Overview
John Moscow is well known and highly respected in the field of white collar criminal law, where he has spearheaded and been involved in some of the most complicated fraud cases of the past 25 years. Driven by the complex facts of the matters facing his clients and possessing the ability to manage unprecedented legal issues, John has led investigations and conducted prosecutions and defenses involving money laundering and theft by high-ranking corporate individuals and major financial institutions both domestically and throughout the world.
John spent 30 years with the New York County District Attorney's Office, where he prosecuted international economic crime, securities fraud and criminal violations of fiduciary duties. His knowledge and involvement in the investigation and prosecution of cases involving financial and corporate fraud led to the development of the theory of jurisdiction that has become widely adopted by lawyers prosecuting cases out of Manhattan.
In private practice he has handled forfeiture cases for a foreign government, for third party claimants and for defendants.
Recognition
- Who's Who Legal: Asset Recovery (2012 to 2020)
- New York "Super Lawyer" (2007, 2013 to 2019)
- Manhattan District Attorneys' Association Honors (2015)
- Institute of Jewish Humanities "Lawyer of the Year" (2008)
- New York County Lawyers Association Public Service Award (1992)
- Martindale-Hubbell: AV Preeminent
Professional Affiliations
- FinCEN Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group (2003 to 2004)
- New York State District Attorneys Association White Collar Crime Task Force (2012 to 2013)
- New York State Commission on the Modernization of Financial Services
- Institute of Advanced Legal Studies: Honorary Fellow
- Criminal Law Committee, Professional Responsibility Committee, Professional and Judicial Ethics Committee, Compliance Committee of The New York City Bar Association
Experience
- New York County District Attorney’s Office
- Deputy Chief, Investigations Division (1988 to 2004)
- Chief, Frauds Bureau (1986 to 1988)
Representative Matters
- Prosecuted the major executives of a $40 billion-a-year company who were involved in the theft of more than $150 million from a public company. Initiation of the investigation, along with the subsequent management of all case work, including taking pleas, supervising the investigation and trying one of the cases in question, resulted in an accountant's permanent barring from practicing accounting, the recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars and the conviction of three individuals.
- Initiated and led the investigation of money laundering and fraud at the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, which involved senior officers and individuals from 70 countries worldwide. Through the investigation and prosecution of officers and individuals, the team recovered $1.6 billion, and directly recovered $650 million for victims of the fraud. The prosecution caused the bank to close.
- During a securities fraud case, initiated and supervised the investigation and prosecution of 17 individuals involved in the corruption of a stock brokerage firm. Commitment to prosecuting the appropriate individuals led to the conviction of all 17 in question and the supervision of several hundred subsequent prosecutions that arose out of the initial fraud case.
- Led the investigation and conducted the prosecution of individuals involved in bank fraud in Caracas, Venezuela. Used bank documents and knowledge of fraud and money laundering to demonstrate that the individuals in question were guilty of fraud.
Arbitration
- Secured an arbitration award of more than $14 million for a New York stock exchange client, which was the third-largest award in stock exchange history. Understanding the situation – that the defense was planning to catch the complainant in a lie and use the lie to discredit the entirety of his story – allowed an analysis of the matter and its possible solutions, which in turn made it possible to obtain the unprecedented award.
- Won an $8.02 million claim for a client in an American Arbitration Association proceeding, which was the full amount of the claim.
In the News
N.Y. Attorney General Letitia James has a solid case against Donald Trump and the Trump Organization, but it could take years for the case to get to trial, former prosecutors say.
September 26, 2022Who's Who Legal has recognized four Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss lawyers as leading asset recovery practitioners in its 2022 guide.
August 2022As a Manhattan prosecutor, attorney John Moscow handled complicated white-collar criminal investigations. He's been following the public court filings in the AG's probe, and believes the lack of Trump documents is remarkable — and intentional.
Business Insider, June 19, 2022The mayor and McCray were so closely involved that they interviewed Jaffe’s replacement, Nilda Hofmann, months before Jaffe even realized she was being pushed out, Jaffe’s lawyer John Moscow said.
“Why the mayor is interviewing people, I don’t know. Why the mayor’s wife is interviewing three star chiefs is totally beyond me,” Moscow said.
New York Daily News, May 8, 2022“This is bad news for Trump,” said John Moscow. “He can’t say, ‘I had top-level accountants doing this work.”’
BloombergQuint, February 14, 2022Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss PLLC is pleased to announce that John Moscow has been named to the 2021 New York Super Lawyers list. Each year, no more than five percent of the lawyers in each state are selected to receive this honor. In addition, A. Mackenna White has been named to the 2021 New York Rising Stars list. Each year, no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected to receive this honor.
September 30, 2021Weisselberg may now be questioning whether continued loyalty will be rewarded, said John Moscow, a former senior white-collar prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney’s office. Though still at the Trump Organization, Weisselberg was removed as CFO following the indictment, and he no longer serves as treasurer and secretary for many of the company’s subsidiaries.
“That’s a big change in his life, and if other people at the company are being told not to talk to him because they might be called to testify, that’s a change too,” said Moscow. “If I’m representing someone in that office, I would have to advise my client that someone like him may flip and may be wearing a wire.”
Bloomberg, September 17, 2021Who's Who Legal recognized four Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss lawyers as leading asset recovery practitioners for 2021.
August 2021John Moscow was quoted in Bloomberg on the recent announcement by New York Attorney General Letitia James that her civil probe of asset valuations by Trump and his real estate company now had a criminal component, and was being coordinated with Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance.
Bloomberg, May 20, 2021John Moscow, who headed the DA office’s complex crimes unit under Vance’s predecessor, said Trump’s lawyers will take aim at every aspect of a prosecution, asking even whether unauthorized persons attended grand jury sessions.
Trump lawyers may invoke the five-year statute of limitations on conduct that occurred before 2016, saying some acts can’t be prosecuted, Moscow said. The DA could respond that Trump’s absence from New York during his presidency extended the period under scrutiny to 2012 -- a back-and-forth that will chew up more courtroom time.
Bloomberg, April 28, 2021John Moscow, a former top assistant to Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, who competed with Giuliani for big cases and headlines in the 1980s, said the latter’s former positions more likely raised the bar for the prosecutors who sought the warrant and the judge who signed it.
“This is a search warrant for the home of the former mayor of New York City, a former high-ranking Justice Department official, and they’re saying there’s now probable cause to believe there’s evidence of a crime, that evidence exists, and it’s at his home,” said Moscow, who’s now in private practice.
Bloomberg, April 28, 2021“Madoff was a highly successful fraudster totally devoid of conscience who would hit on widows at funerals and take their husbands’ fortunes, leaving them, rather than in comfort, in poverty, as they got old. He did that without a thought routinely,” says John Moscow, a former Manhattan assistant district attorney who specialized in global fraud cases before joining the legal team at Baker Hostetler that as bankruptcy trustee recovered $14 billion from Madoff and his family, his clients, his associates, and the institutions that dealt with him.
The Daily Beast, April 15, 2021A Manhattan federal judge said Tuesday it is “exceedingly suspicious” that there are minimal emails discussing the decision to force the NYPD’s first female three-star chief into retirement.
New York Daily News, February 23, 2021John Moscow was quoted in a Bloomberg article on the U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to block a subpoena by the Manhattan District Attorney for Donald Trump's tax returns and other financial records.
“Now they have the evidence that the accounting firm and the corporation have,” said John Moscow, a former chief prosecutor for serious economic crimes at the Manhattan district attorney’s office. “At this point, Trump’s position has to be that he didn’t do anything wrong, because if he did, they’d find it.”
Bloomberg, February 22, 2021Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss PLLC is pleased to announce that three of its lawyers have been named to the 2020 New York Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists.
September 29, 2020- Accounting Today, July 9, 2020
- Bloomberg, May 30, 2020
John Moscow commented on the potential charges faced by Rudy Giuliani.
Spectrum News, November 16, 2019Six LBKM professionals have been selected to the 2019 New York and Washington, DC Super Lawyers lists - an honor limited to 5 percent of the lawyers in each state. In addition, one LBKM professional has been selected to the 2019 New York Rising Stars list.
October 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- Bloomberg News, October 11, 2019
- Bloomberg, September 25, 2019
- New York Law Journal, September 24, 2019
A New York-based law firm that has focused on insurance litigation matters allegedly pocketed $1 million that was meant as a settlement payment in another case, a New Jersey-based insurance carrier has contended in New York state court.
Law360, September 23, 2019CBS2's Marcia Kramer interviewed former NYPD chiefs Diana Pizzuti and Joanne Jaffe regarding their discrimination lawsuit against the City of New York and NYPD officials.
CBS2, July 31, 2019John Moscow spoke to Law360 regarding the investigation of Tyco International by the Manhattan district attorney's office under Robert Morgenthau.
July 24, 2019Adam Kaufmann, Art Middlemiss and John Moscow remember "The Boss," longtime Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau.
New York Law Journal, July 23, 2019John Moscow shares a memory of Robert Morgenthau in the Washington Post's obituary.
The Washington Post, July 22, 2019Anthony Capozzolo and John Moscow are quoted in ABC News about the recent Manafort cooperation agreement and sentencing issues.
www.abcnew.go.com, November 28, 2018- John Moscow to Speak about Anti-Money Laundering ComplianceJanuary 16, 2018
- John Moscow Comments on Prosecution's Strategy in Second Dewey TrialMay 9, 2017
- John Moscow Talks to Law360 about Conviction of Programmer under 50-year-old Theft LawJanuary 30, 2017
- John Moscow Talks to New York Times about Growing Problem of White Collar CrimeSeptember 8, 2016
- Bloomberg Talks to John Moscow about Auction House Loan ProcessJuly 28, 2016
Practice Areas
Education
- Harvard Law School (J.D. 1972)
- University of Chicago (B.A. 1969)
Bar Admissions
- New York
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York