Identify the request.
Keep subpoenas, letters, search papers, and agency contact details with their deadlines.
Fraud & White Collar
New York Fraud and White Collar Defense Lawyers
Representation for professionals, business owners, and individuals facing financial investigations and charges. The firm reviews the government’s allegations, records, communications, and current procedural posture.
A useful first review identifies the agency, the persons or businesses involved, the transactions under scrutiny, and the complete request for information. Preserve records and flag every response date. Discuss representation and any existing professional advisers before deciding how to collect, explain, or produce sensitive business information.
- Financial and business records
- State and federal investigations
- Individual and business exposure
WHAT TO DO NOW
Preserve the source records.
Discuss emails, accounts, financial records, and retention systems with counsel before making changes.
Explain your role.
Tell the attorney about the entities involved, your responsibilities, and any other counsel already retained.
Protect the legal strategy while the business continues.
A financial investigation may affect an individual, a business, employees, records, accounts, and professional obligations. The consultation should identify who needs representation and which deadlines require attention. The attorney can assess the allegations and coordinate review of the relevant transactions and communications without assuming that every person or entity has the same interests.
EXPLORE YOUR SITUATION
Focused guidance for your matter.
THE PATH AHEAD
Understand the next stage.
Scope and representation
Identify the agency, requested information, relevant entities, and potential conflicts.
Record review
Evaluate the transactions, communications, and documents that bear on the allegations.
Response and defense
Develop the appropriate response to the investigation or prosecution and the next procedural step.
REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS
Results and published case coverage.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Coverage describes allegations and proceedings at publication, not necessarily a final outcome.
Reported result
Fraudulent nursing diploma scheme
The firm reports that its client received one of the lowest sentences in the case.
Explore the firm's case record →Reported result
Employment check theft and forgery
The client faced third-degree grand larceny and second-degree forged-instrument charges involving checks from an employer. The firm reports dismissal of all criminal charges.
Explore the firm's case record →Reported result
$8 million bank fraud allegation
The firm reports a seven-month sentence in a case described in its record as an $8 million bank fraud matter.
Explore the firm's case record →
MEET YOUR LEGAL TEAM
Discuss your matter with the firm.
Russ Kofman's practice includes state and federal criminal defense, DWI, sex offense allegations, Title IX proceedings, and civil rights matters. Contact the firm to discuss the appropriate representation for your situation.
Read Russ Kofman's profile →COMMON QUESTIONS
Fraud & White Collar questions.
Can the same lawyer represent me and my business?
That depends on the circumstances and any conflict of interest. Identify each person and entity involved before sharing detailed information. The firm will assess the proposed representation and discuss whether separate counsel is needed.
How should I prepare financial records?
Start by identifying where the records are kept, the periods involved, and any production deadline. Preserve the originals and ask counsel how the material should be collected and provided. Do not guess what a subpoena requires.
Does the firm handle federal fraud matters?
The firm represents clients in federal matters, including financial investigations and prosecutions in EDNY and SDNY. Provide the agency or court name and current papers so the firm can evaluate your matter.
What if agents have already taken records or devices?
Give counsel the search or seizure papers, a list of items taken if available, the agency contact and the date. Explain what was said and whether business operations or access to accounts have been affected. Preserve remaining records.
Can an accountant be involved in the review?
Tell counsel which accountants or other professionals already know the records and whether anyone has prepared an analysis. Counsel can discuss the appropriate role, scope and method of coordination before additional work or communications occur.
What deadlines should I flag?
Identify subpoena return dates, interview requests, court dates and other written response deadlines. Provide complete documents, including attachments and instructions. Do not assume an informal discussion with an investigator changed a deadline.
Read the detailed fraud & white collar guide
New York White Collar Defense
Lebedin Kofman LLP defends professionals, business owners, licensed individuals, and employees facing white collar investigations and criminal charges in New York state court, federal court, and investigations involving agencies around the United States.
Federal and State ExposureFraud, theft, tax, securities, healthcare, insurance, money laundering, and conspiracy cases may involve overlapping agencies and serious collateral consequences.
Early InterventionPre-arrest counsel can help control statements, subpoenas, document production, negotiation, and the risk of charges.
Reputation and LicensingWhite collar cases can affect employment, professional licenses, business relationships, immigration, and public reputation.
White Collar Cases the Firm Handles
White collar defense requires more than a generic criminal-defense response. The defense often has to examine records, transactions, agency communications, search warrants, subpoenas, audit methods, witness incentives, and the government's theory of intent.
- Federal criminal defense, including SDNY, EDNY, and federal courts around the United States
- Federal conspiracy, multi-defendant investigations, and grand jury matters
- Wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud, mortgage fraud, and false-statement cases
- Healthcare fraud, insurance fraud, welfare fraud, and government-benefit investigations
- Securities fraud, investment-fraud allegations, and financial-services investigations
- Money laundering, structuring, forfeiture, and asset-seizure issues
- Criminal tax fraud, tax evasion, and business-record allegations
What Prosecutors Usually Need to Prove
The exact elements depend on the statute charged, but most white collar cases turn on proof of intent, materiality, causation, records, transactions, and the defendant's role. The prosecution must prove criminal conduct beyond a reasonable doubt, not merely show a business dispute, accounting problem, failed investment, mistake, or civil regulatory issue.
Common proof issues
- Whether the accused knowingly made a false statement, misrepresentation, omission, or fraudulent transaction.
- Whether records, emails, texts, bank activity, invoices, tax filings, or business documents actually support the charged theory.
- Whether the government can prove willful criminal intent rather than negligence, misunderstanding, reliance on others, or civil noncompliance.
- Whether search warrants, subpoenas, interviews, seizures, and digital evidence were handled lawfully.
Potential Defenses in White Collar Cases
- No intent to defraud or no willful violation of law.
- Good-faith belief, reliance on accountants, lawyers, bookkeepers, managers, billing staff, or other professionals.
- Weak proof tying the accused to the records, accounts, communications, or transaction.
- Civil, regulatory, tax, or contract dispute rather than a criminal case.
- Incorrect loss calculation, restitution calculation, tax-loss calculation, or benefit amount.
- Unlawful search, seizure, subpoena, statement, or digital-device evidence.
Why Contact Counsel Early
In many white collar matters, the most important work happens before an arrest or indictment. Counsel may be able to communicate with investigators, evaluate subpoenas, preserve favorable records, prepare a client for possible interviews, prevent harmful statements, and narrow the government's theory before the case hardens.
Lebedin Kofman LLP has handled serious federal and state criminal matters, complex investigations, forfeiture issues, fraud allegations, and cases where reputation, licensing, employment, and immigration consequences are central to the defense strategy.
Talk to a White Collar Defense Attorney
A serious investigation or arrest can require decisions about statements, subpoenas, records, and court appearances. Contact the firm to discuss your situation and next steps.
Review the firm's representative cases and media coverage, client reviews, and Russ Kofman profile.
Related White Collar and Federal Defense Pages
Federal Defense | EDNY Federal Defense | SDNY Federal Defense | Money Laundering | Federal Tax Evasion | Federal Grand Jury Subpoenas
This page provides general information, not legal advice. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case depends on the facts, evidence, jurisdiction, procedure, and applicable law.
YOUR NEXT STEP
Talk to a New York defense attorney.
Tell us the immediate issue and the best way to reach you. For an arrest, police contact, or an approaching court date, call the firm directly.
646 663 4430Free consultation. Do not wait for a form response when a deadline is near.