Kevin R. Puvalowski is a partner in the firm's New York office, where he specializes in white-collar defense and complex commercial litigation. He is Co-Team Leader of the Firm’s White-Collar Defense and Corporate Investigations Team.

Areas of Practice

Mr. Puvalowski represents institutions and individuals in criminal, civil enforcement and regulatory investigations and proceedings before federal and state courts and regulatory and enforcement agencies. Mr. Puvalowski is also an accomplished litigator, with extensive civil trial experience in federal and state courts and arbitration tribunals.

Areas of expertise include matters involving mortgage fraud, the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering (“BSA/AML”) laws and regulations, securities and commodities fraud, forfeiture and asset freezes, criminal tax cases, whistleblower issues, and cross-border criminal matters. Current or recent matters include representation of:

A federal savings bank charged with mortgage fraud by the Manhattan District Attorney. In that case, Mr. Puvalowski successfully moved for dismissal of all securities fraud charges, and trial of the remaining allegations is scheduled for January 2015.
The iconic hip-hop band Beastie Boys in connection with a copyright and unfair competition suit against Monster Energy Company. Mr. Puvalowski led the trial team that obtained a $1.7 million jury verdict in the band’s favor after a two-week trial in Manhattan federal court.
A mortgage-backed securities broker in a pending DOJ/SEC fraud investigation.
A federal law enforcement agent charged in a criminal complaint in the SDNY. Following discussions with the prosecution, the complaint was dismissed in its entirety.
A large inter-dealer broker in an employment-related FINRA arbitration. After a two-week arbitration hearing, the arbitrators issued a decision resulting in a complete denial of adverse claims.
An international fossil dealer in connection with an asset forfeiture action and related criminal prosecution in the SDNY that resulted in a non-prosecution agreement.
An individual and related entities in a federal civil asset forfeiture action and related criminal investigation concerning structuring allegations.
An individual in a federal criminal payroll tax prosecution in the EDNY that resulted in a probationary sentence.

Mr. Puvalowski has extensive trial and appellate experience, having tried more than a dozen criminal and civil trials before federal and state courts and worked on dozens of appeals, including arguing numerous appeals in the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Mr. Puvalowski joined the firm after almost nine years of government service. He most recently served as Deputy Special Inspector General in the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (“SIGTARP”); before SIGTARP, he was a federal prosecutor in Manhattan for more than seven years.

At SIGTARP, Mr. Puvalowski co-founded the federal agency that was created to oversee the $700 billion bailout program and helped build it into a sophisticated law enforcement and audit agency with more than 120 employees and a $50 million annual budget. He served as the Special Inspector General’s principal deputy and primary advisor and represented the office in dealings with federal agencies, law enforcement, the financial industry, the media, and Congress, including testifying at Congressional hearings.

Prior to SIGTARP, Mr. Puvalowski was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted a broad range of criminal and asset forfeiture cases, with an emphasis in complex money laundering, asset forfeiture and international crimes. He tried nine felony trials and briefed and argued numerous appeals. During his tenure at the United States Attorney’s Office, Mr. Puvalowski held several leadership positions, including Chief of the International Narcotics Trafficking Unit, Deputy Chief Appellate Attorney, and Regional Coordinator of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) for the New York/New Jersey Region. As a result of his exemplary service, Mr. Puvalowski was twice awarded the Attorney General's John Marshall Award, one of the Department of Justice's highest honors.