Overview
Leo Tsao is a partner in the Investigations & White Collar Defense and Fintech & Payments practices at Paul Hastings, and is based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. Leo’s practice focuses on defending companies and individuals in criminal and regulatory enforcement matters, conducting internal investigations, and counseling companies on compliance issues related to money laundering, anti-corruption, and economic sanctions. Notably, the Department of Justice recently selected Leo to serve as the independent compliance monitor as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with a pharmaceutical company.
Before Paul Hastings, Leo served for more than 15 years as a white collar prosecutor with the Department of Justice, where he led or supervised some of the DOJ’s most significant corporate criminal cases, and was twice recognized with the Assistant Attorney General’s Exceptional Service Award.
Most recently, Leo served as the Principal Deputy Chief of the DOJ’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) and as Chief of MLARS’s Bank Integrity Unit. At MLARS, he was responsible for overseeing the DOJ’s enforcement program against financial institutions for BSA, money laundering, and similar violations. In particular, Leo helped to lead the DOJ’s enforcement efforts with respect to crimes involving cryptocurrency and fintech, and was involved in drafting the DOJ’s Cryptocurrency Enforcement Framework. Leo was also responsible for helping to oversee the DOJ’s national Asset Forfeiture Program.
Before MLARS, Leo served as an Assistant Chief in the DOJ’s FCPA Unit, where he led or supervised more than 50 FCPA investigations across a spectrum of industries, including finance, technology, aviation, pharmaceuticals, and energy, and worked closely with domestic regulators and international enforcement agencies around the world. Leo previously spent more than a decade as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and as a trial attorney for the DOJ’s Deepwater Horizon Task Force.
While at the DOJ, Leo helped develop enforcement policies on corporate investigations, compliance, monitorships, charging decisions, and resolutions. Leo is an experienced trial lawyer, having served as lead trial counsel in 10 jury trials, and has argued and/or briefed numerous criminal appeals.
Leo is also a recognized expert in corporate criminal practice, teaching a seminar on the subject at Harvard Law School, and co-authoring a leading legal treatise, Corporate Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions (Aspen 2022).
Recognitions
- Assistant Attorney General’s Award, Criminal Division, Distinguished Service Award (2021)
Education
- Cornell Law School, J.D. (magna cum laude), 1998
- Rutgers University, B.A., 1992
Representations
Fintech/Cryptocurrency
- Represented multinational financial institution in investigations by DOJ and other agencies involving alleged violations of U.S. sanctions laws.
- Represented multinational communications company in investigations by DOJ and SEC involving allegations of FCPA violations.
- Represented shipping/transport company in connection with criminal and civil investigations related to allegations of violations of U.S. sanctions and export control laws.
- Represented multinational cryptocurrency company with respect to FinCEN regulatory matters.
- Represented major U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange in FinCEN and OFAC investigations involving alleged violations of money laundering and U.S. sanctions.
- Represented Unsecured Creditors Committee in connection with the bankruptcy of a major cryptocurrency exchange and financial services company.
- Counsel for multinational cryptocurrency exchange in connection with BSA/AML compliance issues.
- Counsel for multinational money transfer company in connection with BSA/AML compliance issues.
- Represented former officers and executives of cryptocurrency financial-services company in criminal and civil investigations before DOJ, SEC, CFTC, FTC, and other agencies involving alleged fraud claims.
- Represented co-founder of major cryptocurrency/payments company in criminal and regulatory investigations involving allegations of fraud.
- Represented former board members of multinational pharmaceutical company in DOJ investigation related to alleged violations of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
- Represented former Finance Chair of the Republic National Committee with respect to civil action filed by DOJ seeking to compel registration under the Foreign Agent Registration Act.
- Represented executive of life sciences company in DOJ and SEC investigations involving allegations of FCPA violations.
- Counsel for multinational conglomerate on AML risk and compliance issues.
- Counsel for payment processing company on BSA/AML compliance issues.
Matters may have been completed before joining Paul Hastings.
news
Recognitions
insights
- DOJ Criminal Division Issues Updated Guidance on Corporate Compliance Programs Focused on AI Risks - October 17th, 2024
- Off to the Races: DOJ Offers New Incentives for Whistleblowers and Companies to Report Misconduct - August 8th, 2024
- Corporate Criminal Liability for Artificial Intelligence - May 24th, 2024
- NDCA’s New Whistleblower Pilot Program: A Unique Focus on Reporting Intellectual Property Theft - April 2nd, 2024
- The DOJ’s New Pilot Program Promises to Pay Whistleblowers for Uncovering Corporate Crimes - March 14th, 2024
- SDNY’s New Policy on Self-Disclosures for Individuals May Be a Game Changer - January 18th, 2024
- More Clarity on the Horizon for FCPA Resolutions? DOJ and SEC Officials Discuss Enforcement Trends - December 5th, 2023
- FinCEN’s Mixer 311 Has Immediate Impacts for U.S. Financial Institutions and De-Fi Protocols - November 2nd, 2023
- A Commitment to Transparency: Clarifying Key Enhancements to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Corporate Enforcement Guidance - March 30th, 2023
- DOJ Announces Pilot Program and Updated Guidance: Individual Accountability is a Top Priority - March 9th, 2023
- DOJ's Approach to Ephemeral Messaging is Not Ephemeral: New Guidance on Messaging, Personal Devices - March 8th, 2023
- The Impact of United States v. Banks on Securities and Commodities Fraud Sentencing - February 8th, 2023
- Bigger Carrots, More Sticks? DOJ Revises Its Corporate Criminal Enforcement Policy - January 20th, 2023
- Top PHive Crypto Enforcement Notes: January Edition - January 13th, 2023
- Top PHive Crypto Enforcement Notes: December Edition - December 8th, 2022
- Top PHive Crypto Enforcement Notes: November Edition - November 4th, 2022
- Latest DOJ Guidance and Non-US Companies: What to Expect and How to Handle it - November 3rd, 2022
- New Enforcement Policies Signal an Important Shift in DOJ’s Approach to Corporate Prosecutions - September 20th, 2022
- Top PHive Crypto Enforcement Notes: September Edition - September 7th, 2022
- The End of the China Initiative and the Future of U.S. Enforcement against Chinese Companies - May 23rd, 2022
Engagement & Publications
Speaking Engagements
- “Sound the Alarm: Trends and Risk Management Relating to Whistleblowers”, Paul Hastings Consumer Financial Services Webinar Series, May 1, 2024
- “Disappearing Acts: Trends in AML, BSA, and Consumer Fraud”, Paul Hastings Consumer Financial Services Webinar Series , March 6, 2024
- New York City Bar, International White Collar Crime Symposium 2021, Global Enforcement Trends (Nov. 30, 2021)*
- Wall Street Journal Risk and Compliance Forum, Interview on Cryptocurrency Enforcement (Oct. 12, 2021)*
- Cambridge Forum, Sanctions & AML Compliance, Government Enforcement Panel (Sept. 14, 2021)*
- Guidehouse, Directors Roundtable, Who is Responsible for Corporate Misconduct? (Mar. 16, 2021)*
- Asian American Bar Association of New York, Fall Conference 2020: Enforcement in a Fragmented World (Nov. 10, 2020)*
- New York City Bar, International White Collar Crime Symposium 2021, The Long Arm of the Law: What the Extra-Territorial Tools of the Department of Justice Mean for Asian Companies and Individuals (Sept. 18, 2019)*
- Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, AML & Financial Crimes Conference (Feb. 5, 2019)*
- Panelist, GIR Live DC, Corporate Enforcement Panel (Oct. 25, 2018)*
- Keynote Speaker, Casino Essentials AML Conference, Casino Enforcement Speech (Aug. 15, 2018)*
- U.S.-China Business Council, Panelist, FCPA Business Roundtable (May 9, 2017)*
- GIR Anti-Corruption Conference, FCPA Enforcement Speech (Sao Paolo, Brazil) (Oct. 20, 2016)*
- Keynote Speaker, China Anti-Corruption Compliance Forum (Beijing, China) (Jun. 26, 2014)*
* Speaking engagements before joining Paul Hastings LLP
Publications
- Corporate Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions (Aspen Publishing) (forthcoming 2022)
- DOJ Cryptocurrency Enforcement Framework (October 2020) (Task Force Contributor)
- Money Moves: Following the Money Beyond the Banking System, 67 Journal of Federal Law and Practice 95 (Sept. 2019).
Involvement
Teaching
- Lecturer in Law, Corporate Criminal Investigations, Harvard Law School, 2018-present
- Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University Law Center, 2018-present
Clerkships
- Hon. Robert Boochever, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (1998-1999)