John Fornaciari

John Fornaciari is a partner in the White Collar and Civil Fraud Defense Practice Group in the firm's Washington, D.C. office.

Areas of Practice

Mr. Fornaciari's experience includes the trial of complex commercial cases, antitrust litigation and white-collar defense. Matters have included trials from New York to California involving, for example, antitrust claims, RICO claims, fraud, freeze-out mergers, breach of duty, conspiracy, mail fraud and wire fraud.

Education

• J.D., Boston College Law School, 1971
• B.A, Providence College, 1968, cum laude

Admissions

• District of Columbia
• Massachusetts Bars

• Representation of a firm and its principal in federal RICO indictment involving charges of bribery, extortion, money laundering, conspiracy and mail and wire fraud
• Representation of a multi-national firm in federal investigation regarding the alleged tampering with test results affecting federally funded incentive payments
• Representation of foreign airline in international cartel investigation, including United States Grand Jury investigation and multidistrict litigation
• Representation of a numerous regional and national firms in grand jury investigations involving bidding practices. These investigations were in several states including Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Tennessee, Virginia, and Maryland
• Representation of defendants in four-month trial of a federal criminal case in U.S. District Court, Baltimore, Maryland, charging conspiracy, mail and wire fraud and RICO violations in connection with the failure of a financial institution
• Representation of a borrower in a grand jury investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office of an alleged fraudulently procured loan from a federally insured financial institution in Pennsylvania
• The defense of a corporate client accused of violating the Massachusetts Ethics in Government Statutes in the Superior Court, Massachusetts
• The defense of accounting firms and partners in various cases alleging malpractice, securities and RICO claims in the U.S. District Court, Washington, D.C. and New York, NY and in various state courts
• Defense of accounting firm in actions by lenders/financial institution alleging fraud with respect to financial statements
• The representation of defendants in alleged class actions charging violations of the federal antitrust and securities laws in connection with sale of securities
• Representing banks in bad faith and unfair lending practices claims
• Representing financial institutions in commercial lending cases involving alleged impairment of security
• Advising clients on corporate structure and governance issues, including Jordan Telecom and domestic firms
• Advising the Board of Jordan Telecom regarding obligations and duties of the company's Board of Directors in connection with privatization process, including relations with lenders and stockholders
• Advising and assisting the Central Bank of Jordan, as receiver, to enforce in Jordan under Jordanian law a judgment rendered in California against a Jordanian resident
• Arbitration of various commercial disputes including, as examples, disputes involving mergers, international loans and telecommunications agreements
• Advising the Government of Egypt regarding privatizing airport operations
• Responsibility for the trial of a federal and state environmental citizens' suit, representing a group of individual and corporate investors in the U.S. District Court, Hartford, Connecticut
• Representing marine company in multi-party maritime tort action involving claims for personal injuries, punitive damages an loss of consortium
• Representing marine shipping firm regarding various Jones Act litigation
• Representation of individuals and corporations in connection with state and federal grand jury and SEC investigations and criminal proceedings in various jurisdictions, including Tennessee, North Carolina, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware. The investigations concerned the following possible violations: bid rigging; mail and wire fraud; perjury, bribery, bank fraud, racketeering; and violations of the securities laws
• Representations of individuals and corporations in connection with a variety of civil actions, including: freeze out mergers and the valuation of minority interests; breach of contract actions; common law fraud actions; alleged violations of the federal securities laws in the sale of securities; breach of fiduciary duty by directors and officers of financial institutions and other types of corporations; mechanics lien actions; various antitrust actions, including, alleged violations of Sections 1 & 2, Sherman Act, and Section 7, Clayton Act; and actions involving alleged wrongful employment termination