Justin D. Weitz

Partner

Justin Weitz, who spent nearly a decade in the US Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, represents clients in a variety of litigation matters, including government investigations, internal investigations, compliance counseling and training, and other white-collar matters involving major representations across all industries. At the DOJ, Justin most recently served as the principal assistant chief of the Fraud Section’s Market Integrity and Major Frauds Unit, where he led 45 prosecutors who handled complex white-collar criminal investigations and prosecutions, including securities and commodities fraud, financial fraud, market manipulation, procurement fraud and government contracts, and public corruption matters. He is admitted to practice in New York only, and his practice is supervised by DC Bar members.

Extended Profile

Justin represents clients in securities, commodities, cryptocurrency, and other financial investigations led by federal and state prosecutors and regulators, managing relationships with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

At the DOJ, Justin led and supervised multiple corporate enforcement resolutions and individual cases, tried numerous cases to verdict, and handled appeals. He also conducted and supervised dozens of investigations into publicly traded companies, hedge funds, and financial institutions, including investigations into accounting improprieties, insider trading, market manipulation, and disclosure issues. As part of his practice, Justin frequently consulted with foreign authorities, including the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Financial Conduct Authority. Justin developed and led the Fraud Section’s COVID-19 Securities Fraud Initiative, which focused on healthcare and securities fraud in the medical technology and life sciences industries and resulted in charges against multiple corporate executives.

In addition to his experience working with publicly traded companies, investment management funds, and financial institutions, Justin led the Fraud Section’s government procurement fraud and bribery practice for several years and focused on enforcement involving government contractors in the defense, energy, and homeland security space. Justin is deeply familiar with the issues facing government contractors, including challenges posed by the False Claims Act and the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR).

Justin regularly speaks in the United States at forums on trends and developments in the enforcement space. In addition, he teaches a course on Complex Securities Investigations at Georgetown University Law Center and has guest lectured at various academic institutions, including the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and Columbia University School of Law. At DOJ, Justin served as an instructor for the Department’s National Advocacy Center and the Council of Inspectors General for Integrity and Efficiency.

Prior to serving the DOJ’s Fraud Section, Justin spent four years as a Trial Attorney in DOJ’s Public Integrity Section, where he led bribery, election crimes, and other public corruption investigations, with a focus on congressional matters, Speech or Debate Clause issues, and the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA).

Selected Representations

Prosecuted the chief financial officer of a publicly traded company for securities fraud in relation to accounting fraud scheme
Prosecuted multiple corporate executives for healthcare and securities fraud in relation to schemes to defraud investors surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic
Prosecuted a multinational corporation and multiple individuals for fraud and corruption in relation to US Defense Department contracting in South Korea