Andrew S. Boutros

Last updated
Andrew S. Boutros
Education Virginia Tech (BS)
University of Virginia School of Law (JD)
Occupations
Employer Dechert LLP
Known forFormer Assistant United States Attorney and prosecutor for Silk Road cases

Andrew S. Boutros is an American lawyer, law professor, and former federal prosecutor [1] best known for prosecuting corporate fraud and cybercrime cases [2] (most notably, Chicago's Silk Road cases). [3] [4] In 2015, the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association honored him with the National Prosecutorial Award, [5] and he was also elected to the American Law Institute the same year. [6] He is the Regional Chair of Dechert LLP's White Collar practice, where he is resident in the firm's Chicago and DC offices. [7]

Contents

Education and early career

Boutros is a first-generation American whose parents emigrated from Egypt. [4] He earned his undergraduate degree from Virginia Tech where he graduated in-honors summa cum laude. [2] He then went on to the University of Virginia School of Law where he earned his J.D. in 2001. [4] Jeffrey O'Connell was one of Boutros' academic mentors while in law school. The two authored an article on aspects of tort reform that appeared in the Notre Dame Law Review. [6] Following law school, Boutros clerked for the Honorable Eugene E. Siler Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. [2] [6] After graduating, he worked as a defense attorney in the Washington, D.C. office of an international law firm. He helped launch and run the firm's Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) group. [4]

U.S. Department of Justice

In 2007, Boutros was hired by U.S. Attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald, to work as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. [4] He relocated to Chicago for the job and started work on January 7, 2008. [1] He was a key member of the Financial Crimes and Special Prosecutions unit at the office. [3] Over the course of his nearly 8-year career, Boutros prosecuted notable cases involving white collar crimes, fraud, laundering, drug trafficking, cybercrime, and more. [4] [8] [9] [10] [11]

Some of his most notable work involved the prosecution of individuals involved in the Silk Road online "black market." He assisted in the prosecution of the founder of the Silk Road, Ross Ulbricht, who received a life sentence after conviction. [3] [10] He also led the prosecution and conviction of the individual referred to as the Silk Road's "most prolific online drug dealer," Cornelis Jan "SuperTrips" Slomp. [12] Boutros' prosecution led to a ten-year prison sentence for Slomp in May 2015. [10] [12]

Boutros was also the prosecutor for what was known as "largest food fraud in U.S. history" (or "Honeygate"). The first phase of the law enforcement operation involved individuals and companies that had been involved in the illegal importation of cheap and occasionally contaminated honey from China. The food fraud and criminal antidumping duty case led to $80 million in losses. [8] [9] The second phase of the operation focused on individuals and companies who were illegally buying and shipping the illegally imported Chinese honey. The fraud in the second phase of the operation amounted to $180 million in losses. [4] [8] [9] The total amount of fraud involved in the so-called "Project Honeygate" was worth $260 million. [8]

One of Boutros' other significant prosecutions was among his first cases and involved healthcare prosecution. [4] Boutros charged Peter G. Rogan, who owned the Edgewater Medical Center in Chicago and owed $188 million in civil judgments largely for Medicare fraud, with perjury and obstruction of justice in 2008. [3] [11] Rogan evaded capture in Canada for seven years. In Boutros' last act as a federal prosecutor in 2015, he represented the government in the case against Rogan. Rogan was sentenced to 21 months in prison. [1]

Private practice and teaching

In October 2015, Boutros was hired by Chicago-based law firm, Seyfarth Shaw, to be National Co-Chair of its White Collar, Internal Investigations and False Claims practice, thereby ending his nearly 8-year career with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago. [4] [13] [14] In September 2019, it was announced that Boutros joined the international law firm of Dechert LLP as Regional Chair of the U.S. white collar practice. [15] He works in both the Chicago and Washington offices of Dechert. Since 2011, Boutros has also been teaching law at the University of Chicago Law School. [1] He teaches an advanced course on corporate criminal prosecutions and investigations. [2]

Recognition and awards

Boutros has been recognized by numerous organizations since beginning his career. He is a member of the American Law Institute and the American Bar Foundation. [6] He is also the national co-founder and co-chair of the American Bar Association's (ABA) Criminal Justice Section's Global Anti-Corruption Committee and is a voting member of the ABA Criminal Justice Section Council. [2] The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association honored him with the National Prosecutorial Award in 2015, [5] and the ABA honored him with the Norm Maleng Minister of Justice Award in 2014. [16]

Publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prosecutor</span> Legal profession

A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal trial against the defendant, an individual accused of breaking the law. Typically, the prosecutor represents the state or the government in the case brought against the accused person.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Fitzgerald</span> American lawyer

Patrick J. Fitzgerald is an American lawyer and partner at the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom since October 2012.

Seymour Glanzer was an American lawyer who served as one of the Watergate prosecutors from 1972–1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dechert</span> American law firm

Dechert LLP is an American multinational law firm of more than 900 lawyers with practices in corporate and securities, complex litigation, finance and real estate, financial services, asset management, and private equity. In 2021, the firm raised revenues by 25%, with a total of $1.3 billion. On the 2022 Global 200 survey, Dechert ranked as the 41st highest grossing law firm in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael J. Garcia</span> American judge

Michael John Garcia is an American lawyer, judge and former Republican government official. Since February 2016, he has served as an Associate Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, that state's highest court. He is a former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (2005–2008). Between his service as United States Attorney and his appointment to the Court of Appeals, Garcia was a partner at the law firm Kirkland & Ellis. He has also served as chairman of El Museo del Barrio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas Attorney General</span> Elected government official of the state of Texas

The Texas attorney general is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of Texas. The current officeholder, Republican Ken Paxton, has been elected to the position since January 5, 2015 by the general election

Steven M. Biskupic is a former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin serving under Attorneys General John Ashcroft, Alberto Gonzales and Michael Mukasey. He was appointed by George W. Bush in May 2002. Prior to his appointment, Biskupic served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for 13 years, specializing in the prosecution of white-collar crime. Biskupic stepped down after the 2008 election.

Bradley D. Simon is a white collar criminal defense and civil litigation attorney known for his representation of clients in high-profile cases. Simon's client roster has included Former New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi in connection with then New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo investigation into the New York State Pension Fund scandal., David Chang in connection with the bribery and corruption charges that led to the resignation of former New Jersey Senator Robert G. Torricelli., UK Solicitor Jeffrey Tesler against charges of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act when working with Halliburton in Nigeria and James Marquez of Bayou Hedge Fund Group in the first-ever criminal prosecution of a hedge fund. Through aggressive representations, Simon has earned a reputation as a strong advocate for clients in highly public, combative cases, as stated in the New York Times story with regard to Alan Hevesi's choice to switch lawyers in the middle of his defense.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Gleeson (judge)</span> American judge (born 1953)

John Gleeson is an American attorney and judge who served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. He is a member of the United States Sentencing Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Whitley</span>

Joe Dally Whitley is an American lawyer from Georgia who was the first General Counsel for the United States Department of Homeland Security. He works in private practice at Baker Donelson and has been named a Super Lawyer, listed in The Best Lawyers in America®, named a ‘’2019 Lawyer of the Year’’, is AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell, and listed in Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Filip</span> American judge

Mark Robert Filip is an American lawyer specializing in class action and white collar criminal and regulatory defense. Formerly a partner at Skadden, Arps, he currently practices in the Washington, D.C. office of Kirkland and Ellis. From 2004 until 2008, Filip served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. As the George W. Bush administration ended, Filip served as Deputy Attorney General of the United States, and as the Barack Obama administration began he briefly served as acting attorney general.

A deferred prosecution agreement (DPA), which is very similar to a non-prosecution agreement (NPA), is a voluntary alternative to adjudication in which a prosecutor agrees to grant amnesty in exchange for the defendant agreeing to fulfill certain requirements. A case of corporate fraud, for instance, might be settled by means of a deferred-prosecution agreement in which the defendant agrees to pay fines, implement corporate reforms, and fully cooperate with the investigation. Fulfillment of the specified requirements will then result in dismissal of the charges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David N. Kelley</span> United States Attorney

David N. Kelley is an American attorney and a former interim United States Attorney and Deputy U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY). He was also a co-chair of the United States Justice Department’s nationwide investigation into the September 11 attacks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Preet Bharara</span> American lawyer and former federal prosecutor (born 1968)

Preetinder Singh Bharara is an Indian-born American lawyer and former federal prosecutor who served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 2009 to 2017. He is currently a partner at the law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr. He served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for five years prior to leading the Southern District of New York. According to The New York Times, Bharara was one of the "nation's most aggressive and outspoken prosecutors of public corruption and Wall Street crime" during his tenure as a federal prosecutor.

Andrew J. Levander is an American lawyer and Chairman of the law firm Dechert, who advises on securities fraud, commercial litigation and white collar criminal defense matters. A former federal prosecutor, he is known for representing numerous prominent Wall Street companies and executives, as well as global businesses facing litigation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmen Ortiz</span> American attorney and college instructor

Carmen Milagros Ortiz is an attorney, college instructor, and former United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T. Markus Funk</span> American attorney-at-law

T. Markus Funk is an American attorney, law professor, and author best known for the prosecution of several high-profile mob figures during his career at the United States Department of Justice, his role in co-leading the internal investigation into former Ohio State University team physician Dr. Richard Strauss, and trial victory on behalf of the Costa Rican citrus industry. He is currently a partner in the law firm of Perkins Coie, where he since 2015 has served as the Firmwide Chair of the firm's global White Collar & Investigations Practice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leslie R. Caldwell</span> American lawyer

Leslie Ragon Caldwell is an American attorney, who served as the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice from 2014 to 2017. She has spent the majority of her professional career handling federal criminal cases, as both a prosecutor and as defense attorney. Since September 2017, she has been a partner at the law firm of Latham & Watkins, resident in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, CA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Weissmann</span> American lawyer

Andrew A. Weissmann is an American attorney and professor. He was an Assistant United States Attorney from 1991 to 2002, where he prosecuted high-profile organized crime cases. He served as a lead prosecutor in Robert S. Mueller's Special Counsel's Office (2017–2019), as Chief of the Fraud Section in the Department of Justice (2015–2017) and is currently a professor at NYU Law School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renato Mariotti</span> American lawyer

Renato Mariotti is an American attorney, legal commentator, acting fill-in anchor for WGN-TV and former federal prosecutor. On October 26, 2017, he announced his candidacy for Illinois Attorney General, but he lost in the Democratic primary election.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Seidel, Jon (25 October 2015). "Departing federal prosecutor, first-generation American, wanted to give back". Chicago Sun-Times . Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Andrew Boutros Joins Seyfarth Shaw". Corporate Crime Reporter. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Salvatore, Cara (20 October 2015). "Seyfarth Nabs Prosecutor To Co-Head White Collar Group". Law360 . Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Strom, Roy (23 October 2015). "With high-profile hire, firm starts white-collar push" (PDF). Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros '01, 'Silk Road' Prosecutor, Reflects on Career Path". University of Virginia School of Law. 2 October 2015. Archived from the original on 26 December 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Q&A with AUSA Andrew S. Boutros" (PDF). The ALI Reporter. June 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  7. ↑ September 04, Dan Packel |; PM, 2019 at 02:56. "Dechert Adds Ex-Federal Prosecutor Boutros as Regional White-Collar Chair". The American Lawyer. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Berfield, Susan (19 September 2013). "The Honey Launderers: Uncovering the Largest Food Fraud in U.S. History". Bloomberg Businessweek . Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 Stride, Megan (29 August 2012). "Former ALW Executive Ducks Prison In Honey Import Case". Law360 . Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 Meisner, Jason (29 May 2015). "Biggest dealer on underground Silk Road given 10 years in prison". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  11. 1 2 "Former Owner of Edgewater Medical Center Pleads Guilty to Perjury for Willfully Impeding Efforts to Collect $188 Million in Civil Judgments". Federal Bureau of Investigation. 22 September 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  12. 1 2 Seidel, Jon (28 May 2015). "World's most prolific online drug dealer, 'SuperTrips,' gets 10 years". Chicago Sun-Times . Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  13. ↑ Friedman, Gabe (20 October 2015). "Seyfarth Hires 'Silk Road' Prosecutor, and Other Moves". Bloomberg BNA . Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  14. ↑ "People on the Move - Andrew Boutros". Washington Business Journal . 20 October 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  15. ↑ "Andrew Boutros Joins Dechert White Collar Defense Group". Corporate Crime Reporter. 2019-09-05. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
  16. ↑ "Norm Maleng Minister of Justice Award". American Bar Association. December 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  17. ↑ The Journal of Legal Studies, Vol. 36 (2007), p. 232.
  18. ↑ Federal Sentencing Reporter, Vol. 20 (2007), p. 333.
  19. ↑ Mike Koehler, The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in a New Era (2014), p. 301.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.