Valarie Hays concentrates her practice in white collar criminal defense, corporate compliance and complex civil litigation. Ms. Hays has represented executives and other management-level employees, corporations and governmental entities in internal investigations and investigations conducted by the federal government and state authorities. Ms. Hays also has advised board members, compliance officers, general counsel and senior management employees on how to develop, implement, and maintain effective compliance programs, including FCPA and health care compliance programs.
In her civil litigation practice, Ms. Hays has represented corporations and individuals in fraud, civil conspiracy, employment discrimination, negligence, breach of contract, trade secret, unfair competition and securities fraud matters.
Experience
Ms. Hays has represented individuals and businesses in the following types of internal investigations, corporate compliance matters and white collar criminal defense cases:
Accounting Fraud
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Company investigating improprieties related to holding back credits to artificially inflate revenue figures
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Executive under investigation for False Claims Act violations
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Company investigating employee accounting improprieties to cover up the theft of electronic goods; presented findings and recommendations to the company's general counsel
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Company investigating improprieties related to revenue recognition; presented findings and recommendations to the company's Chief Compliance Officer
Bank Fraud and Bank Regulatory Violations
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Multi-billion dollar company in connection with a FBI bank fraud investigation focusing on potential improprieties related to Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), collateral appraisals, lending decisions, and workouts; presented findings and recommendations to the bank's president, the CEO and other board members
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Multiple investigations involving potential FDIC regulatory violations, including improper lending and underwriting practices, appraisal procedures, and loan monitoring and failure to respond to FDIC regulatory warnings
Employment Law Violations
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Company investigating allegations of employment discrimination and employee privacy and safety violations
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Company investigating potential employee conflict of interest violations
Environmental Violations
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Executive called to testify before the Marine Board of Investigations related to the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico
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Gas company under federal investigation for Clean Water Act violations; after conducting an internal investigation at the company and presenting our findings, the prosecutors agreed to close the investigation
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Supervisor of oil company employee under federal investigation for environmental violations
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Company needing assistance with the development of an employee training program focusing on ensuring compliance with environmental regulations and avoiding violations of criminal environmental laws
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Electric company under investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency and sued by the Department of Justice for violations of the New Source Review, Prevention of Significant Deterioration provisions of the Clean Air Act
Extortion
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Individual charged in federal indictment with extortion
False Statements
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Executive of a company under investigation by the Department of Justice for making false statements to the United States Congress and other governmental agencies
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Other Anti-Bribery Laws
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Development of anti-bribery compliance policies and programs for corporate clients
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Pre-acquisition due diligence and due diligence on subsidiaries and third party agents of corporate clients to ensure compliance with the FCPA, the United Kingdom's Bribery Act, and other anti-bribery laws
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Corporate employee training on the FCPA and the United Kingdom’s Bribery Act
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Investigation of potential violations of the FCPA
Health Care Fraud
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Doctor in federal investigation of alleged billing improprieties
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Executive charged in federal indictment with participating in a scheme involving the illegal sale of prescription medications over the Internet
Public Corruption
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Chicago public entity and its employees during a federal investigation of alleged bribery
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A government agency in the state of Illinois in connection with the federal investigation of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich
Securities Fraud
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Oil and gas trader charged in a federal indictment with artificial manipulation of the price of propane
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Executive charged in a federal indictment with making false statements to investors in an oil well drilling program
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Partner and managers of accounting firm during a federal investigation and trials related to their former client's alleged misrepresentations to investors
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Individual under federal investigation for making false statements to investors related to a commercial real estate development project
Tax Fraud and Other Tax Violations
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Individual charged in a federal indictment with participating in a multi-million dollar tax fraud scheme; lead attorney in a three-week federal jury trial
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Public company investigating whether representations made by company executives to the Internal Revenue Service would be accurate.