Vince Farhat

Vince Farhat is a partner in JMBM's Los Angeles office and chair of the White Collar Defense and Investigations practice. Vince has extensive jury trial experience and focuses his practice on representing companies and individuals in criminal and civil investigations and prosecutions by government enforcement agencies, as well as complex federal litigation. He also advises companies in connection with complex and sensitive internal investigations.

Prior to joining JMBM, Vince served as an assistant United States attorney in the Major Frauds Section of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California. In that position, he investigated and prosecuted white collar crimes, including healthcare fraud, bank fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, bankruptcy fraud and money laundering. While in the Major Frauds Section, Vince served as the criminal healthcare fraud coordinator for the U.S. Attorney's Office and oversaw the investigative activities of the U.S. Department of Justice Medicare Fraud Strike Force for the Central District. He regularly worked with civil fraud attorneys and other prosecuting agencies in parallel fraud investigations. Vince's criminal trial experience includes cases involving healthcare fraud, wire fraud, bankruptcy fraud, money laundering, immigration fraud and criminal forfeiture.

Before becoming a criminal prosecutor, Vince was an assistant U.S. attorney in the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office where he represented the United States in commercial litigation and other civil cases. From 1998 to 1999, Vince served as a law clerk to the Honorable Edward Rafeedie, U.S. district court judge for the Central District of California.

Vince works as an adjunct professor at Loyola Law School where he teaches white collar and healthcare law. Prior to becoming an attorney, he worked as a commercial real estate broker.

Experience

• Internal Investigations: Represents companies in corporate internal investigations arising from allegations of money laundering, fraud, kickbacks, tax reporting violations and embezzlement 
• Government Investigations: Represents companies in criminal and civil U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigations involving federal law enforcement statutes, including the Anti-Kickback Statute, Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, and False Claims Act (FCA)
• Parallel Investigations: Represents subjects in parallel fraud investigations being conducted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS OIG) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
• FDA Investigations: Represents physicians and other healthcare providers in criminal investigations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), including investigations involving regulated drugs, medical devices, and dietary supplements. 
• False Claims Act Defense: Represented a chemical manufacturer in an FCA lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, brought on behalf of the United States, 12 states and 188 local governments
• Healthcare Litigation: Successfully represented a network of full-service health centers in a breach of contract action against a government-run Medicaid health plan
• Economic and Trade Sanctions: Represents companies in investigations by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury 
• Affirmative Enforcement Matters: Represents clients in proactive scenarios where companies learn of potential internal misconduct and need to investigate to determine potential next steps to protect their interests, including making law enforcement referrals and assisting clients in interacting with the criminal justice system. 
• Cybercrime Defense: Represented online video game company in a cyberattack investigation that led to the successful prosecution of the perpetrator
• U.S. Attorney's Office: Served as lead prosecutor in the Los Angeles "skid row" healthcare fraud investigation and secured the convictions of hospital executives for paying illegal kickbacks for the referral of homeless patients
• U.S. Attorney's Office: Served as lead trial counsel in the successful prosecution of a business owner for bankruptcy fraud and money laundering
• U.S. Attorney's Office: Served as trial counsel in the successful prosecution of a physician for performing unnecessary surgeries
• U.S. Attorney's Office: Successfully defended the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) in a multiparty trade secret misappropriation action brought by a defense subcontractor regarding Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) rail launch assembly