Arnold Spencer

Managing Partner

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Representing Executives and Corporations in Economic Fraud Matters

Mr. Spencer is the founding member of Spencer & Associates, a law firm specializing in economic fraud and compliance matters. For more than twenty five years, Mr. Spencer has both prosecuted and defended clients in investigations and litigation. He regularly defends clients accused of securities fraud, wire and mail fraud, cryptocurrency fraud, money laundering. On the compliance side, he consults with companies regarding best practices to meet and exceed regulatory requirements. Having served as the Asset Forfeiture Chief in one of the busiest asset forfeiture programs in the country, he has handled hundreds of asset forfeiture matters.

Mr. Spencer represents companies and individuals in federal court and before federal agencies. He has represented companies before the SEC, CFTC, FBI, Homeland Security, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, NYDFS, and state Departments of Banking and Securities, as well as federal and state grand juries. Often times, Mr. Spencer is called upon to craft defense strategies in parallel civil, criminal and administrative lawsuits. Recent representative cases include:

• Defending the Chief Executive Officer of a cryptocurrency company who was a decorated Marine and who was indicted in the Southern District of New York for securities and wire fraud, and who was sued by the SEC and CFTC for fraud; Mr. Spencer obtained a dismissal of the criminal case and successfully resolved the SEC and CFTC charges.
• Defending the Chief Accounting Officer of a publicly traded company who was being investigated by federal law enforcement agencies, sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission, named as a defendant in a securities fraud class-action, and the subject of an administrative proceeding by the state accounting board; Mr. Spencer successfully resolved all matters for his client without any sanction in any proceeding, other than a minimal fine assessed by the SEC.
• Defending a former Dallas Cowboys professional football player accused of criminal and civil fraud and false claims; Mr. Spencer’s client resolved all allegations in a civil settlement for less than one third of one percent of the alleged loss.
• Representing a publicly traded company in the highway safety products industry which was the subject of federal and state criminal allegations, two civil False Claim Act trials, class-action lawsuits, state Attorney General investigations and multiple, product-liability lawsuits; the company was absolved of all liability in every case.

Mr. Spencer is recognized by peers and judges as an accomplished trial lawyer. However, he believes that the best results for his clients are often achieved by avoiding litigation or by using procedural motion practice to achieve a pre-trial dismissal.

From 2000 to 2010, Mr. Spencer served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Texas. He specialized in securities fraud, financial fraud, and money laundering prosecutions, and prosecuted more than 100 federal cases. Mr. Spencer was selected as one of the trial lawyers that prosecuted criminal violations arising from the collapse of Enron. Among other high profile cases, he prosecuted a nationwide, securities fraud case involving real estate and automobile financing, and obtained one of the longest sentences ever imposed by a federal judge for money laundering violations. The U.S. Attorney General awarded Mr. Spencer the John Marshall Award, the highest award presented to a Justice Department attorney for contributions and excellence in legal performance.

Mr. Spencer previously was a partner at Akin Gump and Haynes & Boone in Dallas. He graduated from Amherst College and the University of Texas Law School. He has been married to Mary McClendon Spencer for 23 years, and has two boys, ages 18 and 20. He has served as the Senior Warden at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church and as a Trustee of St. Philips School and Community Center.

Areas of Practice

• Federal Criminal Defense
• Asset Forfeiture (State and Federal)
• SEC/CFTC Defense
• Compliance – Financial Institutions
• Cryptocurrency
• False Claim Act / Qui Tam

Bar Admissions

• Texas, 1994
• Northern District of Texas, 1994
• Eastern District of Texas, 1995
• Western District of Texas, 2020
• Colorado, 2021

Education

• The University of Texas School of Law, Austin, Texas
  • J.D. - 1994
• Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts
  • B.A. - 1988
  • Honors: cum laude
  • Honors: With High Distinction
  • Honors: With High Honors
  • Major: Economics
  • Major: English

Honors and Awards

• Super Lawyers, 2020-Present
• Super Lawyers, Rising Stars, 2007
• Dept of Justice, Attorney General’s John Marshall Award, 2006
• SEC Courage and Honor Award, 2005
• American Journal of Criminal Law, Distinguished Staff, 1994
• Cum Laude, Amherst College, 1988

Past Employment Positions

• Dept of Justice, Asst. United States Attorney, Eastern Texas, 2000-2010
• Haynes and Boone, LLP., Partner, 2010-2012
• Akin Gump, Partner, 2012-2016
• Coinsource, General Counsel, 2016-2020
• Blockcap, General Counsel, 2020