Scott Armstrong is an accomplished and skilled trial lawyer. Scott joined McGovern Weems after serving at DOJ’s Fraud Section for nearly a decade, where he tried and investigated complex cases in federal courts across the United States. Scott now defends individuals and companies in high-stakes investigations, disputes, and at trial.

At McGovern Weems, Scott defends executives, traders, and other professionals facing complex investigations and criminal charges. He provides clients with creative and tenacious defenses against a range of allegations and offenses, including securities fraud, insider trading, healthcare fraud, procurement fraud, computer fraud, violations of the Controlled Substances Act, and money laundering.

Scott has the credibility and experience – including thirteen federal jury trials at DOJ involving complex fraud in the healthcare industry and the markets for securities, commodities, and cryptocurrencies – to vigorously defend clients and, if necessary, vindicate their rights at trial.

In the securities and commodities markets, Scott has first-chair experience in fraud and manipulation cases across a range of financial products, including U.S. Treasuries, cryptocurrencies, futures, equities, and private investments.

In the healthcare industry, Scott draws on his DOJ experience as lead counsel in cases totaling over $600 million in false and fraudulent claims involving Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare and other programs, to defend executives, physicians, and nurses against a range of allegations. Given his role as the Director of DOJ’s Appalachian Regional Prescription Drug Task Force (“ARPO”), Scott also defends medical professionals in matters involving violations of the Controlled Substances Act. 

In the cryptocurrency markets, Scott relies on his trial experience involving cryptocurrency schemes, deep experience in “Defi,” blockchains, and wallet tracing to defend clients in every corner of the evolving and complex market.

Scott also defends clients in business disputes and investigations by regulatory authorities, including the SEC, CFTC, FINRA, and the Department of Health and Human Services.

Before his time at the Department of Justice, Scott worked at an international law firm in D.C. where he participated in the defense of individuals at trial, including an in-house attorney who was acquitted at trial of obstruction charges, a former Blackwater security guard tried over ten weeks for his role during a shootout in Iraq, and an executive who was acquitted at trial of charges relating to the BP oil spill.

Whatever the case, Scott brings first-chair trial experience and exceptional advocacy to defend clients at every stage of a proceeding.

Scott Armstrong

Principal

202.978.1267
scott@mcgovernweems.com

Linkedin

EDUCATION:

George Washington University School of Law, J.D. 
cum laude

Tufts University, B.A.

GOVERNMENT SERVICE:

Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Fraud Section

  • Assistant Chief, Market Integrity and Major Fraud Section
  • Director, Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid Strike Force
  • Trial Attorney, Healthcare Fraud Unit

ADMISSIONS:

District of Columbia

Maryland

District Court for the District of Columbia

During his nine years at the Fraud Section, Scott served in both the Healthcare Fraud Unit and the Market Integrity and Major Fraud Unit. Across the Units, he tried thirteen complex, high-profile jury trials in federal courts around the country. Scott now represents executives and professionals in a range of white-collar matters.

Securities and Commodities

At the Fraud Section, Scott was co-lead trial counsel in a groundbreaking trial against senior traders at the world’s largest banks who schemed to manipulate the futures markets for precious metals.

Scott also served as lead trial counsel against two defendants for their respective roles in running a Ponzi scheme through private startups for cattle and marijuana and laundering over $650 million through financial institutions.

Scott draws on his extensive trial experience to defend individuals against various allegations of impropriety across the financial markets, including insider trading, “cherry picking” by investment-fund managers, price manipulation of securities and commodities, and private-investment fraud.

Cryptocurrency Markets

At the Fraud Section, Scott was the lead counsel in the first-ever conviction at trial against a cryptocurrency executive who conspired to manipulate the price and market volume of a cryptocurrency with over $300 million in fraudulent trades and orders.

Scott also supervised a team of prosecutors who investigated and charged fraud and manipulation in the cryptocurrency markets.

Scott now defends individuals in cases involving allegations of “rug pulls,” “pig butchering,” NFT fraud, price and volume manipulation of tokens, and fraud relating to cryptocurrency investments.

Healthcare Industry

At the Fraud Section, Scott served as trial counsel in nine jury trials involving multimillion-dollar fraud schemes of healthcare executives, physicians, and registered nurses.

Scott defends executives and medical professionals against allegations and charges of healthcare fraud, violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute, and the diversion of prescription opioids and other controlled substances.

Whether an executive, physician, or medical professional, Scott defends his clients by leveraging his substantial trial experience in healthcare cases, familiarity with healthcare rules and regulations, and ease with complex claims data.

Government Matters

Representative Cryptocurrency Matters

  • Served as lead trial counsel in the first-ever trial conviction for conspiracy to commit securities price manipulation under Title 15 involving a cryptocurrency and over $300 million in spoof orders and wash trades placed via an automated trading bot.
  • Served as lead counsel in the first-ever criminal “cherry picking” scheme against a commodity-trading advisor and CEO of an investment firm that traded cryptocurrency futures.
  • Co-led and supervised an investigation into a former FINRA-registered broker and investment banker at a financial institution who pleaded guilty to defrauding investors as to investments in a private cryptocurrency fund.

Representative Securities and Commodities Matters

  • Served as co-lead trial counsel against two senior traders at Bank of America who were convicted after a two-week trial for defrauding other market participants in a years-long manipulation scheme in the futures markets for several precious metals.
  • Served as lead trial counsel against two defendants convicted after a two-week trial for misleading and defrauding private investors in a Ponzi scheme and laundering approximately $650 million through financial institutions.
  • Served as lead counsel against a senior trader at a financial institution charged with securities manipulation and wire fraud for a scheme to manipulate the prices of U.S. Treasuries and defraud other market participants.

Representative Healthcare Matters

  • Served as lead counsel against nine defendants, including three company presidents, two physicians, and two pharmacists, for a $126 million scheme involving compounded medications that were prescribed in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute.
  • Served as lead trial counsel against three defendants, including a physician and two clinic owners, convicted after a week-long trial for a $26 million scheme involving claims paid by Medicare for medical services that were medically unnecessary and fraudulently induced by kickbacks.
  • Served as lead trial counsel in the Fraud Section’s first-ever use of data analytics to investigate, prosecute, and convict after a two-week trial a physician and clinic owner for conspiring to dispense unlawfully over 2 million opioid pills.
  • Served as lead trial counsel against a registered nurse and Director of Nursing at a health clinic convicted after a week-long trial for a $20 million scheme involving claims paid by Medicare for medical services that were medically unnecessary and fraudulently induced by kickbacks.
  • Served as co-lead trial counsel against a physician convicted following a week-long trial for unlawfully prescribing medical injections and other medical services in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute.

Representative Corporate Investigations

  • Served as co-lead counsel in securing a $2.5 billion deferred prosecution agreement against The Boeing Company for concealing from federal regulators flight-control information on the 737 MAX.
  • Served as co-lead counsel in securing a $15.5 million deferred prosecution agreement against TD Securities (USA) LLC for a senior trader’s scheme to manipulate prices and defraud market participants in the markets for U.S. Treasuries.
  • Two-time recipient of the Assistant Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service
  • The Assistant Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service 
  • Office of the Inspector General, Department of Transportation, Alexander Hamilton Award