Avi Perry, a distinguished former federal prosecutor, is a high-stakes trial lawyer, co-Chair of the Firm’s Securities Litigation Group, and co-Chair of the Firm’s Commodities and Derivatives Group. Mr. Perry also is a member of the Firm’s Investigations, Government Enforcement and White Collar Criminal Defense Group.
Mr. Perry’s practice focuses on defending companies and individuals under investigation by federal and state law enforcement authorities and regulators across the United States, counseling FinTech companies, prediction markets, and trading firms on U.S. securities and commodities laws, and providing advice on the design and implementation of effective corporate compliance and surveillance programs.
Mr. Perry has won the dismissal of criminal and civil charges brought by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and state securities and banking regulators. His biggest wins include non-public declinations where he persuaded government agencies not to file charges at all. Mr. Perry also regularly defends public companies in securities class actions.
Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Perry served for nine years as a federal prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice, most recently as Chief of the Market Integrity and Major Frauds Unit in the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. In that role, Mr. Perry supervised 45 white collar prosecutors nationwide and oversaw the Fraud Section’s corporate and individual investigations and prosecutions involving securities, commodities, digital assets, and government procurement fraud. Those cases resulted in convictions of several high-level executives at major international banks, as well as seven corporate resolutions with banks and trading firms totaling over $1.5 billion in fines, forfeiture, and restitution. Mr. Perry also served as a member of the Deputy Attorney General’s Corporate Crime Advisory Group, and has significant experience with the design, implementation, and testing of effective corporate compliance programs, including the use of trade surveillance software and data analytics to identify irregularities.
Mr. Perry speaks regularly at conferences on white collar matters, including digital assets, derivatives, and enforcement trends. He has served as adjunct faculty at Yale Law School and the University of Maine Law School. Mr. Perry previously worked as an associate at a law firm in New York and clerked for the Honorable Kermit V. Lipez, United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and the Honorable Mark L. Wolf, United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
- White Collar & Investigations
- Obtained dismissal of indictment against New York City Mayor on federal bribery and campaign finance charges (United States v. Adams).
- Obtained mistrial for co-CEO of technology services firm charged with allegedly bribing a four-star Navy Admiral (United States v. Kim).
- Obtained declination for subject of DOJ and SEC insider trading investigation.
- Obtained declination for subject of DOJ non-fungible token (NFT) rug-pull fraud investigation.
- Obtained declination for event ticketing company in connection with DOJ criminal import/export and access device fraud investigation.
- Representing CEO of emergency alert system developer charged with allegedly bribing a New York City Police official (United States v. Roefaro).
- Represented Changpeng Zhao, founder and former CEO of Binance, in DOJ Bank Secrecy Act prosecution (United States v. Zhao); also won dismissal of SEC complaint against Mr. Zhao (SEC v. Binance Holdings Ltd., et al.).
- Represented cryptocurrency investment fund manager in DOJ fraud and money laundering prosecution (United States v. Caruso).
- Negotiated corporate False Claims Act settlement with DOJ for medical device manufacturer in connection with civil Medicare fraud allegations (United States v. Semler Scientific).
- Represented Special Counsel Robert Hur in connection with congressional testimony before the House Judiciary Committee regarding handling of classified documents by President Joseph Biden.
- Represented Special Counsel David Weiss in connection with congressional investigation by the House Judiciary Committee regarding prosecution of Hunter Biden.
- Represented CEO of financial advisory and investment banking firm in connection with congressional testimony before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
- Commodities & Derivatives
- Won dismissal of all charges against foreign exchange (forex) trading simulator and its CEO in CFTC enforcement action, as well as sanctions against CFTC and award of attorneys’ fees (CFTC v. Traders Global Group Inc., et al.).
- Obtained declination for global cryptocurrency exchange in connection with non-public CFTC investigation.
- Securities Enforcement
- Obtained SEC declination for FinTech banking-as-a-service (BAAS) platform in connection with non-public securities fraud investigation.
- Resolved non-public investigation of alleged exchange rule violations by leading quantitative trading firm without charges or penalties.
- Represented former public company CEO in connection with SEC accounting fraud investigation.
- Won dismissal of complaint against digital token developer in civil litigation against the Texas State Securities Board (In re Apertum Foundation, et al.).
- Representing digital mining platform and its founder in civil enforcement action brought by state securities regulator (In re TexitCoin, et al.).
- Negotiated global settlement with securities regulators in 35 U.S. states on behalf of Gold Standard Bank and its former Chairman in connection with alleged digital asset securities offerings; under the settlement terms, state regulators agreed to withdraw all fraud charges and impose no monetary penalties.
- Securities Litigation
- Representing Citadel Securities in class action alleging stock-price manipulation (Genius Group v. Citadel Securities, et al.).
- Representing Gemini Space Station, its founders, executives, and directors in securities class action (Methvin v. Gemini Space Station, et al.).
- Negotiated favorable settlement of securities class action against genetic testing company.
- Blockchain and Digital Asset Practice
- Government & Regulatory Litigation
- Hedge Fund Litigation
- Investigations, Government Enforcement & White Collar Criminal Defense Practice
- Investment Advisor & Asset Manager Litigation
- Investment Fund Litigation
- Middle East & North Africa Practice
- Private Equity Fund Litigation
- Securities Litigation
- Securities Enforcement Defense Practice
- Structured Finance & Derivatives Litigation
- Commodities and Derivatives
- Yale Law School
(J.D., 2010) - Yale College
(B.A., History, cum laude, 2005)
- New York
- Connecticut
- District of Columbia
- Hebrew
- U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Fraud Section
- Chief, Market Integrity & Major Frauds (MIMF) Unit (formerly Securities & Financial Fraud Unit), 2021-2023
- Principal Assistant Chief, 2020-2021
- Assistant Chief, 2019-2020
- Trial Attorney, 2018-2019
- Yale Law School
- Visiting Clinical Lecturer in Law, 2016-2018
- U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut
- Assistant U.S. Attorney, Financial Fraud & Public Corruption Unit, 2014-2018
- Davis Polk & Wardwell
- Litigation Associate, 2012-2014
- University of Maine Law School
- Adjunct Professor of Law, 2012
- Law Clerk for the Honorable Judge Kermit V. Lipez
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, 2011-2012
- Law Clerk for the Honorable Judge Mark L. Wolf
- U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, 2010-2011
- AmLaw’s "Litigator of the Week" (2025)
- Legal 500 USA Dispute Resolution: Corporate Investigations and White-Collar Criminal Defense: Recommended Lawyers (2024)
- Attorney General’s award for innovation in using data to prosecute crime (2022)
- U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Inspector-in-Charge Award (2021)
- CFTC Chairman’s Award for Regulatory Excellence (2020)
Recent Speaking Engagements
- Panelist, Cryptocurrencies and Other Digital Assets – Enforcement and Trends, ABA White Collar Crime Institute, Mar. 2025
- Moderator, Enforcement and Regulation of Cryptocurrencies and Other Digital Assets, ABA White Collar Crime Institute, Mar. 2024
- Panelist, Swaps and Derivatives and Market Enforcement, PLI Enforcement 2023: Perspectives from Government Agencies, May 2023
- Panelist, Trials, New York City Bar White Collar Crime Institute, May 2023
- Panelist, Compliance Roundtable, Global Digital Asset and Cryptocurrency Association, May 2023
- Panelist, Enforcement Techniques and Tools, SEC Southeastern Securities Conference, Apr. 2023
- Panelist, Digital Assets and Cryptocurrency Enforcement, ABA White Collar Crime Institute, Mar. 2023
- Panelist, Enforcement Developments, ABA Futures and Derivatives Law Committee, Annual Meeting, Feb. 2023
- Panelist, Enforcement Trends, Futures and Derivatives Law Report Symposium, Nov. 2022
- Panelist, Charging and Defending Individuals in White Collar Cases, PLI White Collar Crime 2022: Prosecutors and Regulators Speak, Sept. 2022
- Panelist, Update on White Collar and Regulatory Issues for the Business Lawyer, ABA Business Law Section, Annual Meeting, Sept. 2022
- Panelist, Economic Crimes, Federal Bar Association, Criminal Law Section, Annual Federal Sentencing Guidelines Seminar, Aug. 2022
- Panelist, Swaps and Derivatives and Market Enforcement, PLI Enforcement 2022: Perspectives from Government Agencies, May 2022
- Panelist, Parallel Investigations, Joint U.K.-U.S. Symposium on White Collar Enforcement, Apr. 2022
- Panelist, Assessing Effective Compliance, NYU School of Law Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement, Mar. 2022
- Panelist, Securities Litigation and Regulatory Practice, Atlanta Bar Association, Dec. 2021
- Panelist, Commodities Enforcement, ABA White Collar Crime Institute, Oct. 2021
Publications
- Insider Trading and Corporate Enforcement: Important Trends and Implications for Corporate Governance,” Oct. 24, 2024, Featured In: Chambers and Partners, White-Collar Crime 2024 (William Burck, Avi Perry, Christopher Clore, Joanna Menillo
- Note, “Solving Israel’s African Refugee Crisis,” 51 VA. J. INT’L L. 157 (2010)
- “Restructuring Insurance Coverage for Drunk Drivers,” 4 HARV. L. & POL’Y REV. 427 (2010)
- “In Support of a Referendum on the Golan Heights,” 58 UCLA L. REV. DISC. 1 (2010)
- Comment, “Rethinking the Adequacy of Informal Property Rules: Some Evidence from Maine’s Lobster Fishery,” 15 OCEAN AND COASTAL L.J. 85 (2010)
- “Administrative Statutory Interpretation in the Antebellum Republic,” 2009 MICH. ST. L. REV. 7 (2009) (with Jerry L. Mashaw)
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