Lawyer Bio : Mark Schamel

Mark Schamel is an experienced trial attorney who focuses his practice on white collar criminal defense, government investigations and complex civil litigation. He routinely represents individuals and corporations in high-profile cases in the Washington, D.C. metro area, across the United States and internationally. Mark vigilantly counsels clients through all aspects of a case and the related fallout in administrative, civil and related matters.

Mark handles a wide variety of white collar issues, including securities, health care, environmental crime, money laundering and RICO matters. His practice also includes handling False Claims Act (“qui tam”), antitrust, campaign finance and gaming law issues. Mark has represented clients in federal and state courts across the country in an array of matters, from the internal investigation, to grand jury, to trial. Mark has deep experience representing clients in appeals and in Congressional hearings. In addition, he regularly advises clients in cases involving federal government agencies, and state and local law enforcement.

Many of Mark’s cases have involved intense media and public scrutiny, including the defense of executives in some of the largest corporate fraud cases in American history.  He has defended numerous high ranking executives and general counsel at some of the world’s largest companies, as well as high profile members of various government agencies. He also represents professional athletes and law enforcement officers in often highly scrutinized investigations.  

In the community, Mark serves as an adjunct faculty member at the George Washington University School of Law, where he teaches trial skills and client interviewing techniques. He is an active member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) White Collar Crime Committee and the NACDL Sentencing Committee. Mark was named to Super Lawyers list of top Washington, D.C., Criminal Defense White Collar Lawyers (2011-2012).

Representative Matters:

FRAUD

• Defended executives of government contractors in fraud investigation by the Department of Justice and the Secret Service
• Represented physicians in drug diversion and prescription fraud cases
• Represented Ph.D. director of government laboratory in $8 million contract fraud investigation
• Represented Special Agent in charge of federal agency division for investigation into multi-million dollar contract procurement fraud
• Represented CEO of government contracting company in multi-million contract fraud with U.S. Department of State
• Obtained a complete dismissal of all charges at trial for a Maryland business owner stemming from an alleged counterfeiting conspiracy
• Successfully represented a marketing executive charged with a $25 million dollar wire fraud scheme in a month long trial
• Obtained a return of more than $2.1 million in seized funds on behalf of a client in Ohio, after being seized for allegedly being tied to illegal gambling and money laundering
• Obtained a significant sentencing departure for a client in United States District Court for the District of Columbia related to mail fraud and aggravated identity theft charges
• Defended a Maryland businessman facing federal money laundering charges
• Defended the Director of General Accounting of a Fortune 500 company in one of the largest criminal fraud cases in history
• Represented a director of a private secondary school in a criminal negligence and false statements investigation
• Represented a corporate officer in a $7 billion DOJ Ponzi Scheme prosecution
• Represented the General Counsel of a national union organization in a Department of Labor criminal investigation
• Represented a software company in an internal investigation into possible fraud

PUBLIC CORRUPTION AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE

• Successfully represented a Congressional candidate in a campaign finance investigation
• Represented the Treasurer of a Senate Candidate in a Department of Justice Campaign Finance investigation
• Represented a campaign donor in the Campaign Finance Taskforce investigation to a sitting United States Senator
• Represented Senior Elective Services (SES) employee in Department of Justice Public Integrity criminal bribery investigation
• Represented Senior elective Services in criminal investigation at Agency for International Development (AID)
• Represented a Lt. Governor in a Department of Justice public corruption investigation
• Defended the chief engineer of a state department of transportation in a DOJ bribery prosecution
• Represented local elected official at trial on claims of civil rights violations

ENVIRONMENTAL

• Resolved a high-profile environmental dispute involving potential felony charges for a beach resort, saving the client from a criminal charge and likely prison sentence and from paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines
• Successfully defended the Director of Environmental Compliance for a mid-Atlantic paper mill as part of a Department of Justice Environmental Crime investigation and prosecution
• Represented the Director of Safety for a publicly traded energy company in a DOJ grand jury investigation into an alleged cover-up following the electrocution death of an employee

VIOLENT CRIME

• Defended law enforcement officers and agencies in excessive force and brutality cases
• Represented a federal agent charged with homicide and false statements
• Defended professional athletes in a wide array of criminal cases
• Obtained dismissal at preliminary hearing of a rape case against a D.C. real estate executive
• Obtained the release of a Washington, D.C., client held on charges of Assault With Intent to Kill While Armed
• Obtained a complete dismissal of felony destruction of property charges for a client charged as part of a multi-jurisdictional investigation
• Obtained the dismissal of all felony assault charges in D.C. Superior Court against the owner/manager of a popular nightclub and restaurant who was charged with felony assault
• Obtained an acquittal on all charges in D.C. Superior Court for an executive at Booze Allen Hamilton originally charged with felony assault
• Obtained a dismissal of felony assault charges against a senior engineer with an international government technology services company
• Convinced Virginia state prosecutors not to file sexual assault charges and instead to close the case against their client, a junior executive for a Fortune 500 company that provides business outsourcing solutions
• Obtained complete dismissal of all charges for a State Department employee charged with hate crime assault and threats in the D.C. Superior Court
• Earned a dismissal of all charges against a federal ATF agent who had been charged in the U.S. Virgin Islands with second-degree murder

CIVIL AND ADMINISTRATIVE

• Represented two executives of a multi-million dollar defense contractor in obtaining their removal from the Excluded Parties List (EPL) at the Government Services Administration (GSA), which bars them and their employer from doing business with the government
• Represented accountant convicted of role in billion dollar fraud in obtaining removal from the EPL
• Represented Senior Executive Service (SES) employee at the GSA in obtaining reversal of inclusion on EPL
• Represented government contractor in civil legal malpractice suit against government contracts attorney
• Represented Maryland business owner against Department of Justice for return $800,000 seizure of assets under Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act (CAFRA)