Richard S. Hartunian

Profile

Richard S. Hartunian offers clients the benefit of his decades of experience as lead government counsel in high-profile, high-stakes criminal and civil disputes.

Rick defends clients against allegations of white collar crime, healthcare fraud, BSA/AML violations, and environmental and defense procurement fraud, and advises on cross-border security and trade issues. He also helps clients manage crises that result from litigation and government enforcement efforts, particularly when investigations involve multiple agencies and jurisdictions.

During his tenure as United States attorney for the Northern District of New York, Rick served in national leadership positions as a member, vice chair and chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys, providing advice and guidance to the department’s leaders on the full range of criminal and civil issues affecting DOJ and United States Attorneys’ Offices nationally. While serving on this prestigious committee, he provided input for notable DOJ initiatives, such as the department’s Individual Accountability Policy in cases involving cooperation by corporations (the Yates Memo, September 2015), various DOJ discovery initiatives (including responses to calls for expansion of the DOJ’s discovery obligations from the judiciary and state bar associations) and the Associate Attorney General’s Civil Enforcement Cooperation Memo (September 2016). Within the Northern District of New York, Rick headed several key initiatives and prosecutions and strengthened his office’s Civil Division by emphasizing affirmative civil enforcement to combat healthcare, procurement and environmental fraud. Rick also worked closely with the FBI and U.S. Department of Homeland Security on cybercrime, including trade secret and customer data theft.

Prior to his appointment as U.S. attorney, Rick served as an assistant United States attorney (AUSA), where he investigated and prosecuted immigration, narcotics and violent crime offenses, as well as white collar cases, including tax and bankruptcy fraud matters. He also served as Narcotics chief and coordinator of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. As an AUSA, he gained vast experience working with all federal investigative agencies and their task forces, in addition to many state and local law enforcement agencies, and was recognized with several awards and case-related commendations.

Rick has substantial knowledge of and good working relationships with U.S. and Canadian border security agencies, enabling him to assist U.S. and Canadian businesses that have pressing border-related concerns. Rick also has experience with Native American tribal affairs and gaming matters.

Frequently interviewed by the legal press, Rick is also regularly invited to address both public and private organizations and bar associations.

Speaking Engagements

Regularly invited to address both public and private organizations, including county, state, federal and national bar associations. Recent engagements:

ACI Summit on Controlled Substances, May 2019

Association of Corporate Counsel, National Capital Region, May 2019

Armenian Bar Association Public Servants Dinner, April 2019

American Bar Association Health Law Symposium, November 2016

National Association of Former U.S. Attorneys, October 2016

Publications

Co-author, “Foreign Banks Should Remain Wary of US Sanctions Laws,” Law360, May 10, 2019.

Co-author, “America’s Opioid Crisis,” Bloomberg BNA’s Pharmaceutical Law & Industry Report, March 30, 2018.

Co-author, “The National Opioid Epidemic: The Emergence of a Multi-Layer Approach,” Law Journal Newsletters, February 1, 2018.

Select Media Mentions

“Richard Hartunian’s Fight Against Terrorism,” NewYorkUpstate.com, September 28, 2016.

“Northern District Federal Prosecutor Beefs Up Civil Enforcement,” New York Law Journal, September 1, 2016.

“Hartunian Testifies on Synthetic Drugs,” Justice.gov, June 7, 2016.

“Hartunian Testifies on Northern Border Security,” Justice.gov, April 22, 2015.

06.28.20

Hartunian Featured in Times Union on Recent U.S. Attorney Developments

Manatt investigations and white collar defense partner Richard Hartunian spoke with Times Union on the recent departure of U.S. Attorney ...
04.26.18

Hartunian Honored at Armenian Bar Association Public Servants Dinner

Manatt’s Richard Hartunian, a partner in the firm’s corporate investigations and white collar defense practice, was honored at the ...
02.10.18

Arrest of Star Percoco Witness Could Hurt Prosecution

Manatt’s Richard Hartunian, a partner in the firm’s corporate investigations and white collar defense practice, was quoted by the ...
01.09.18

Opioid Fraud Enforcement Top Priority for DOJ in 2018

Manatt’s Richard Hartunian, a partner in the firm’s corporate investigations and white collar defense practice, was quoted by Heal...

05.10.19

Foreign Banks Should Remain Wary of U.S. Sanctions Laws

While major enforcement actions against foreign banks for U.S. sanctions violations appear to have subsided over the past few years, recent ...

04.01.18

America’s Opioid Crisis

"The nation’s opioid epidemic claimed more than 42,000 lives in 2016, and experts fear it will get worse before it gets better. What can ...

02.01.18

The National Opioid Epidemic: The Emergence of a Multi-Layered ...

On Oct. 26, 2017, Eric D. Hargan, acting secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, announced that, as a result of the opioid ...

04.21.20

Anti-Money Laundering: What You Need to Know Now About the Updated ...
04.14.20

Bank Secrecy Act Compliance Issues for Small-Business Lending Under ...

With many banks and credit unions electing to limit Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to existing customers, many nonbank lenders are ...
04.09.20

False Claims Act Liability for Lenders Participating in the CARES Act ...

Although federal regulators repeatedly have assured banks that they can make Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans without fear of ...
04.08.20

Need-to-Know Developments in Compliance, Investigations and White ...

We hope this alert finds you, your families and your colleagues healthy and safe in these challenging times.

07.21.20

Hartunian to Serve as Co-chair for ACI’s Third Annual Summit on ...

Manatt’s Richard Hartunian, a partner in the firm’s investigations and white collar group, will co-chair the American Conference ...

06.30.20

Risky Business: Federal Procurement Fraud in a COVID-19 World

Federal contractors weren’t excluded from the huge federal funding initiatives rolled out to defeat COVID-19 and its impact. Whether under the ...

04.29.20

PPP Lending: Preparing for and Defending Against the New Wave of ...

PPP Lending: Preparing for and Defending Against the New Wave of Class Actions.

09.25.19

National Association of Former United States Attorneys 2019 Conference

Manatt is pleased to sponsor the National Association of Former United States Attorneys 2019 Conference to be held in San Francisco beginning on ...

Richard S. Hartunian

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Investigations and White Collar Defense

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