Mark D. Lytle

My focus

My practice focuses on representing corporations and individuals in complex federal and state criminal and civil matters involving significant government investigations, and providing compliance advice to mitigate risk. My experience as a senior government official with DOJ, an SEC enforcement attorney, and a federal prosecutor in the Justice Department’s Criminal Tax Division, uniquely positions me to advise companies and individuals on their most sensitive, challenging, and complex criminal and civil enforcement matters. Additionally, as a former Associate Deputy Attorney General at DOJ, I am able to advise and counsel individuals and entities facing congressional investigations and provide crisis management. My areas of focus include:

SEC Enforcement and Criminal Tax Defense

My experience as a former SEC Enforcement Division staff attorney, coupled with having managed a major white-collar unit at the U.S. Attorney’s office, makes me ideally positioned for companies faced with SEC investigations. I have partnered with the SEC on many parallel criminal/SEC investigations. I understand the SEC’s remedies and tools of investigations. I also understand that with every SEC investigation comes the possibility that there is a parallel criminal investigation lurking in the background. My experience is invaluable to companies that need to address this kind of oversight. Moreover, my experience as a former Tax Division trial attorney helps companies spot other white-collar issues not always apparent to the typical practitioner.

FCPA, Anti-Corruption, and Other International and Cross-Border Risks

I am well versed in managing criminal investigations involving corruption and bribery. As former Chief of the Financial Crimes and Public Corruption Unit, I have overseen investigations involving violations of the FCPA, the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA), and the theft of U.S. company-owned intellectual property and trade secrets by foreign entities. Given this experience, I am uniquely qualified to advise individuals and companies facing these types of cross-border issues and inquiries.

Congressional Oversight

Federal and state legislative bodies initiate investigations that require both the production of documents and preparation of company officials for witness testimony. These oversight inquiries often lead to other investigations by both state and/or federal law enforcement agencies. I am experienced at assisting executive branch departments and agencies in their responses to oversight demands. This process requires an efficient internal investigation before a principal can be prepared to testify. I am experienced at managing internal investigations and have provided invaluable service to clients working to respond to aggressive oversight demands.

Internal Investigations

I have an extensive background with investigating white-collar and anti-corruption crimes. I assist businesses with conducting internal corporate investigations. The aim is to quickly grasp the scope of a company’s exposure and detail that risk in succinct terms with the goal to implement policies and procedures to minimize a company’s exposure going forward.

Corporate Compliance

My years of experience as a federal prosecutor provide me with the foresight to anticipate potential issues and take proactive steps to help clients mitigate risk and avoid exposure to enforcement actions and litigation. In particular, I preemptively advise companies on how they can put various compliance regimes in place to protect against employee misconduct that could draw the interest of criminal investigative agencies and regulators.

Representative experience

• Lead prosecutor on nine-week trial and conviction of a member of the U.S. House of Representatives involving “$90,000 cash in the freezer” and charges of conspiracy, bribery, FCPA, racketeering, money laundering, and obstruction charges. (U.S. v. William J. Jefferson)
• Lead prosecutor in five-week jury trial and conviction of a Nevada lawyer known as the “shell king” who conducted multiple “pump and dump” schemes in a securities fraud operation that paid kickbacks to boiler rooms in New York and Boston and hid the fraud proceeds in offshore accounts in the name of a Cayman Islands entity. (U.S. v. Max Tanner)
• Lead prosecutor for investigation and guilty plea by one of the world’s most prominent international banks, for aiding tens of thousands of U.S. citizens who were committing tax evasion from the IRS. The bank paid a total of $2.6 billion in fines and penalties qualifying it as the largest criminal tax case in United States history.
• Lead prosecutor for investigation and guilty plea in U.S. v. Trey Radel, a narcotics case involving a sitting member of the United States House of Representatives, for possession of cocaine.
• Lead prosecutor in investigation and guilty plea from the founder and owner of a Northern Virginia investment firm for securities fraud and embezzlement of more than $20 million from investors. (U.S. v. Todd Hitt)

Other experience

• Prior to joining Nixon Peabody’s Government Investigation & White Collar Defense group, Mark served as an Associate Deputy Attorney General where he helped to oversee the Criminal Division and other litigating sections at the Department of Justice (DOJ). He also served in the Division of Enforcement at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Los Angeles and as a Trial Attorney at the Criminal Tax Division at DOJ in Washington, DC, before serving more than 15 year s as an Assistant U.S. Attorney.
• While at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mark led the multi-year investigation and prosecution of one of the world’s most prominent international banks, which pled guilty to aiding more than 10,000 U.S. taxpayers who were committing tax fraud in the United States, requiring the bank to pay a total of $2.6 billion in fines and penalties.  Additionally, Mark was the lead trial counsel in the case of U.S. v. William Jefferson, where a member of Congress was convicted of various bribery and corruption charges including an FCPA violation and racketeering/RICO charges.

Looking ahead

Look for increased enforcement and regulatory risks for large and medium-sized publicly traded and privately held companies in six areas, in particular: (1) COVID-19 pandemic relief funds under the CARES Act and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP); (2) trade and business practices with China, Russia, and Iran, including possible criminal sanctions; (3) SEC oversight of securities fraud; (4) criminal tax enforcement; (5) SPACs, cryptocurrency, and other risky financial investment vehicles; and (6) continued FCPA enforcement with more cooperation among cross-border enforcement agencies. With the expected increase in both civil and criminal investigations launched by the government in these areas, companies should look to trusted advisors with an insider’s view on managing investigations, understanding what is most effective in responding to them, and the ability to provide a comprehensive strategy to effectively deal with those issues.

When confronted with an investigation, a company needs a lawyer with years of experience in both federal criminal and civil investigations—someone who knows how to interact with federal law enforcement agencies, regulators, and prosecutors—someone who can develop an effective response for the particular circumstance.