John Carney

Co-leader of the firm’s national White Collar, Investigations and Securities Enforcement and Litigation team, John J. Carney is a former Securities Fraud chief, assistant United States attorney, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) senior counsel and certified public accountant at a “Big Four” accounting firm.

He is a seasoned advocate who represents public and private corporations and financial institutions in complex civil, regulatory and criminal law enforcement investigations and litigation, and advises and defends corporations and senior officers on FCPA compliance, investigation and defense.

His experience conducting investigations of possible FCPA violations and other potentially improper foreign country-based financial transactions has included working on major matters in the BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China.

Having litigated for, and against, the U.S. government, he strongly encourages clients to take preemptive governance and remediation measures to mitigate legal and reputational risk in today’s increasingly aggressive law enforcement environment.

Based on his success representing institutional and individual clients in complex regulatory and law enforcement matters, John was recently listed as one of the best securities enforcement defense lawyers in the U.S. in the Securities Docket “Enforcement 40.” He is ranked in Chambers USA and is also certified in financial forensics by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

He lectures extensively at domestic and international conferences and training seminars on anticorruption and anti­money-laundering laws, corporate governance, compliance and disclosure, insider trading, securities, tax and other financial crimes, and defending complex and multijurisdictional civil and criminal cases.

Experience :

• Selected by the SEC to serve as federal court-appointed receiver of the MK Group, a complex family of hedge funds operating a Ponzi scheme through numerous investment companies and affiliates in the Cayman Islands, the U.S. and Latin America, John has recovered more than $300 million of misappropriated assets for defrauded offshore financial institutions and private investors, and directs the management and liquidation of more than a dozen private equity investments and other financial assets of the receivership.
• Advised a public corporation and board of directors in an SEC stock option backdating investigation.
• Counseled a multibillion-dollar global corporation on “best practices” corporate governance and compliance matters, including revision of customer transparency policies.
• Successfully represented the former CFO of a Fortune 50 company in multiple federal and state proceedings alleging accounting, disclosure and securities fraud in connection with a multibillion-dollar accounting restatement over a five-year period.
• Advised the chairman and CEO of a multibillion-dollar public company during internal and SEC investigations relating to alleged revenue recognition, internal control and governance misconduct.
• Served Her Majesty’s National Crime Agency as an expert witness on the use of U.S. securities fraud violations warranting asset forfeiture sanctions under anti-money-laundering laws.
• During nearly 15 years with the DOJ and SEC, investigated and prosecuted numerous high-profile criminal and civil securities and tax cases.
• As trial counsel for the SEC Division of Enforcement, successfully tried the civil fraud case against Bank of Boston for failing to disclose material inadequacies in its loan loss reserves, and investigated tax law violations by Salomon Brothers that resulted in the entry of an injunction and imposition of a $290 million fine against the investment firm.
• Served more than five years as a member of the DOJ’s National Securities and Commodities Fraud Working Group, as well as the SEC’s Mid-Atlantic Enforcement Group, coordinating domestic and international investigations of corporate corruption, securities fraud, FCPA violations and disclosure violations.

Memberships :

• American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Certified in Financial Forensics
• American Bar Association

Education :

• J.D., Rutgers University School of Law, 1990
• B.A., Accounting, Rutgers University, 1984, cum laude

Admissions :

• U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
• U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey
• District of Columbia