Merin P. Cherian

Merin Cherian’s practice focuses on representing companies and individuals in criminal and civil government enforcement actions and investigations. Ms. Cherian has advised on a variety of matters brought by the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Office of the New York Attorney General (NYAG) and other regulatory authorities. She also regularly conducts internal investigations and advises clients on compliance issues.

Ms. Cherian’s experience includes:

• defending a major U.S. investment advisor and numerous employees in parallel DOJ, SEC and CFTC investigations against alleged securities and commodities fraud violations, which resulted in a declination of criminal charges
• representing a billionaire entrepreneur in parallel insider trading investigations conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) and the SEC, as well as in securing a non-incarceration sentence
• representing a real estate development company in an SDNY investigation in connection with corruption charges brought against a former U.S. elected official, which resulted in no charges against the company
• advising a broker-dealer in parallel DOJ, SEC and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) investigations related to alleged anti-money laundering and compliance violations in connection with an individual customer
• defending a swap dealer in a CFTC investigation into potential price manipulation in swap transactions related to debt issuances, which was closed without charges
• advising a futures commission merchant in a CFTC investigation into alleged anti-money laundering and recordkeeping violations
• conducting internal investigations at a multinational company and a nonprofit organization in response to whistleblower allegations of alleged accounting fraud and other forms of financial misconduct
• representing senior individuals at companies being investigated by the DOJ and NYAG for alleged insider trading, fraud and money laundering violations
• conducting anti-bribery and anti-corruption deal diligence for multinational companies engaging in a prospective merger or acquisition

Ms. Cherian has also worked on a number of pro bono matters focusing on criminal defense and immigration. In one notable case, she helped to secure the exoneration of a client who was wrongfully convicted and incarcerated on murder charges for nearly 30 years in Connecticut. Under the Criminal Justice Act, she has represented indigent individuals facing federal narcotics trafficking, organized crime and weapons possession charges in SDNY and has helped secure favorable sentencing outcomes in multiple cases. She has also represented various immigration clients in U-Visa cases and asylum proceedings.