Our Case History
United States v.
Young, et al.
Case Nos. 2:12-cr-00502 & 2:12-cr-645, U.S. District Court for the District of Utah
We represented a company and its President and CEO against charges of conspiracy, violation of the Procurement Integrity Act, bribery, wire fraud, money laundering, honest services wire fraud and obstruction of justice in connection with the award of a contract for the training of special forces soldiers in Afghanistan and a subsequent investigation of that contract. The matter was resolved by agreement with the Government whereby the client pled guilty to a single, lesser offense in both cases and the Government agreed to seek no fine or restitution, return $2 million seized from the company’s bank account, and recommend a sentence of time served in pretrial confinement.
United States v.
Western Titanium, Inc.
Case No. 3:08-cr-04229-JLS, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
We represented a titanium distribution company and its President and CEO against charges of conspiracy, fraud involving aircraft parts, mail fraud, violation of the False Claims Act, and making of false statements to the Government. During trial and before the Government even had concluded its case-in-chief, the Government agreed to resolve the matter by a corporate plea to a single count and payment of a $100,000 fine while dismissing all other charges and all charges against the individual defendants.
United States v. Earnest M. Sands, U.S. Army
Case No. 17-2420, United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
In 1991, Earnest Sands, a civilian employee and former Army Sergeant Major working at the U.S. Military Training Mission in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, discovered his wife's deceased body upon returning home. Suspected of murder due to an affair, Sands faced intense questioning by Saudi police and was prohibited from leaving the Kingdom for months. After negotiations with the U.S. State Department, Sands was allowed to return to the U.S., contingent on his reactivation by the U.S. Army for a court-martial. Seeking defense, the family enlisted our firm, known for success in military courts-martial. In 1992, we conducted a three-week trial at Ft. Stewart, Georgia, where, despite the government's testimony, Sands was acquitted of all charges by a jury of officers and senior enlisted soldiers.
United States v. Staff Sergeant Raymond Girouard, U.S. Army
Case No. 10-0642, United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
In 2006, during Operation Iron Triangle in Iraq, Army Ranger Ray Girouard faced false accusations after two soldiers executed detainees and claimed Girouard ordered the killings. In his initial court-martial, represented by Army lawyers, Girouard was convicted of three counts of negligent homicide. In 2010, our firm handled Girouard's appeal, reaching the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, which reversed the negligent homicide convictions. We then represented Girouard in sentencing, securing his release six years early and the restoration of four years' worth of back pay and benefits.
United States v. Sergeant Sanick P. DelaCruz, USMC
United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
In 2005, during Sgt. DelaCruz's second combat tour in Iraq, a roadside bomb exploded, prompting his unit's immediate response to defend personnel. While clearing surrounding buildings, 24 civilian casualties occurred. DelaCruz faced charges of five counts of murder and making a false statement. Our firm successfully defended DelaCruz, persuading the government to drop all charges in exchange for his truthful testimony.
United States v. Julie Hiatt Steele
United States Court of Appeals for the E
In 1997, Independent Counsel Ken Starr focused on President Clinton's sex life, particularly the Monica Lewinsky scandal. As part of the investigation, Kathleen Wiley alleged sexual advances by Clinton in March 1998. During the grand jury, a friend of Wiley's, Julie Hiatt Steele, recanted her earlier statements, leading to Steele becoming the sole defendant indicted by Starr. Our firm defended Steele in a trial in May 1999. After the defense chose not to present evidence, the jury, deadlocked after hours of deliberation, resulted in a mistrial. The government opted not to retry the case, leading to a Baltimore Sun editorial dubbing it the "Mistrial of the Century," emphasizing the jury's stance against the prosecutors. “They don’t let juries hang prosecutors. So this jury hung itself.”
United States v. Thomas D. McAusland
Case Nos. 91-5874, 91-5875. US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Operation Ill Wind, a three-year FBI investigation into defense industry procurement violations, went public on June 14, 1988, with simultaneous search warrants executed on over three dozen companies across 12 states and the District of Columbia. Over 60 companies and individuals, including cabinet-level officials, were prosecuted, leading to the enactment of the Procurement Integrity Act of 1988 by Congress. Litton Industries' guilty plea marked the investigation's close, prompting Attorney General Janet Reno to note its transformative impact on white-collar crime prosecution. Our firm represented Tom McAusland, one of the indicted Litton executives. Despite McAusland's one-year sentence after conviction, his trial was among the few in the Ill Wind cases.
The Hellenic Republic (Greece) v. Michael Christoforakos, et al.
Court of Appeals of Athens, Three Member Felony Court, Case No. 3801/2018 et.seq.
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games were hosted in Athens, Greece, the birthplace of the Modern Games. A U.S. contractor, working with Siemens as the major subcontractor, won the contract to supply the entire security system for the Games. After Siemens was caught up in a worldwide bribery scandal, Greek prosecutors investigated and brought a wide-ranging indictment against 18 Greek, German and Swiss men, alleging bribery and money laundering. Swept up in the indictment were two, innocent, American executives followed by three years of hearings and trial in the criminal courts of Athens. Marino Finley represented those two executives which required retention of local Greek counsel, study of Greek criminal law and procedure, retention of experts and translators and, of course, extensive travel throughout Europe, as well as months of time in trial in Athens. It also required depositions of foreign witnesses, including Americans, to be presented in the defense case in Athens. During the trial, our Trial Coordinator, Emily Smith, assisted trial counsel but importantly, developed video deposition clips with Greek subtitles and demonstrative exhibits to be displayed for the three-judge panel and prosecutor and similar tools used in American courts routinely. The Greek judges and co-counsel, we were told, had never seen such techniques used in the Athens courts. Not only was our work well received by the judges and co-counsel, but ultimately, the judges returned verdicts of not guilty for our clients and the sixteen other defendants. Like many of our cases, this one further added to our skillset and flexibility, capabilities which we continue to put to good use for our clients.