CONDUCTING INVESTIGATIONS IN COMPLEX FINANCIAL CASES

Paul E. Pelletier, AUSA/SDFLSpecial Counsel for Litigation

Fraud Section Paul.Pelletier@usdoj.gov

THE CHALLENGE YOU FACE

At Inception: Assess Your Investigative Strategy ?

• Do Not Automatically Accept the Proposed Framework of the Case

• Independently Assess Scope of the Enterprise

• What is Your End Game?

YOUR END GAME

Offshore Bank

Financial Criminal Foreign Country

Shell CorporationDomestic Bank

Preliminary Questions

• Are you looking for:

– Money?

– Defendants?

– Both?

Investigative Strategy May Be Defined By Overt/Covert Nature of Investigation

• If Covert, Investigative Options Are Limited

• Traditional Methods:

-Wiretaps

-Consensual Monitoring

• Non-Traditional:

-Sneak & Peek Searches

-Desk Top Searches

-Proactive Use of Cooperators

-Trash Runs

Consider Type of Evidence Your Seeking Domestic & Foreign

Business/Financial Records:-Public records-Files/Computers/Ledgers

First Hand Evidence:-Wiretaps-Co-conspirator Testimony

Hard Asset Evidence-Seizures-Real Personal Property

Business/Financial Record Searches

• Don’t wait for your someone else to do the job

• Let your fingers do the walking: Use the Internet

• Computer searches

Organize Your Financial Evidence

What vehicles are available to locate and seize assets abroad?

• Informal Methods

• MLATs

• Letters Rogatory• Multi-Lateral

Conventions

Have you considered whether to use informal channels?

• Consider obtaining certified records via informal channels

• Use law enforcement contacts

Is formal assistance required?

• May be cumbersome

• Remember to use TKELA

Dealing With Cooperators

• Keep a Hammer Over Them

• Take Their Toys

• Never Lose Your Objectivity

Keep Your Eye on the Prize:Distill Complex Evidence for Trial