal investigation and related successful ratepayer class-action and shareholder derivative suits arising from the alleged misconduct by corporate officers
• Representation of Big Four accounting firms in various federal securities class actions, malpractice actions, and SEC and PCAOB investigations