Daniel L. Zelenko is a partner in the New York office of Crowell & Moring and serves as chair of the firm’s nationally recognized White Collar & Regulatory Enforcement Group. Dan is a former federal prosecutor and senior enforcement lawyer at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He has been recognized as a leader in the white collar and regulatory enforcement bar by Chambers USA since 2016 and is held in high regard for his U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and SEC experience and his antitrust and securities enforcement experience. Chambers USA described Dan as a “tremendous talent” who “tries cases really impressively before the government," noting that he “is a very effective advocate who sees the whole picture," is "thoroughly knowledgeable about the legal and regulatory landscape," and that "he knows his way around the street, and knows how to work with people in difficult situations." In addition, Dan was named a top-rated white collar lawyer by Super Lawyers in 2018, 2019, and 2020.
Of particular note, Dan is one of the leading lawyers in the country focusing on the defense of corporations and executives targeted in bid-rigging, procurement fraud, and price-fixing investigations of government contractors. Dan has achieved excellent results for his clients in virtually every major DOJ Antitrust Division bid-rigging and price-fixing investigation over the past ten years. He has convinced the DOJ to decline prosecution of his clients in more than thirty separate criminal antitrust grand jury investigations.
Dan represents corporations and executives in criminal and related regulatory and complex civil matters, including grand jury investigations, internal investigations, and parallel proceedings by the Department of Justice, SEC, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and state attorneys' general among other domestic and international regulators. His practice also includes regular counseling of public and private companies and their Boards of Directors and senior management on all areas of criminal and regulatory investigations and enforcement proceedings. He has represented clients in connection with matters involving a wide range of business offenses, including criminal antitrust, procurement fraud, public corruption and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations, as well as securities, bank, tax, and accounting fraud matters.
Prior to joining Crowell & Moring in 2008, Dan was a federal prosecutor with the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice and a Senior Enforcement Attorney with the Division of Enforcement of the SEC. From 2004 to 2008, Dan served as Senior Counsel and Branch Chief in the SEC's New York Office, where he was lead counsel and supervised attorneys, accountants, and investigators on several high profile investigations and enforcement proceedings. Dan has also served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia and the Eastern District of New York where he tried multiple cases to verdict.
Selected representations include:
- A key employee for a leading Korean oil company in connection with a DOJ procurement fraud and bid-rigging investigation of DOD fuel services contracts at U.S. military bases in South Korea.
- A leading national construction company in connection with state and federal allegations of procurement fraud and bid-rigging in connection with a large municipal construction contract.
- A leading aerospace defense contractor in connection with an internal investigation and review regarding its bidding practices on its most significant government procurements.
- The regional head of Asia-Pacific for a leading global investment bank in connection with a DOJ and SEC Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigation related to the alleged bribery of Chinese government officials in the high-profile “Sons and Daughters” Investigation. Our client was not charged in the investigation.
- A leading generics pharmaceutical manufacturer in connection with DOJ and State Attorney’s General investigations of price-fixing and bid-rigging of generic pharmaceutical products.
- A global containerized shipping company in connection with a DOJ Antitrust grand jury investigation alleging bid-rigging and price-fixing in the container ship market. The DOJ closed the grand jury investigation without bringing charges against any companies or individuals.
- A prominent broker-dealer as lead counsel in FINRA enforcement investigation regarding allegations of trading unregistered securities without appropriate money-laundering detection capabilities in place. Negotiated a favorable settlement with FINRA.
- A registered investment adviser in connection with an SEC examination and an industry-wide SEC investigation related to Collateralized Debt Obligations.
- A leading publicly-traded international retailer in connection with a high-profile DOJ and SEC investigation related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
- Currently representing multiple senior-level traders and executives at financial institutions in connection with global investigations of LIBOR, Foreign Exchange, and ISDAFix as well as other products.
- A vice-president of a municipal bond investment advisory firm in connection with DOJ and SEC investigations relating to bid-rigging and related offenses in the municipal bond industry.
- A pool of current and former employees of an investment bank in connection with multiple regulatory and related civil matters concerning the sale of Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities.
- A leading Japanese electronics manufacturer in connection with a DOJ grand jury investigation and related class-action lawsuits alleging cartel activity. The DOJ Antitrust Division closed the investigation without charging any companies or individuals in the industry.
- Several registered broker-dealers in connection with various SEC enforcement investigations related to insider trading and market manipulation.
- A prominent DOD government contractor in connection with a public corruption and FCPA investigation by the DOJ.
- A senior officer of a publicly-traded corporation in a securities fraud investigation by the DOJ and the SEC.
- Several senior executives of a publicly-traded pharmaceutical company in an accounting fraud investigation based on allegations of improper revenue recognition.
- A registered broker-dealer in connection with multiple SEC and FINRA enforcement inquiries.
Representative cases while at the SEC include:
- The largest ever mutual-to-stock bank conversion scheme involving more than 65 banks and multiple defendants (SEC v. Fingerhut, et. al).
- Subprime mortgage portfolio accounting practices at a major financial institution.
- Stock option backdating practices at a Fortune 100 company.
- A settled enforcement action involving an investment bank that aided and abetted hedge funds engaged in deceptive mutual fund market timing.
- A scheme involving a registered representative who defrauded a 9/11 widow out of more than $250,000 (SEC v. Dunn).
- Abuses of finite reinsurance products by several corporations and their top executives.
- An administrative trial that resulted in a lifetime industry bar for a registered representative in connection with a securities offering fraud.
In addition, Dan served as co-lead counsel and Special Assistant United States Attorney in a criminal jury trial involving the manipulation of multiple publicly-traded companies. The trial resulted in a conviction on all counts.
Before joining the SEC in 2004, Dan was a federal prosecutor in the National Criminal Enforcement Section of DOJ's Antitrust Division where he conducted investigations of international corporations and their executives for price fixing, bid rigging, market allocation conspiracies and related federal crimes. He was the lead prosecutor on several grand jury investigations, including the prosecution of an international cartel that provided transportation services to the Department of Defense. While at DOJ, Dan was also appointed Special Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia where he successfully prosecuted several felony and misdemeanor cases and assisted the terrorism prosecution team after 9/11 in United States v. Zacarias Moussaoui.
Dan has been a panelist and faculty member at bar association and industry conferences; and he has provided training to multiple law enforcement organizations on securities enforcement and white collar crime. He also co-edited a chapter in the ABA Handbook on Antitrust Grand Jury Investigations.
Upon graduation from law school, Dan clerked on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Dan is active in the American Bar Association and has previously served as an officer of the Criminal Justice Section of the Federal Bar Association. He is a member of the New York State Bar Association White Collar Crime Committee. Dan is also a former nationally ranked and collegiate tennis player and was certified as a tennis instructor by the United States Professional Tennis Association.