Brad Gershel

Brad Gershel focuses his practice on advising corporate and individual clients in white collar civil and criminal matters, including government investigations, internal investigations and regulatory compliance. He regularly appears in New York state and federal courts, and has handled criminal and regulatory investigations concerning, for example, alleged violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, wire fraud and mail fraud, money laundering, the federal securities laws, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and misconduct surrounding government contract procurement.

In addition, Brad is a frequent contributor to Money Laundering Watch, Ballard Spahr's blog focused exclusively on money laundering issues, and a member of the firm's Virtual Currency Team.

Brad began his legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in Bronx County, New York.

Representative Matters

• Secured a favorable resolution for a leading celebrity and health & fitness media publisher in a Department of Justice ("DOJ") investigation of possible campaign finance violations in connection with the 2016 U.S. presidential election
• Secured a favorable resolution for a leading international professional services company in a New York State-agency investigation of alleged lobbying and procurement law violations
• A former federation president of FIFA charged with a conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, wire fraud, and money laundering, in a six-week federal criminal trial
• The CEO of a company that generated and sold virtual currency in parallel DOJ and Securities and Exchange Commission investigations of alleged wire fraud and securities fraud
• A senior trader in a New York Stock Exchange investigation of alleged mishandling of American Depository Receipts

Professional Activities

Federal Bar Council, Member, Committee on Sentencing and Alternatives to Incarceration

New York City Bar Association, Member, Criminal Advocacy Committee

Publications

Co-author, "1980s Sentencing Reform and Its Impact on Federal Plea Bargaining and the Trial Penalty," Federal Sentencing Reporter, Vol. 31, No. 4-5, April/June 2019

Co-author, "Money Laundering Watch: 2018 Year in Review," Ballard Spahr alert, January 2, 2019

Author, "Ballard Spahr Discusses SEC Case Against Clearing Broker Under Bank Secrecy Act," Columbia Law School's Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, January 2019

Co-author, "The Growing Risk of Providing Oral Summaries: Preserving Privilege in the Wake of SEC v. Herrera and the Government's Increasing Leverage to Obtain Such Disclosures," Business Crimes Bulletin, May 2018

Co-author, "Money Laundering Watch: 2017 Year in Review," Ballard Spahr alert, December 12, 2017

Co-author, "The SEC's New Enforcement Tool?" Law360, July 2017

Co-author, "SEC Embraces its New Enforcement Weapon: Anti-Money Laundering and Reporting Requirements Under the Bank Secrecy Act," Ballard Spahr article, June 20, 2017

Author, "Sentencing Synthetic Cannabinoid Offenders: No Cognizable Basis," American Criminal Law Review Online, 2017

Author, "Applying Double Effect in Armed Conflicts: A Crisis of Legitimacy," Emory International Law Review, 2013

Emory University School of Law (J.D. 2013)

Michigan State University (B.A. 2010)

New York

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York