Overview
Adam Kaufmann practices in the areas of white-collar crime, asset tracing and recovery, investigations, complex commercial fraud, and judgment enforcement. He has handled civil, criminal, and investigative matters on behalf of U.S. and international clients, both individuals and companies, throughout the world. These include high-profile multi-jurisdictional criminal matters and complex civil matters both in the United States and through coordinated legal strategies in multiple jurisdictions. Mr. Kaufmann is a recognized expert in international criminal law, corruption, and fraud, and has lectured on these topics in jurisdictions around the world and has testified twice before the United States Senate.
High-profile clients facing exposure to reputational, regulatory and criminal risk have turned to Mr. Kaufmann for assistance. He provided counsel to Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks basketball team when allegations of sexual harassment within the Mavericks organization were published in Sports Illustrated. Mr. Kaufmann coordinated the independent investigation on behalf of the organization, communicated with NBA senior executives, and helped guide the team to a successful resolution of the matter. Mr. Kaufmann represented Manhattan art dealer Michael Shvo who was accused of a $3.5 million tax fraud, obtaining a non-jail settlement of all charges. He also represented former New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer when Mr. Spitzer was first blackmailed and then accused of crimes by a Russian national, ensuring that the blackmailer was prosecuted and Mr. Spitzer was exonerated. In other criminal matters, Mr. Kaufmann represented a Long Island-based engineering company with 300+ employees charged in a bribery case in Manhattan, and obtained a deferred prosecution agreement for the company. In international matters, he has represented a number of Brazilian individuals and companies implicated in the Brazilian Lavo Jato (“Car Wash”) investigation, as well as U.S. citizens and foreign nationals charged with FCPA, corruption, and money laundering conspiracies by the U.S. Department of Justice. Many of those matters involve the coordination of legal defenses in multiple jurisdictions working closely with foreign counsel. In 2018, Mr. Kaufmann was selected as an expert in Business Crimes Law by Global Expert.
Mr. Kaufmann also represents clients seeking to identify, trace, and recover stolen assets, and has brought numerous actions seeking discovery in support of foreign litigation and asset recovery pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1782. He has represented clients tracing assets all over the world, including the representation of two sovereign states of Mexico seeking to recover funds stolen by former public officials. Mr. Kaufmann’s expertise was recognized in 2016-2020 when he was selected to Who’s Who Legal for Asset Recovery. In civil and arbitration matters, Mr. Kaufmann has worked on numerous complex fraud and business dispute matters. He negotiated a favorable settlement for a civil client in a civil clawback action brought by the court-appointed receiver in a multi-hundred million dollar Ponzi scheme and has counseled numerous clients on aspects of U.S. law in international arbitral matters.
Mr. Kaufmann has counseled multi-national companies and banks on risk management and financial crimes compliance issues, with a particular emphasis on sanctions compliance. He counseled one Caribbean nation on anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance reforms for their offshore banking sector. He routinely handles inquiries about compliance with U.S. sanctions, and has represented a number of clients before the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). He has counseled clients on compliance with OFAC’s complicated sanctions structure, has conducted internal investigations into possible OFAC violations, has guided clients through self-reporting situations, and has represented clients filing delisting petitions.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Kaufmann served as a prosecutor for 18 years at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, specializing in international financial crime. As head of the International Financial Crime Bureau under legendary District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, he supervised and worked on numerous international money laundering and corruption matters, including the investigation that led to the indictment of Paulo Maluf of Brazil and the seizure of his assets in the Isle of Jersey, the seizure of tens of millions of dollars in black market funds from Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay. For many years, Mr. Kaufmann worked closely on issues surrounding Iranian money movement and sanctions busting, and supervised the investigations that led to the indictment of the Iranian Shipping Line (IRISL) and of Li Fang Wei, a Chinese supplier of missile technology to Iran. He led the investigation of the Alavi Foundation in New York that led to the federal forfeiture of the skyscraper at 650 Fifth Avenue, and the prosecution of foreign banks for laundering billions of dollars on behalf of Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions. In the last matter, Mr. Kaufmann and his colleagues interdicted a global financial network of sanctions violating banks moving billions of dollars of Iranian and Sudanese funds. These cases have led to substantive reforms in global payment practices and government forfeitures totaling billions of dollars. In 2007, his Bureau received a commendation from the United States Central Intelligence Agency for “Valuable Support to the National Security of the United States” for their work on Iran, and Mr. Kaufmann received the United States Assistant Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service.
Mr. Kaufmann finished his tenure in public service as Executive Assistant District Attorney and Chief of the Investigation Division. In that capacity, he supervised all investigations and prosecutions of white-collar crime, financial crime, political corruption, organized crime, cybercrime, money laundering, sanctions evasion, and terror finance. Mr. Kaufmann supervised the first prosecutions under New York State’s terrorism statute, prosecuting two domestic “lone-wolf” terrorists plotting to blow up churches and synagogues in New York City and to kill servicemen returning from combat tours in Afghanistan.
His work on international cases provides Mr. Kaufmann with deep experience and extensive contacts throughout the world. His experience allows him to understand how money moves around the globe and enables him to take apart complex fraud schemes to trace funds and recover assets. In criminal, civil, regulatory, and reputational matters, clients have found they can depend on Mr. Kaufmann to find creative solutions to their legal problems.
Professional Affiliations
- 2013 District Attorney’s Association of New York, White Collar Crime Task Force
- 2012 New York City Bar Association, White Collar Crime Committee
Experience
- Executive Assistant District Attorney, Manhattan District Attorney’s Office
Representative Matters
White-Collar Criminal
- Represented numerous foreign businessmen and corporate entities in corruption inquiries by federal prosecutors and U.S. Senate
- Conducted investigation into tax fraud and securities violations by U.S. hedge fund
- Represented taxpayer in criminal tax evasion case with New York County DA
- Represented construction executive in federal over-invoicing investigation
- Represented suspect in international Ponzi scheme investigation
- Represented sports executives in FIFA investigation
- Represented major NY engineering firm in corruption investigation
Asset Recovery/Commercial Litigation
- Represented offshore hedge fund in civil clawback suit to recover assets lost from Ponzi scheme and in parallel federal criminal investigation - obtained substantial recovery for fund
- Represented client in Latin America in global asset recovery matter and recovered substantial funds
- Represented whistle-blowers bringing information to U.S. law enforcement authorities
- Successfully negotiated pre-litigation settlement to investment contract dispute between two high profile parties in Manhattan, collecting 100% of client’s demand
Financial Crimes Compliance
- Advised UK global media company on compliance with U.S. sanctions law and recovered blocked assets on their behalf
- Represented U.S. companies in OFAC investigations, including conducting internal investigations
Publications & Events
- July 2021
The Manhattan District Attorney’s investigation has nothing to do with federal law, public acts, or violations involving the political or electoral process. Moreover, as possible charges brought by a sovereign state, they cannot be pardoned by an outgoing President.
New York Law Journal, January 12, 2021In the dying days of his administration, President Trump has moved to smash the civil service. Through Executive Order 13957 (“EO 13957” or the “EO”), the President aims to carve out an entire new class of civil servants, sheering them from long-standing federal protections designed to create a professional, apolitical federal workforce. Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss is investigating the scope of the Executive Order and possible remedies available to affected civil servants.
December 11, 2020This year has seen a push for reform of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act from both sides of the aisle. While the parties’ positions on what and how regulation should change differ greatly, they agree that Section 230 is overly broad and has allowed platform providers to amass an undesirable amount of control over the content available on the internet.
October 14, 2020The Second Circuit held that 28 U.S.C. § 1782(a) cannot be used to support petitions for discovery for use in private foreign commercial arbitrations, settling an issue that has lingered unresolved in the circuit since 2004. The new decision, In re Guo, puts the Second Circuit squarely at odds with recent decisions issued by other circuit courts, raising the possibility that the Supreme Court will take up the issue next session to resolve the split. While Guo does not impact the ability of parties to foreign public arbitrations and litigations to take § 1782(a) discovery, for now at least, parties to private foreign arbitrations may have to look to more favorable circuits outside New York for relief.
July 13, 2020- The OffshoreAlert Conference Latin AmericaSão Paulo, Brazil, September 16, 2019
- Keynote Speech: International Commercial Arbitration and Compliance15th International Arbitration ConferenceRio de Janeiro, May 7, 2019
- Keynote Presentation: International Commercial Arbitration and CorruptionBrazilian Center of Mediation and Arbitration (CBMA), Third International ConferenceAugust 10, 2018
- Four Things Businesses Should Know About the Agreement with IranJuly 2015
- October 2014
- June 27, 2014
- July 3, 2013
- April 24, 2013
- April 9, 2013
- "Criminal Prosecution Under New York State's Martin Act"LJN Business Crimes Bulletin, Vol. 18, Number 1September 2010
In the News
Adam Kaufmann joined Dan Abrams on NewsNation Now to discuss New York's ongoing investigation into the Trump Organization.
NewsNation Now, October 5, 2021"The fact that they are having sealed proceedings is consistent with an ongoing grand jury investigation and suggests the district attorney may be considering further charges or defendants," said Adam Kaufmann, a former investigations division chief at the Manhattan District Attorney's Office who is currently a partner with the law firm Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss.
NPR, September 20, 2021Who's Who Legal recognized four Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss lawyers as leading asset recovery practitioners for 2021.
August 2021“This case had many flaws,” said Angerame’s lawyer Anthony Capozzolo. “The clients had their reputations tarnished in a way that simply was not fair or just.
“We are thankful for this decision, and the clients are eager to move on with their lives.”
New York Post, July 29, 2021In what defense attorneys characterized as a rare outcome for a government corruption indictment, a Manhattan judge dismissed charges that the New York Attorney General’s office brought against a former World Trade Center electric operations manager and two subcontractors.
[Judge] Wiley dismissed the full indictment based on testimony before a grand jury, which Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss partner Adam Kaufmann said is a not a common outcome for a bribery indictment filed by the AG. “Indictments don’t get tossed on grand jury minutes to begin with,” Kaufmann said. He added: “This was one of the most deeply flawed cases I have ever seen.”
New York Law Journal, July 28, 2021Former President Donald Trump's company and its Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg were indicted on 15 criminal charges Thursday for allegedly evading about $900,000 in taxes with the help of the Trump Organization and its payroll corporation. Yamiche Alcindor reports with Adam Kaufmann, former prosecutor and chief of the investigative division in the Manhattan district attorney's office.
PBS News Hour, July 1, 2021Adam Kaufmann appeared on ABC News Prime to discuss the Trump Organization indictment and what might be next in the prosecution.
ABC News, July 1, 2021- MSNBC, June 1, 2021
Adam Kaufmann was quoted in the Wall Street Journal on one of the assistant attorneys general working with Manhattan prosecutors on the probe into the former president.
Wall Street Journal, May 28, 2021Adam S. Kaufmann, who served as chief of the office's investigative division, said that "it really suggests they've reached a point in their investigation where the district attorney believes there's evidence of a crime. You don't empanel a special grand jury unless you think you have a viable case."
CNN, May 26, 2021Adam Kaufmann, who served 18 years as a prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney’s office, appeared on MSNBC's The Last Word to discuss why witnesses are granted immunity when testifying before a grand jury in New York and what to expect of the grand jury in the criminal probe of Donald Trump.
MSNBC, May 26, 2021Adam Kaufmann was quoted in an analytical piece on Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance’s investigation into Trump and his organization.
Financial Times, January 27, 2021Adam Kaufmann appeared on WNYC's "Trump, Inc." podcast to discuss what the Manhattan DA's investigation could mean for Trump.
WNYC Studios, December 17, 2020- Law360, July 10, 2020
- An examination of New York’s new criminal discovery laws, specifically the new CPL article 245 which provides that significant, enumerated disclosures be made to the defense within specified time periods.New York Law Journal, July 6, 2020
- New York Law Journal, June 12, 2020
Partner Adam Kaufmann was quoted in ProPublica's article on the Manhattan district attorney's criminal investigation of the Trump Organization and its focus on CFO Allen Weisselberg.
ProPublica, November 21, 2019The Washington Post quoted partner Adam Kaufmann in its piece on Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance's investigation into President Trump.
The Washington Post, October 22, 2019Four Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss professionals have been recognized as Global Leaders in Who’s Who Legal: Asset Recovery 2019. Who’s Who Legal is one of the world’s leading directories of legal practitioners.
October 2019- New York Law Journal, September 24, 2019
Adam Kaufmann, Art Middlemiss and John Moscow remember "The Boss," longtime Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau.
New York Law Journal, July 23, 2019“The new government of Tamaulipas is committed to taking all measures to stamp out corruption and return the proceeds of corruption to the people from whom they have been stolen,” Kaufmann said in a press release. “There are many ways that the United States courts can be used in a proactive way to trace and seize ill-gotten assets.”
The Brownsville Herald, April 26, 2019« Au cours de l’enquête, BNP Paribas ne s’est pas révélée très coopérative, beaucoup moins que d’autres banques », se souvient le procureur en chef de la division des enquêtes financières, Adam Kaufmann.
Le Monde, October 4, 2018“All of this smells like a crime,” said Adam S. Kaufmann, a former chief of investigations for the Manhattan district attorney’s office who is now a partner at the law firm Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss. While the statute of limitations has long since lapsed, Mr. Kaufmann said the Trumps’ use of All County would have warranted investigation for defrauding tenants, tax fraud and filing false documents."
The New York Times, October 2, 2018Woodsford Litigation Funding, one of the leading global third party funders, has announced a funding facility agreement with Lewis Baach which ensures the firm can offer clients an expedited, one-stop arrangement for the financing of high value litigation and arbitration.
August 16, 2017- Com minha experiência como promotor em Nova York, acompanho a Lava-Jato com otimismo. Agora, falta viabilizar acordos de leniência que punam empresas corruptas, mas não as liquidemPágina Aberta, May 17, 2017
- New York Law Journal, September 26, 2016
- Latin America remains risky for FCPA violations despite more cooperation from governments"The degree of cooperation between U.S. and Latin American authorities is at an all-time high,” says attorney Adam Kaufmann.Inside Counsel, August 5, 2016
- Law360, August 4, 2016
Financial institutions should worry about the anti-money laundering (AML) issues that the UK Bribery Act (2010) gives rise to despite the law having been in effect for just over five years, lawyers said. The danger was thinking that because the law had existed since 2011, that compliance and legal staff have it figured out, they said.
Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence, August 3, 2016- KYC360, May 3, 2016
- Adam S. Kaufmann lauded as "high-powered attorney and crisis manager," Vanity Fair, February 16, 2016
- Law360, August 11, 2015
- Expansion of U.S. Economic Sanctions Poses New Risks for InsurersInsurance Day, December 2014
- A Cautionary Tale for Non-U.S. Private Equity: Exposure to the Extraterritorial Reach of U.S. Sanctions,” Private Fund Dispute ResolutionPrivate Equity International (PEI), December 2014
- Former Manhattan prosecutor examines grand jury’s likely analysis in choosing not to indict in the death of Eric GarnerNY Daily News, December 4, 2014
- The New York Times, June 30, 2014
- La Nacion, June 4, 2013
- Expansion of US Economic Sanctions May Present Risks for Non-US InsurersInsurance Day, April 18, 2013
- AUNO, March 2013
- Juristas norteamericanos y chilenos analizaron avances en materia de regulación del lavado de dineroMarch 25, 2013
- March 23, 2013
- Sanctions Settlements Prompt Changes to Transaction MonitoringACAMS moneylaundering.com, March 5, 2013
- Iranian's check raises 70 million questionsThe arrest of an Iranian official in Germany provided indications that Venezuelan banks may be helping Iran evade economic sanctions.El Nuevo Herald, 2013
- EE.UU. investiga a varias entidades de Caracas sospechosas de romper el cercoFebruary 10, 2013
- ACAMS moneylaundering.com, January 29, 2013
Practice Areas
Education
- American University, Washington College of Law (J.D., summa cum laude, 1994)
- Cornell (B.A. 1987)
Bar Admissions
- New York
- United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York and the Eastern District of New York