NAFUSA lifetime member Thomas O’Brien, partner at Browne George Ross O’Brien Annaguey & Ellis LLP secured a major victory last week in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, successfully clearing Dr. Mirali Zarrabi on all 33 felony counts regarding a $355 million insurance fraud scheme on the 1-800-GET-THIN Lap-Band surgery business. O’Brien was lead counsel and his trial team included former Assistant U.S. Attorneys from his days as U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California (2007-2009).

Dr. Zarrabi, a pulmonologist, was the sole defendant acquitted of all charges in what appears to be the lengthiest federal trial conducted nationwide during the pandemic, spanning close to three months.

“The complexity of the matter and length of the trial were significant challenges, but our client, Dr. Zarrabi, is extremely pleased with the outcome and so are we,” said O’Brien. “It’s not often a defendant with so many charges is acquitted on all of them, but the jury did its job and reviewed the evidence properly.”

Federal prosecutors argued at trial that the 1-800-GET-THIN network had fraudulently submitted roughly $355 million in insurance claims for coverage of Lap-Band surgeries, a type of weight loss surgery. According to prosecutors, GET THIN scheduled patients for medically unnecessary sleep studies and then falsified the results to show that the patients had obstructive sleep apnea, often a trigger for insurance coverage of Lap-Band surgery. Dr. Zarrabi, an independent contractor of GET THIN, was accused of failing to review the falsified sleep study results, but the BGR team successfully demonstrated to the jury that the government’s chief cooperating witness, Charles Klasky, falsified the results after Dr. Zarrabi had performed his sleep study reviews.

NAFUSA member Joe Whitley joins his partner, Luke Cass, to discuss enforcement trends in corporate crime on the Womble Bond Dickinson “In-house Roundhouse” podcast. They discuss how white-collar enforcement priorities change when there is a new administration and how in 2021 the Biden Administration is implementing its own set of compliance priorities and enforcement emphasis.

Whitley and Cass find three takeaways from the discussion:

• In recent remarks, top DOJ officials stated that DOJ will “surge resources” and “redouble efforts” for corporate enforcement.
• Areas of particular concern include Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, government contracting fraud, financial fraud, tax issues, and energy pricing benchmark manipulation.
• Strong compliance programs must be top-down, with C-Suite executives enforcing the importance of compliance. Should problems occur, the first call should always be to legal counsel.

Click here to read “Biden Administration Prioritizes Corporate Criminal Enforcement.

NAFUSA member Peter Vaira has published an article in The Legal Intelligencer entitled “Leadership as a Law School Class: Understanding What It Is and What It Is Not.” Vaira describes how “Duquesne University Law School now offers a full school year class in leadership. There is no particular law subject involved, just the concept of leader

Vaira is a member of Greenblatt, Pierce, Funt & Flores. He served as the United States Attorney for the ED of Pennsylvania 1978-1983.

Click here to read the article:

VAIRA Legal Intelligencer (11.08.21) Leadership as a Law School Class … Understanding What It Is and What It Is Not

The White House announced at the end of the day yesterday that NAFUSA Vice President Ken Wainstein will be nominated as Department of Homeland Security Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis. In addition to serving as United States Attorney for the District of Columbia (2004-2006), Ken has served as the Homeland Security Advisor to former President George W. Bush; the first assistant attorney general for national security at the Department of Justice; and chief of staff and general counsel at the FBI.

“Ken has decades of government experience at the highest levels. His deep expertise in national security, counterterrorism, and intelligence matters will benefit our Department and our Nation if he is confirmed,” Homeland Security and NAFUSA member Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement.

Wainstein is currently a partner at the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell.

NAFUSA sponsor Affiliated Monitors, Inc. has been producing a number of excellent podcasts. On Episode 19, NAFUSA Past President Don Stern interviews another NAFUSA Past President, Paul Coggins, about Paul’s practice and his writing career. Paul has recently published his second Cash McCahill novel, The Eye of the Tigress. 

Click here to to go directly to a player with the podcast:

Interview with Paul Coggins: Crime Fighter, Defender and Writer

NAFUSA member Joe D. Whitley has joined Womble Bond Dickinson as a partner in the Business Litigation practice group. Whitley, who has held high-ranking positions in the U.S. Department of Justice and was the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s first General Counsel, will lead the firm’s White Collar and Investigations team. He is based in Atlanta but will spend a significant amount of time in the Washington, D.C., office.

Whitley’s practice focuses on white collar criminal matters and regulatory enforcement, corporate internal investigations, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and U.S. export controls and compliance. He also advises clients on corporate compliance, healthcare fraud, and FDA-related matters.

“I am excited to begin this next chapter of my career with Womble Bond Dickinson,” Whitley said. “For decades, clients have trusted Womble’s counsel on government investigations and regulatory enforcement matters. The firm’s bench strength and transatlantic reach will be tremendous assets for my clients, and I look forward to joining this outstanding team.”

In addition to his years of private practice experience, Whitley has served in several high-level roles with the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security. During the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, he served as Acting Associate Attorney General, the third-ranking position at Main Justice. He was also appointed by Presidents Reagan and Bush, respectively, to serve as the U.S. Attorney in the Middle and Northern Districts of Georgia.

In 2003, President George W. Bush appointed Whitley as the first General Counsel of the Department of Homeland Security, the department’s highest-ranking legal official. He held that position for two years working for Secretaries Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff before returning to private practice. During his government service, Whitley served under five U.S. attorneys general and four presidents in several key operational and policy positions, several of which were U.S. Senate-confirmed.

“Joe Whitley is a titan in Atlanta legal circles and is well respected as a leader in representing global companies in government investigations and related enforcement,” said Betty Temple, CEO and Chair of Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP. “He is an outstanding addition to our firm and shows our commitment to providing the highest level of service to clients.”

Womble Bond Dickinson is a transatlantic law firm with more than 1,000 lawyers based in 26 U.K. and U.S. office locations.

Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Vice Chair Liz Cheney (R-WY) announced that John Wood, a former United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri and senior Bush Administration official, will serve as Senior Investigative Counsel for the January 6th Select Committee and Of Counsel to the Vice Chair. Wood is a life member of NAFUSA.

“Mr. Wood has an impressive track record working inside and outside of government, and his expertise will enhance our efforts to investigate the events surrounding January 6th and understand what led to the attack against the U.S. Capitol that day. Furthermore, his addition to the committee staff underscores the nonpartisan nature of our work. The Committee will continue to put politics aside to get answers the American people deserve about what happened and how to ensure it never happens again. We both thank Mr. Wood for serving the nation in this position and look forward to working alongside him as our investigation proceeds,” said Chairman Thompson and Vice Chair Cheney.

Mr. Wood joins the Committee after serving as Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, and General Counsel at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and as President of the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center. During the Bush Administration, he served as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri, chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, deputy associate attorney general and counselor to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, and deputy general counsel in the White House Office of Management and Budget. Mr. Wood was a partner at Hughes Hubbard & Reed law firm and served as a law clerk for Justice Clarence Thomas and for Judge J. Michael Luttig of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

NAFUSA’s newest class of former U.S. Attorneys- appointed during the administration of President Trump- held their first reunion in Nashville recently. They are looking forward to meeting members from other classes when we meet at the NASUSA 2022 conference in San Diego in April.

NAFUSA life member Herbert J. Stern along with his co-author, Alan A. Winter, will soon release the sequel to Wolf (Skyhorse 2020) about Hitler’s rise to power – telling the dramatic true story of the foolish Prime Minister who delivered Czechoslovakia to Hitler, saved Hitler’s life, and paved the road to World War II. Reviews are already arriving:

“This one poses a fascinating question—could World War II have been avoided? The answer is going to shock you. Sins of the Fathers is a masterful blend of fact and fiction and will have you thinking about it long after the last page is read.”
—STEVE BERRY, New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of the Cotton Malone series

“A superb and exciting blend of intrigue and history that will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end.”
—WILLIAM BOYD, the Pulteney St. Survey, Hobart and William Smith Colleges

“I learned history from Barbara Tuchman, felt seat-of-the-pants tension with Robert Ludlum; however, neither one took me to that place of epiphany where an unexpected tear falls from the eye, yet Herb Stern and —Alan Winter do all three with an explosive ending as gut-wrenching as it is shocking. If this were a boxing match, it’s the punch you didn’t see coming.”
—STEVE FOREMAN, screenwriter of The Jazz Singer with Neil Diamond and author of the novels Toehold, Chasing Gideon, and Journey’

“Most people today do not realize that an anti-Nazi underground was at work to overthrow Adolf Hitler in Germany during the 1930s. Sins of the Fathers is an excellent novel, based on actual facts, about the anti-Hitler movement and its leaders, a courageous group of Germans who faced a horrible death at the hands of the Gestapo if they had been caught. If Britain had supported the underground movement, Hitler might have been overthrown and the Second World War might have been averted. I greatly enjoyed reading this book.”
—DAVID ALAN JOHNSON, author of Righteous Deception: German Officers Against Hitler

Judge Stern served as the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey 1971-1974. In 1962-1965, he served as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan, participating in the investigation of the assassination of Malcolm X. He also served in the Organized Crime and Racketeering section of the U.S. Department of Justice. He was appointed by President Nixon to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, serving from 1974-1987. He has authored several books on trial advocacy; and Judgment in Berlin, later made into a film.

Judge Stern is a partner and founding member of Stern, Kilcullen & Rufolo. He earned his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School.

The book is available to pre-order. See link below:

https://www.skyhorsepublishing.com/9781510769427/sins-of-the-fathers/