A Conversation with Preet Bharara, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York

Preet Bharara, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York and one of The World's 100 Most Influential People in 2012 according to Time Magazine, will discuss prosecutions under President Obama's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants, including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants.

Presented By

The University of San Diego School of Law's Center for Corporate & Securities Law

Registration

There is no charge to attend the event, but reservations are required.

MCLE

The University of San Diego School of Law is a State Board of California-approved MCLE provider, and certifies that this event is approved for MCLE credit in the amount of 1.25 hours of general credit.

Review the suggested reading material for this event:

• What is Securities Fraud?
• Chasing the Greased Pig Down Wall Street

Affiliate Sponsor

About the Speaker

On May 15, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Preet Bharara to become the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Bharara's nomination was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate on August 7, 2009, and he was sworn in on August 13, 2009.

As US Attorney, Bharara oversees the investigation and litigation of all criminal and civil cases brought on behalf of the United States in the Southern District of New York. He supervises an office of more than 220 assistant U.S. attorneys, who handle a high volume of cases that include domestic and international terrorism, narcotics and arms trafficking, white collar crime, public corruption, gang violence, organized crime, and civil rights violations.

Bharara has applied renewed focus on large-scale, sophisticated financial frauds by creating two new units—the Complex Frauds Unit and the complementary Civil Frauds Unit. The Complex Frauds Unit is also uniquely situated to address the emerging threat of cybercrime.

Recognizing the growing nexus between international narcotics trafficking and terrorism, Bharara merged two previously independent units to form the Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. The unit works closely with partner agencies and international law enforcement, and is responsible for prosecuting leaders and associates of organizations that engage in transnational acts of terrorism, narco-terrorism, narcotics trafficking, and money laundering.

Under Bharara's supervision, the office continues to combat corruption in city and state government. The office remains at the forefront of prosecuting corruption in Albany and at the local level, bringing charges and securing convictions against multiple elected officials and other corrupt public servants.

Since Bharara's appointment, the office successfully extradited and prosecuted one of the most notorious arms traffickers in the world, Viktor Bout of Russia. The office also obtained a life sentence for Faisal Shahzad, the Times Square bomber and for one of the Al Qaeda plotters of the American Embassy bombings in East Africa. In addition, the office secured a 14-count conviction against Raj Rajaratnam, who received the longest sentence in history for insider trading, in addition to scores of other insider trading defendants. In an effort to make communities in the Southern District safer for residents, the office has prosecuted more than 400 members and associates of various gangs operating in the Bronx, Newburgh, Yonkers and other areas. Together with the Madoff Trustee, the office also achieved the largest forfeiture in U.S. history — $7.2 billion from the estate of Jeffrey Picower.

Bharara recently concluded a two-year term as a member of the Attorney General's Advisory Committee and as chair of its Subcommittee on White Collar Fraud. Bharara is currently co-chair of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Working Group of the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.

Prior to becoming US Attorney, Bharara served as chief counsel and staff director of the US Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts. During his tenure, he helped to lead the Senate Judiciary Committee investigation of the firing of United States Attorneys.

From 2000 to 2005, Bharara served as an Assistant US Attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted a wide range of cases involving organized crime, racketeering, securities fraud, money laundering, narcotics trafficking, and other crimes.

Bharara was a litigation associate in New York at Swidler Berlin Shereff Friedman from 1996 to 2000 and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher from 1993 to 1996. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College with an AB in Government in 1990, and from Columbia Law School with a JD in 1993, where he was a member of the Columbia Law Review.

Directions and Parking

Campus Map - Manchester Conference Center

From the North (Los Angeles, La Jolla)

• Use I-5 (South), exit at Sea World Drive and Tecolote Road.
• Turn Left on Tecolote Road. Right on Morena Blvd.
• Left on Napa Street to Linda Vista Road.
• Make a left at the 1st stoplight on Linda Vista Road onto Marian Way, USD's West Entrance.
• Stop at the entry kiosk to obtain a parking permit.
• Take first left after security booth and enter the West Parking Structure.
• Visitors may take the campus tram to the venue (Olin Hall stop), or walk up the hill.
• If you prefer to walk, the Manchester Conference Center is a seven minute walk up the hill and is on your right between Olin Hall and the School of Nursing.

From the South (Downtown, Convention Center)

• Use I-5 (North) to I-8 (East) and exit at the first exit, Morena Blvd.
• Follow Morena Blvd, and bear right onto Linda Vista Road.
• Make a left at the 1st stoplight on Linda Vista Road onto Marian Way, USD's West Entrance.
• Stop at the entry kiosk to obtain a parking permit.
• Take first left after security booth and enter the West Parking Structure.
• Visitors may take the campus tram to the venue (Olin Hall stop), or walk up the hill.
• If you prefer to walk, the Manchester Conference Center is a seven minute walk up the hill and is on your right between Olin Hall and the School of Nursing.

From the East

• Use I-8 (West), exit at Morena Blvd.Bear right onto Linda Vista Road.
• Make a left at the 2nd stoplight on Linda Vista Road onto Marian Way, USD's West Entrance.
• Stop at the entry kiosk to obtain a parking permit.
• Take first left after security booth and enter the West Parking Structure.
• Visitors may take the campus tram to the venue (Olin Hall stop), or walk up the hill.
• If you prefer to walk, the Manchester Conference Center is a seven minute walk up the hill and is on your right between Olin Hall and the School of Nursing.