John W. Moscow

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

• New York County District Attorney’s Office
• Deputy Chief, Investigations Division (1988 to 2004)
• Chief, Frauds Bureau (1986 to 1988)

• 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.