What should I do if I receive a subpoena, a target letter, or a call from a federal agent?

Contact an attorney before you answer any questions, respond to the request, or produce any documents. Preserve every potentially relevant document and communication, including emails, text messages, and files, since destroying or altering records after a request arrives can create separate criminal exposure on its own. An attorney can help determine whether you are being treated as a witness, a subject, or a target, and can advise on how and whether to respond. Making a false statement to a federal investigator is itself a separate federal crime under 18 U.S.C. § 1001 , so it is important to never guess or speculate when answering a government agent’s questions.

What is the difference between white collar criminal defense and a civil or regulatory enforcement matter?

The same underlying conduct in a white collar matter can trigger a criminal prosecution, a civil lawsuit, and an administrative or regulatory proceeding at the same time, often before different agencies and under different legal standards. A criminal case requires the government to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and can result in prison time, while civil and regulatory matters typically involve a lower burden of proof and financial or license-related consequences instead. Decisions made early in a white collar criminal defense, such as what to say in an interview, can affect a parallel civil or regulatory case months later, which is why the criminal and regulatory response needs to be coordinated from the outset rather than handled separately.

Has FCPA enforcement changed recently, and how does that affect my company's risk?

Yes. A 2025 executive order paused new FCPA enforcement for up to 180 days, and the Department of Justice’s June 2025 guidelines resumed enforcement with a narrower focus on cartel-connected conduct, harm to US business competitiveness, and individual rather than corporate liability. The statute and its five-year limitations period remain fully in effect, so this is a shift in enforcement priorities, not a change in what the law prohibits. Companies should keep compliance programs current rather than treat the pause as a reason to relax them.

What is the False Claims Act, and does North Carolina have its own version?

The federal False Claims Act imposes treble damages and per-claim penalties on anyone who knowingly submits a false or fraudulent claim for payment to the federal government, and it allows private whistleblowers to file qui tam suits on the government’s behalf. North Carolina has its own False Claims Act, enforced by the North Carolina Attorney General, that applies the same treble damages and qui tam structure to false claims made against the state, including Medicaid billing. A single billing or reporting scheme can create liability under both the federal and state statutes at the same time.

If our internal investigation finds something that could be a government matter, should we self-report?

That depends on the facts. Voluntary disclosure can reduce penalties and demonstrate good faith to a regulator, but it also starts a process that is hard to stop once it begins. Ward and Smith’s Internal Investigations team and this group work that decision together: the Internal Investigations team can tell you what the facts actually show, and this group can tell you how the government is likely to receive them. See Ward and Smith’s Internal Investigations page for how that internal process works.

Can a single set of facts lead to criminal, civil, and regulatory exposure at the same time?

Yes. The same conduct can lead to a criminal prosecution, a civil lawsuit, and a regulatory or administrative proceeding running in parallel. Handling these tracks together, rather than letting each proceed on its own, helps a client avoid a decision in one proceeding, such as an admission made during a regulatory interview, that later undermines the company’s position in the criminal or civil matter.

Does the group represent individuals as well as companies, and how are conflicts handled?

Yes. The group represents executives, employees, and other individuals, as well as companies, boards, and committees. In some matters, the interests of a company and an individual within it diverge, for example when a company wants to cooperate with the government on terms that are not in a particular employee’s interest. Ward and Smith evaluates these conflicts at the outset of a matter and advises on separate counsel where the company’s and the individual’s interests cannot both be served by the same lawyer.

Does Ward and Smith handle these matters outside North Carolina and South Carolina?

Yes. The group represents clients in federal and state matters nationwide and in cross-border investigations, working alongside local counsel in other jurisdictions when a matter requires it.

White Collar Defense & Investigations NC

A subpoena, a search warrant, or an unexpected call from a federal agent changes what a business needs from its lawyers overnight.

Ward and Smith’s White Collar and Investigations Practice Group, led by Dan Becker, represents companies, boards, executives, and individuals across North Carolina and South Carolina in federal and state government investigations, enforcement actions, and criminal prosecutions.

Dan spent nearly a decade as a white collar litigation associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in New York and Washington, DC, followed by seven years leading investigations and compliance from inside KPMG’s Office of General Counsel, and he is based in the firm’s Wilmington office. Amy Fitzhugh, a former prosecutor and the former Chief Legal Officer of the North Carolina Board of Nursing, is also part of the team.

A white collar matter rarely stays in one lane. The same set of facts can draw a criminal referral, a civil lawsuit, and a regulatory inquiry at the same time, often from different agencies working on different timelines. A response built for only one of those tracks can damage a client’s position on the other two, which is why Ward and Smith evaluates every matter across all three from the first call.

Dan built his practice on both sides of a government inquiry. At KPMG, he oversaw the firm’s intake and escalation of whistleblower reports, built the internal investigations manual used to standardize how matters were triaged and documented, and co-designed an anti-bribery and anti-corruption training program completed by more than 23,000 professionals. At Skadden, he worked the other side of the table, representing companies and executives directly with the SEC and DOJ in FCPA, financial fraud, and insider trading matters. That combination means he can tell a client not just what the law requires, but what a regulator or an internal compliance team is actually looking for when they open a file.

What We Handle

We assist companies, not-for-profits, and individuals with issues such as:

Grand jury proceedings and federal criminal investigations, from the first contact with an agent through indictment
Federal criminal litigation, from indictment through trial, sentencing, and appeal
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and cross-border anti-corruption investigations and enforcement defense
SEC and DOJ enforcement matters, including financial statement fraud and accounting fraud investigations
Securities fraud and insider trading defense for executives and individuals
False Claims Act defense, including qui tam whistleblower suits and government-initiated claims under federal and North Carolina law
Anti-bribery and anti-corruption (ABAC) compliance program design, risk assessment, and training
Subpoenas, search warrants, and civil investigative demands
Professional licensing investigations and state attorney general investigations
Regulatory agency inquiries across industries including healthcare, financial services, and government contracting
Government contracting fraud matters
Tax offense investigations and defense

Clients We Serve

Most of our clients are companies and the boards and audit committees overseeing them, brought in the moment a government inquiry or an internal finding raises the possibility of an enforcement action. A company with cross-border operations facing FCPA or anti-corruption scrutiny needs a different kind of coordination than a government contractor facing a False Claims Act investigation, and this group handles both regularly, along with healthcare providers and other professionally licensed businesses answering to a regulatory board or a state attorney general.

We also represent individuals directly: executives and employees who face exposure apart from their company’s, and anyone who receives a subpoena, a target letter, or a request for an interview and needs to know what that actually means before responding.

When a company’s interests and an individual’s interests inside it start to diverge, as sometimes happens once a government inquiry is underway, that is often the point at which the individual needs a lawyer of their own rather than relying on company counsel.

Deciding Whether to Bring a Matter to the Government

Government investigations often begin somewhere other than a knock on the door. A whistleblower report, an audit finding, or an internal investigation can surface conduct that raises the question of whether to self-report to the government before the government finds it independently.

When Ward and Smith’s Internal Investigations team turns up a finding that could create government exposure, this group steps in to help the client decide what comes next, including:

Evaluating voluntary disclosure obligations and benefits
Assessing potential legal exposure and mitigation strategies
Advising on personnel actions and disciplinary measures
Managing shareholder and stakeholder communications
Coordinating with auditors and other external advisors

FCPA Enforcement: What Changed in 2025

On February 10, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order pausing new Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations and enforcement actions for up to 180 days and directing the Department of Justice to issue revised enforcement guidelines.

On June 9, 2025, the Department of Justice issued those guidelines, resuming FCPA enforcement with a narrower focus: misconduct connected to cartels and transnational criminal organizations, conduct that harms the competitiveness of US businesses, and individual rather than corporate liability.

The FCPA statute itself, codified at 15 U.S.C. §§ 78dd-1 et seq., was not changed by the pause, and its five-year statute of limitations means conduct from several years ago remains open to investigation. Companies with international operations should treat the current period as a time to tighten compliance programs, not relax them.

The False Claims Act in North Carolina

Healthcare providers, government contractors, and other businesses that bill federal or state programs face exposure under two overlapping statutes. The federal False Claims Act, codified at 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729–3733, imposes treble damages and a per-claim penalty on anyone who knowingly submits a false or fraudulent claim for payment to the federal government, and it allows a private whistleblower to bring a qui tam lawsuit on the government’s behalf under 31 U.S.C. § 3730.

North Carolina has its own version, the North Carolina False Claims Act, codified at N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 1-605 through 1-618, which applies the same treble damages and qui tam structure to false claims against the state, including Medicaid billing, and is enforced by the North Carolina Attorney General.

A single billing scheme can create exposure under both statutes at the same time, and a defense built around only the federal claim can miss the state exposure entirely.

Representative Experience

Dan handled these matters while in private practice and in-house, before joining Ward and Smith:

Represented the audit committee of a global healthcare company in an SEC and DOJ investigation of alleged FCPA violations involving third-party distributor relationships and interactions with government officials across multiple foreign jurisdictions
Represented a global pharmaceutical company in an internal investigation of potential FCPA violations at an Eastern European business unit
Represented a global media company in an SEC and DOJ investigation of alleged financial fraud and bribery at its Chinese subsidiary
Conducted an internal investigation of alleged accounting fraud at a global travel company
Defended the chief financial officer of a US corporation in an SEC and DOJ investigation of alleged insider trading and securities fraud

Why Ward and Smith

Dan Becker leads this practice from Ward and Smith’s Wilmington office, bringing more than 15 years of experience that includes nearly a decade as a white collar litigation associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and seven years leading investigations and compliance from inside KPMG’s Office of General Counsel.

He holds a J.D. from Duke University School of Law and a B.A. from Cornell University, and he is a Leadership Professional in Ethics & Compliance through the Ethics & Compliance Initiative.

Amy Fitzhugh, a former prosecutor and the former Chief Legal Officer of the North Carolina Board of Nursing, brings direct experience with professional licensing boards and regulatory enforcement to the team.

Chris Edwards, a North Carolina Board Certified Specialist in Appellate Practice, handles the appeals that can follow a criminal conviction, an enforcement judgment, or a licensing board decision.

When a government inquiry touches operations in both Carolinas, the same firm that handles the federal matter can also cover the state regulatory, tax, employment, and real estate issues the investigation surfaces, without bringing in a second law firm to manage those pieces.