First-Chair Federal Prosecutor Andrea Surratt Joins Crowell & Moring

Brings dogged investigation skills; deep national security experience

Denver – March 4, 2024: Andrea Surratt, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney in both the Southern District of New York and the District of Colorado, has joined Crowell & Moring’s Denver office in the White Collar and Regulatory Enforcement Group.

A seasoned prosecutor, Surratt has served as first-chair for sophisticated investigations, trials, and appeals involving money laundering, fraud offenses, sanctions and export controls, gaming, cybercrime, cryptocurrency, and national security issues. Her national practice focuses on government and internal white collar investigations for companies and individuals.

“Andrea’s deep knowledge of how prosecutors and government litigators think combined with her dogged investigatory skills and trial experience make her an incredibly important addition to our group and for our clients,” said Rebecca Monck Ricigliano, co-chair of Crowell’s White Collar and Regulatory Enforcement Group, who supervised Surratt when they were both federal prosecutors in the SDNY. “It is a particular point of pride for me to watch Andrea rise through the ranks of two different U.S. Attorney’s offices and then join our growing Denver office.”

Surratt’s 13 years of prosecutorial experience allow her to serve as a trusted counselor to individuals and corporations. Surratt has led hundreds of grand jury investigations. She tried a total of ten cases to verdict in federal district court in the SDNY and the District of Colorado and argued and/or briefed 16 cases before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.

As chief of the narcotics unit in the SDNY, Surratt supervised 30 junior federal prosecutors and oversaw a wide range of complex cross-border money laundering and narcotics trafficking investigations. She also supervised cases involving healthcare fraud and diversion of controlled substances by doctors, pharmacies, and clinics, including a doctor who diverted millions of oxycodone pills from a medical clinic, and a doctor who unlawfully distributed fentanyl that resulted in another person’s death.

Surratt received the Department of Justice’s prestigious Director’s Award for developing an initiative with the New York City Police Department that ensured that overdose deaths would be treated in the same way as a homicide.

In 2017, Surratt moved to the U.S. Attorney’s office in the District of Colorado where she served as senior litigation counsel and an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the cybercrime and national security section. She also served as the District’s Digital Asset Coordinator where her investigations and prosecutions focused on the unlawful use of cryptocurrency, including in money laundering, unlicensed money transmitting, Bank Secrecy Act violations, fraud, and other offenses. These investigations involved the identification of digital assets and coordination with law enforcement partners to effect seizure and forfeiture of those assets.

In both SDNY and the District of Colorado, Surratt worked alongside the Joint Terrorism Task Force and other federal agencies to investigate and prosecute threats to national security, including economic sanctions and export control violations, espionage, smuggling, and domestic and international terrorism. In SDNY, this included a trial to verdict in a terrorism case in which foreign public officials and other co-conspirators helped to fuel global narcotics and illicit weapons trafficking.

“Andrea will be a significant asset to our growing Denver office, providing clients with invaluable advice on government investigations, as well as emerging issues,” said Meshach Y. Rhoades, managing partner of the firm’s Denver office. “Her experience across two different federal districts gives her a unique perspective on the challenges that companies face due to increasing regulations.”

Surratt earned her law degree from University of Virginia School of Law and her undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin. She previously worked as a law clerk for the Honorable Debra Ann Livingston of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

“In leaving the government, I knew I wanted to find a collaborative team that values each individual’s input and experience to achieve excellent results for clients, and Crowell is that place,” Surratt said. “Reuniting with former DOJ colleagues is an added bonus as I look forward to helping clients solve complex problems.”

About Crowell & Moring LLP

Crowell & Moring is an international law firm with operations in the United States, Europe, MENA, and Asia. Drawing on significant government, business, industry and legal experience, the firm helps clients capitalize on opportunities and provides creative solutions to complex litigation and arbitration, regulatory and policy, and corporate and transactional issues. The firm is consistently recognized for its commitment to pro bono service as well as its programs and initiatives to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion.