David is an accomplished trial attorney that specializes in complex criminal and civil litigation. He combines a practical, evidence-based, no-nonsense approach with deep expertise in criminal and civil cases. David was named a Litigation Star by Benchmark Litigation and has been repeatedly recognized by Chambers USA in the categories of White Collar Crime and Government Investigations and Healthcare. David has an impressive track record of success in both criminal and civil cases, including dismissals, deferred prosecutions, criminal declinations, and civil-only settlements in parallel cases. He co-founded AEL following a 12-year career as a federal prosecutor at two U.S. Attorney Offices where he held multiple supervisory positions and led some of the country’s most significant criminal and civil prosecutions.
David’s civil practice is focused on federal litigation arising under the False Claims Act (FCA) and Antikickback Statute (AKS) and complex commercial and business disputes in both state and federal courts. On the criminal side, David represents individual and institutional clients in matters involving allegations of federal healthcare fraud, government fraud (including COVID-19 fraud), bribery and public corruption , bank and wire fraud, FDA and USDA violations, computer fraud and abuse, tax fraud, money laundering, and identity theft. David has handled high-profile white collar criminal investigations and cases on behalf of business owners, c-suite executives, board members, doctors, lawyers, nurses, and other professionals. He leads sensitive internal investigations and represents corporate boards, hospital systems, and other large institutional clients.
David’s clients describe him “as practical and smart” with “great judgment” and “a deep knowledge of government investigations relating to healthcare and the False Claims Act” who “delivers consistently excellent results.” Clients have said:
“David is outstanding on the defense side. He cuts through issues, understands ridiculously complex material and applies his judgment to carve out a path.”
“David brings a wealth of experience handling criminal matters, whether at the corporate level or for individuals.”
“David is fantastic and has outstanding judgment. He is an excellent attorney and advocate.”
David has great experience on both the civil and criminal side which helps in seeing the big picture.”
“David is an outstanding healthcare and white-collar lawyer. He gains the highest praise and provides excellent client service.”
Before co-founding AEL, David had a distinguished career as a federal prosecutor in two different U.S. Attorneys’ Offices – the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) and the District of New Jersey (DNJ). He held multiple supervisory positions, including Chief of the Healthcare and Government Fraud Unit and Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, the number two position in the Criminal Division. David has served in both the Civil and Criminal Divisions and supervised both civil and criminal investigations, giving him unique expertise and insight in federal parallel investigations and cases.
Representative Matters
David’s exceptional results and representative matters include:
Dismissals and Other Notable Resolutions:
- Dismissal of all federal criminal charges alleging violations of the Antikickback Statute (AKS) against client operating a mobile COVID-19 testing business. Read more about the case here.
- Dismissal of federal healthcare fraud indictment against physician, who pled guilty to a superseding information charging him with a non-intent misdemeanor offense related to misbranded drugs. Doctor received a sentence of 1 year probation. Read more about the case here.
- Deferred prosecution and dismissal of federal criminal indictment alleging healthcare fraud against physician and negotiated civil-only global resolution of the charges. AEL also resolved the underlying qui tam complaint. Read more about the case here.
- Deferred prosecution and dismissal of federal assault charges filed against Special Agent with federal law enforcement.
- Obtained an administrative civil-only resolution in a New York State Department of Health investigation related to fraud in the reporting of vaccinations for school-age children.
- Negotiated stipulated plea and probationary sentence in a several years-long state healthcare fraud indictment. Doctor pled to a lesser included offense on a single count of an 878-count indictment and received a sentence of probation. The State also returned approximately $1 million in restrained assets and negotiated a contemporaneous resolution with NY OPMC regarding the doctor’s continued use of his NY State Medical License. Read more about the case here.
- Dismissal of all charges in an SBA loan fraud case on behalf of healthcare client.
- Probationary sentence for defendant charged in sprawling federal computer fraud conspiracy involving hundreds of millions of dollars of stolen credit card data.
- Probationary sentence for pharmacist charged in broad conspiracy involving allegations of kickbacks and billing fraud.
- Probationary sentence for office manager charged in multi-million dollar wire fraud conspiracy in the District of Maryland.
- Obtained a substantial downward variance for doctor charged in large-scale laboratory genetic testing fraud conspiracy.
- Civil-only resolution of parallel criminal/civil fraud and False Claims Act (FCA) investigation involving LI-based chiropractic practice.
- Civil-only resolution of parallel criminal/civil fraud and False Claims Act (FCA) investigation regarding NJ-based medical practice.
- Obtained no charges related to client’s participation in alleged pharmacy wholesale conspiracy.
- Obtained no charges related to client’s pharmacies implicated in controlled substances offenses and healthcare fraud.
Notable Representations
- Representing hospital system defendant in declined civil qui tam lawsuit alleging violations of the federal False Claims Act (FCA) and Antikickback Statute (AKS) in DNJ.
- Representing individual client in intervened civil qui tam lawsuit alleging violations of the federal False Claims Act (FCA) in SDNY.
- Pool counsel in federal parallel criminal and civil investigation of publicly-traded diagnostic laboratory company regarding alleged violations of the Antikickback Statute (AKS) in DNJ.
- Pool counsel in federal parallel criminal and civil investigation of national hospital system regarding alleged violations of the False Claims Act (FCA) and Antikickback Statute (AKS) in DNJ.
- Representing COVID-19 testing laboratory in federal criminal investigation in SDNY
- Representing c-suite executive in indicted healthcare fraud case related to compounding pharmacy alleging healthcare fraud conspiracy and violations of the Antikickback Statute (AKS) in DNJ.
- Representing pharmacy owner in federal criminal healthcare fraud indictment in the SDNY.
- Representing ophthalmologist and his medical practice in federal parallel criminal and civil investigation in DNJ.
- Represented client in securities fraud investigation conducted by the SEC related to cannabis investment startup.
- Served as testifying expert witness in an arbitration proceeding related to matters arising under the False Claims Act (FCA) and Antikickback Statute (AKS).
Prior Government Service and Community Engagement
Prior to co-founding AEL, David served for 12 years as a federal prosecutor. He tried over a dozen jury trials to verdict and prosecuted and supervised nationally-recognized fraud cases. He specialized in healthcare, cybercrime, bank/wire fraud, securities fraud, tax fraud and other major fraud cases. Among his many highlights as a prosecutor, he was one of a team of prosecutors that investigated and charged the “Newswire” case, a cutting edge “hacking and trading” conspiracy in which cybercriminals infiltrated major newswire agencies and then sold stolen material nonpublic information to securities traders before press releases were made public. He led the investigation of several qui tam / whistleblower cases arising under the False Claims Act, which implicated some of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturer and distribution companies in the world and led to over $1 billion in recoveries for the United States. He supervised the largest-ever Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) settlement with a pharmaceutical company. And, he investigated and prosecuted the largest-ever government fraud against the GI Bill. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, David was an associate at a prestigious international law firm in New York City where he focused on creditors’ rights and restructuring matters. He also served as a Law Clerk to the Honorable Stuart M. Bernstein, Chief Judge, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York.
David is a devoted dad and an active member of his community. He serves as the Vice President of a local non-profit youth travel baseball organization and has coached youth baseball and basketball. He is also the President of the Heckel Inn of Court.