Roberto Braceras, a partner in the firm’s Litigation Department, specializes in white collar criminal defense, securities fraud and complex commercial litigation. Mr. Braceras, a former federal prosecutor, has tried jury and non-jury cases in both state and federal court. He also has defended a variety of investigations before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and self-regulatory organizations.
In June 2011, Mr. Braceras was recognized by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly for “scor[ing] a big win” in a month-long jury trial for Philip Morris USA. He also achieved significant victories in two closely watched white collar and SEC cases, the Rorech insider trading case and the Lane securities fraud/revenue recognition case.
WORK FOR CLIENTS
Mr. Braceras has successfully represented Fortune 50 corporations, top financial firms, leading universities and individuals in a wide variety of government investigations and civil litigation involving securities fraud, health care fraud, insider trading, environmental crimes, export violations and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Such representations have resulted in declined prosecutions and favorable judgments and settlements.
Mr. Braceras’s recent representations include:
- PM USA, Inc. in Haglund v. PM USA, Inc., a wrongful death action in Massachusetts state court. After a month-long trial, the jury returned a complete defense verdict.
- Jon Paul Rorech, a Deutsche Bank trader, in SEC v. Rorech, et al., 09 Cv 4329 (S.D.N.Y.), the first-ever insider trading case involving credit default swaps. In June 2010, after a month-long trial, the court dismissed all charges against Mr. Rorech, providing Mr. Braceras’s client with a sweeping victory in a landmark case regarding sales practices in the fixed income markets.
- Richard Lane, the former President of the Worldwide Medicines division of Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), in criminal, SEC and private civil securities cases involving allegations of fraud in connection with so-called “channel stuffing” practices at BMS. In United States v. Fred Schiff and Richard Lane, 06 Cr. 406 (D.N.J.), after more than five years of pre-trial litigation, the district court dismissed the government’s primary theory of liability, a decision affirmed on appeal by the Third Circuit. All charges against Mr. Lane were later dismissed in connection with a deferred prosecution agreement with the government.
Among other past cases, Mr. Braceras successfully represented: (i) a national pension consulting firm in connection with claims relating to the Madoff ponzi scheme; (ii) Harvard University in False Claims Act litigation; (iii) several mutual fund complexes in market timing NASD, SEC and DOJ investigations; (iv) international corporations in FCPA investigations; and (v) pharmaceutical and medical device companies in cases involving claims of off-label marketing.
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
In 2011, U.S. Senator Scott Brown appointed Mr. Braceras to serve on a bi-partisan committee to screen candidates for federal judgeships in the District of Massachusetts. Previously, Mr. Braceras served, at the request of the U.S. District Court, as a member of a Federal Magistrate Merit Selection Panel. He also was a member (appointed by former Governor Mitt Romney) of both the Massachusetts Ballot Law Commission and the Massachusetts Judicial Nominating Commission.
Mr. Braceras currently serves on the board of the U.S. District Court Criminal Justice Act (CJA) Panel. As a member of the CJA panel, he represents indigent defendants pro bono in federal criminal cases. And he is a former member of the executive committee of the U.S. District Court’s civil Pro Bono program.
Mr. Braceras serves as the co-chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Section of the Boston Bar Association and is the chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals in the town in which he lives.
MEDIA
Mr. Braceras has written and lectured on issues related to white collar criminal defense, securities fraud and the False Claims Act. He is the author of: (i) “The False Claims Act and Universities: From Fraud to Compliance,” Treatise On College and University Law, published in 2009 by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education; (ii) “Late Trading and Market Timing,” The Review of Securities & Commodities Regulation (April 2004; also cited in GOA Report: Mutual Fund Trading Abuses, May 2005); (iii) “Market Timing and Late Trading: Criminalization or Regulation?,” an ABA-CLE publication on white collar crime (March 2004); (iv) “‘Corruptly Persuading’ The Obstruction of Justice,” White Collar Crime Reporter (May 2002); and (v) “Circuit Grapples with ‘Honest Services’ Fraud,” New York Law Journal (July 2002).
Mr. Braceras has been a featured speaker at the 2010 MCLE College & University Law Update; the U.S. District Court, Boston “Federal Bench Meets Bar” presentation; Hispanic National Bar Association Annual Convention, New York (panel on internal investigations); 18th Annual ABA National Institute on White Collar Crime, Miami (panel on securities enforcement); and 3rd Annual Minority Corporate Counsel Association CLE Expo, Chicago (panel on white collar investigations).
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Prior to joining Goodwin Procter, Mr. Braceras worked as a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice in the Criminal Division, Fraud Section. During his tenure with the Department of Justice, he investigated and prosecuted various complex federal crimes, including telemarketing fraud, money laundering, wire fraud and FCPA offenses. While with the Justice Department, Mr. Braceras represented the United States in Mexico City in discussions with the Mexican government concerning extradition issues. He also prosecuted local crimes with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and bank fraud cases with the New England Bank Fraud Task Force. As a prosecutor, he successfully tried numerous cases to verdict.
Immediately following law school, Mr. Braceras served as a law clerk to the Honorable Nathaniel M. Gorton of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
BAR AND COURT ADMISSIONS
Mr. Braceras is admitted to practice in the state and federal courts of Massachusetts and before the New York Supreme Court, and the U.S. District Courts for the Southern District of New York, the District of New Jersey and the District of Connecticut, as well as the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the First and Third Circuits.
RECOGNITION
In December 2009, Mr. Braceras was recognized by Massachusetts Lawyer’s Weekly on its “Power List” as one of the state’s “most influential attorneys.” In 2007, he was selected by the Boston Business Journal as one of the top 40 business leaders in Massachusetts under the age of 40. Mr. Braceras also was a recipient of the Attorney General’s Special Achievement Award for his performance as a Department of Justice prosecutor.