Adam Kaufmann practices in the areas of white-collar crime, asset tracing and recovery, investigations, complex commercial fraud, and judgment enforcement. He has handled civil, criminal, and investigative matters on behalf of U.S. and international clients, both individuals and companies, throughout the world. These include high-profile multi-jurisdictional criminal matters and complex civil matters both in the United States and through coordinated legal strategies in multiple jurisdictions. Mr. Kaufmann is a recognized expert in international criminal law, corruption, and fraud, and has lectured on these topics in jurisdictions around the world and has testified twice before the United States Senate.
High-profile clients facing exposure to reputational, regulatory and criminal risk have turned to Mr. Kaufmann for assistance. He provided counsel to Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks basketball team when allegations of sexual harassment within the Mavericks organization were published in Sports Illustrated. Mr. Kaufmann coordinated the independent investigation on behalf of the organization, communicated with NBA senior executives, and helped guide the team to a successful resolution of the matter. Mr. Kaufmann represented Manhattan art dealer Michael Shvo who was accused of a $3.5 million tax fraud, obtaining a non-jail settlement of all charges. He also represented former New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer when Mr. Spitzer was first blackmailed and then accused of crimes by a Russian national, ensuring that the blackmailer was prosecuted and Mr. Spitzer was exonerated. In other criminal matters, Mr. Kaufmann represented a Long Island-based engineering company with 300+ employees charged in a bribery case in Manhattan, and obtained a deferred prosecution agreement for the company. In international matters, he has represented a number of Brazilian individuals and companies implicated in the Brazilian Lavo Jato (“Car Wash”) investigation, as well as U.S. citizens and foreign nationals charged with FCPA, corruption, and money laundering conspiracies by the U.S. Department of Justice. Many of those matters involve the coordination of legal defenses in multiple jurisdictions working closely with foreign counsel. In 2018, Mr. Kaufmann was selected as an expert in Business Crimes Law by Global Expert.
Mr. Kaufmann also represents clients seeking to identify, trace, and recover stolen assets, and has brought numerous actions seeking discovery in support of foreign litigation and asset recovery pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1782. He has represented clients tracing assets all over the world, including the representation of two sovereign states of Mexico seeking to recover funds stolen by former public officials. Mr. Kaufmann has been recognized for Asset Recovery by Who’s Who Legal and Chambers and Partners. In civil and arbitration matters, Mr. Kaufmann has worked on numerous complex fraud and business dispute matters. He negotiated a favorable settlement for a civil client in a civil clawback action brought by the court-appointed receiver in a multi-hundred million dollar Ponzi scheme and has counseled numerous clients on aspects of U.S. law in international arbitral matters.
Mr. Kaufmann has counseled multi-national companies and banks on risk management and financial crimes compliance issues, with a particular emphasis on sanctions compliance. He counseled one Caribbean nation on anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance reforms for their offshore banking sector. He routinely handles inquiries about compliance with U.S. sanctions, and has represented a number of clients before the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). He has counseled clients on compliance with OFAC’s complicated sanctions structure, has conducted internal investigations into possible OFAC violations, has guided clients through self-reporting situations, and has represented clients filing delisting petitions.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Kaufmann served as a prosecutor for 18 years at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, specializing in international financial crime. As head of the International Financial Crime Bureau under legendary District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, he supervised and worked on numerous international money laundering and corruption matters, including the investigation that led to the indictment of Paulo Maluf of Brazil and the seizure of his assets in the Isle of Jersey, the seizure of tens of millions of dollars in black market funds from Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay. For many years, Mr. Kaufmann worked closely on issues surrounding Iranian money movement and sanctions busting, and supervised the investigations that led to the indictment of the Iranian Shipping Line (IRISL) and of Li Fang Wei, a Chinese supplier of missile technology to Iran. He led the investigation of the Alavi Foundation in New York that led to the federal forfeiture of the skyscraper at 650 Fifth Avenue, and the prosecution of foreign banks for laundering billions of dollars on behalf of Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions. In the last matter, Mr. Kaufmann and his colleagues interdicted a global financial network of sanctions violating banks moving billions of dollars of Iranian and Sudanese funds. These cases have led to substantive reforms in global payment practices and government forfeitures totaling billions of dollars. In 2007, his Bureau received a commendation from the United States Central Intelligence Agency for “Valuable Support to the National Security of the United States” for their work on Iran, and Mr. Kaufmann received the United States Assistant Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service.
Mr. Kaufmann finished his tenure in public service as Executive Assistant District Attorney and Chief of the Investigation Division. In that capacity, he supervised all investigations and prosecutions of white-collar crime, financial crime, political corruption, organized crime, cybercrime, money laundering, sanctions evasion, and terror finance. Mr. Kaufmann supervised the first prosecutions under New York State’s terrorism statute, prosecuting two domestic “lone-wolf” terrorists plotting to blow up churches and synagogues in New York City and to kill servicemen returning from combat tours in Afghanistan.
His work on international cases provides Mr. Kaufmann with deep experience and extensive contacts throughout the world. His experience allows him to understand how money moves around the globe and enables him to take apart complex fraud schemes to trace funds and recover assets. In criminal, civil, regulatory, and reputational matters, clients have found they can depend on Mr. Kaufmann to find creative solutions to their legal problems.