Client Alerts
In a busy week of major policy changes for the Department of Justice (“DOJ” or the “Department”), Assistant Attorney General …
August 26, 2026
August 26, 2026 • 8-minute read
Partner
Government Investigations & White Collar Criminal Defense
“My clients know that I am on their team and that their problems are my problems, and most importantly, that I will fight for them every step of the way.”
Fry Wernick is a Chambers-rated lawyer and former federal prosecutor who serves as a partner in the Government Investigations and White Collar Practice Group in the firm’s Washington, D.C. and Dallas offices.
As a former federal prosecutor and supervisor of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Fraud Section with experience as lead attorney in over 30 trials, Fry has a broad range of white collar enforcement and courtroom experience. Fry regularly conducts internal investigations and defends companies and individuals against government investigations into a broad range of conduct and he has specific experience prosecuting and defending cases involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), anti-money laundering (AML) statutes, the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), the False Claims Act (FCA), sanctions, campaign finance laws, and other fraud, consumer protection and corruption-related offenses. Fry also has extensive experience representing clients and appearing before numerous alphabet agencies, including the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Department of Education (ED) and other regulators and investigative bodies. Fry also draws on his experience as a former counsel to the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary to help prepare and defend companies and individuals facing inquiries and investigations by Congress.
Represent multinational financial services and fintech company in connection with U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into alleged violations of Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering laws associated with criminal currency arbitrage and evasion of sanctions against Iran
Represent multinational publicly traded company in connection with Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with the U.S. Department of Justice (DPA) concerning alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
Represent university and research laboratory in connection with U.S. Congressional investigation into alleged data security failures resulting in theft of sensitive trade secrets by physicians and researchers associated with the Chinese Communist Party
Represent board member in connection with investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into alleged securities laws violations
Represent group of investors in connection with claims into alleged $50 million fraud by real estate fund and management company
Represented large multinational company and conducted successful internal investigation into alleged violations of corporate policies by C-Suite executive resulting in change in senior leadership without any adverse publicity or derivative litigation
Conducted internal investigation and successfully negotiated resolution of civil claims on behalf of family office client against former executives and management of Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) for alleged fraud and self-dealing
Represented large multinational company and conducted successful internal investigation into alleged violations of corporate securities laws and retaliation by senior management
Represented foreign subsidiary of large publicly traded company and conducted successful internal investigation into alleged violations of policies by C-Suite executive
Represented multiple executives and outside counsel of publicly traded financial services company in connection with criminal fraud trial in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
Represented multinational publicly traded financial institution and conducted internal investigation into alleged claims of violations of U.S. securities laws by alleged whistleblower
Successfully negotiated a resolution with Texas high school and school district in pro bono representation on behalf of a Jewish high school student who was victim of antisemitism and retaliation
Represent a defense contractor in connection with alleged criminal fraud and civil violations the False Claims Act by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas
Successfully obtained dismissal of civil claims for multinational financial services company in litigation against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that was brought in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Successfully negotiated favorable resolution and dismissal of case on behalf of a multinational financial services and fintech company in connection with litigation that was initiated by the New York Attorney General’s Office for alleged violations of federal and state consumer financial laws in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Conducted internal investigation and successfully obtained a declination and closure of a criminal investigation for a multinational private equity fund in connection with a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in Brazil
Successfully obtained closure of criminal investigation and negotiated favorable resolution of civil forfeiture claims for foreign nationals in connection with civil forfeiture proceedings against the U.S. Department of Justice, Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California concerning alleged corruption and money laundering and attempted forfeiture of a $36 million property in Los Angeles
Successfully represented an individual and obtained successful closure of criminal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice Special Counsel into alleged obstruction and interference in the 2020 Presidential Election
Successfully represented a senior executive and obtained successful closure of criminal investigation into alleged sanctions violations by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas
Represent a healthcare company and senior executive in connection with an investigation into alleged violations of the False Claims Act by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia
Successfully represented an individual in connection with an investigation into alleged healthcare and securities fraud by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York
Represented an individual in contested forfeiture and restitution matters currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
Successfully represented a publicly traded multinational financial services and fintech company through a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) and corporate monitorship with the U.S. Department of Justice, Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
Successfully resolved and obtained a favorable settlement on behalf of a financial services company with the New York Department of Financial Services
Successfully represented multiple executives and obtained closure of criminal investigation and avoided charges in connection with a corporate resolution of an FCPA investigation into foreign bribery in Latin America with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission
Successfully represented a social media company and obtained a successful closure of investigation by the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol and related criminal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation
Successfully represented a precious metals company and obtained a successful closure of an investigation into alleged violations of securities laws by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Successfully represented a precious metals company and obtained a successful closure of an investigation into alleged violations of securities laws by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
Represented a major university system and research laboratory in connection with multiple congressional, state and U.S. Intelligence Community investigations into the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic
Successfully represented a privately held group of companies with an internal investigation and successful civil litigation and referral for criminal prosecution in connection with a $48 million fraud
Conducted an internal investigation into the theft of valuable NFTs and the use of cryptocurrency
Represented a publicly traded financial services and infrastructure company in connection with ongoing FCPA investigations in Latin America by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission
Conducted a risk assessment and implementation of compliance enhancements for a publicly traded technology company
In a pro bono matter, represent a female Afghan judge and her family in connection with their successful escape from Afghanistan and relocation to a third country after the U.S. withdrawal
Conducted a risk assessment and implementation of compliance enhancements for an international manufacturing company
Represented a major university system and multiple educational institutions in connection with investigations by Congress and the U.S. Department of Education into alleged violations of Section 117 of the Higher Education Act
Represented an individual in connection with a high-profile Congressional investigation into improper delivery of COVID-19 vaccinations
Represented a private equity firm and portfolio energy company in connection with an internal investigation into alleged campaign finance violations
Represented a publicly traded transportation company and managed an internal investigation into allegations of corruption and financial fraud
Represented a large IT services and solutions contractor and managed an internal investigation into allegations of retaliation and substantive violations of the False Claims Act by a former employee
Represented South Korean food distributor in connection with victim restitution claims under the Mandatory Victim Rights Act
Represented a U.S.-based importer and its CEO in connection with an investigation by the U.S. Secret Service into alleged PPE fraud
Represented a publicly traded energy company and conducted a compliance review prior to the execution of a large merger
Represented a publicly traded space technology company in connection with a comprehensive compliance review and implementation of risk-based enhancements to the program
Supervised a high-profile FCPA and money laundering investigation, including charges against two senior bank executives and an intermediary, for their alleged role executing a multi-billion dollar bribery and embezzlement scheme
Supervised the prosecution in U.S. v. Mobile Telesystems PJSC; the coordinated resolution between DOJ and the SEC resulted in a parent-level DPA and subsidiary-level guilty plea, an $850 million criminal fine, and a three-year corporate monitorship for a Russian telecommunications company that paid over $420 million in bribes in Uzbekistan
Lead trial attorney in U.S. v. Telia Company AB, et al; the coordinated resolution between DOJ and the SEC, the Netherlands, and Sweden resulted in a parent-level DPA, subsidiary-level guilty plea, and a $965 million criminal fine for a Swedish telecommunications company that paid over $330 million in bribes in Uzbekistan
Lead trial attorney in U.S. v. Rolls-Royce plc, et al; the coordinated resolution between DOJ and the U.K. Serious Fraud Office and Brazil Public Prosecutor resulted in a parent-level DPA and $880 million global fine, and seven individuals were also charged in connection with their role in a conspiracy to pay and launder over $80 million in bribes in six different countries
Lead trial attorney in U.S. v. VimpelCom, Ltd. et al; the coordinated resolution between DOJ and the SEC and the Netherlands resulted in a parent-level DPA, subsidiary-level guilty plea, a subsidiary guilty plea, a $835 million criminal fine, and a three-year monitorship for a Dutch telecom company that paid over $114 million in bribes in Uzbekistan
Lead trial attorney in a national security counter-intelligence and FCPA prosecution of a Russian official, a U.S. company, and U.S. businessmen for conspiring to pay and launder over $2 million in bribes in connection with the transportation of nuclear fuel between the Russian Federation and the United States, yielding three FCPA-related pleas and a corporate NPA
Supervised the prosecution in U.S. v. Credit Suisse (Hong Kong) Ltd.; the coordinated resolution between DOJ and the SEC resulted in an NPA and $47 million criminal penalty for corrupt hiring practices in Asia
Supervised a major oil and gas investigation involving a coordinated prosecution with five foreign jurisdictions into approximately 15 oil and gas companies that used a corrupt intermediary company to bribe foreign officials in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia
Supervised a major aerospace investigation involving a coordinated prosecution with multiple jurisdictions into bribery and ITAR Part 130 violations
Supervised an investigation into corrupt practices in professional sports, including alleged bribery, visa fraud, sanctions evasion, and extortion by teams operating in Latin America
Served as a DOJ subject matter expert, delegate and negotiator on anticorruption, asset recovery, and trade matters at multiple international fora, including the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) in Paris; the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the U.N. Convention Against Corruption in Vienna; and was a U.S. negotiator for the anticorruption component of NAFTA 2.0
Served a one-year detail to DOJ’s Guantanamo Bay Litigation Team, where he investigated and litigated cases on behalf of the U.S. against prisoners of war and high-value detainees connected to the Taliban, al-Qaida and associated groups, and was the lead trial attorney in Khairulla Khairkhwa v. Obama, which resulted in the continued detention of the highest ranking member of the Taliban in U.S. custody at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
Served as Counsel on the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), where he was the lead investigative attorney concerning abusive debt practices, ineffective oversight of dual use exports and technologies, and oversight of waste, fraud and abuse at the United Nations Development Programme
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Client Alerts
In a busy week of major policy changes for the Department of Justice (“DOJ” or the “Department”), Assistant Attorney General …
August 26, 2026
August 26, 2026 • 8-minute read
Client Alerts
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January 29, 2026 • Published by Bloomberg INDG, Bloomberg Law, January 27, 2026
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Client Alerts
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September 26, 2025 • Published by Bloomberg INDG, Bloomberg Law, September 26, 2025
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