MIAMI – March 13, 2020 – Greenberg Traurig, P.A. Litigation Practice Shareholder Jared E. Dwyer achieved the rare victory of a new trial in federal court for client Richard Boncy on March 11 in United States of America v. Roger Richard Boncy.
Dwyer, who also is a member of the firm’s Miami office White Collar Defense & Special Investigations Practice, was able obtain a new trial for Boncy, who is alleged to have violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the Travel Act. To achieve this, Dwyer argued that counsel for the co-defendant in the matter, Joseph Baptiste, exhibited poor performance at trial, prejudiced Boncy, and that Boncy deserved a new trial. The court agreed, finding “a new trial is warranted as to Defendant Boncy because [the co-defendant’s counsel’s] deficient representation resulted in Defendant Boncy’s counsel having to play an outsized role at trial rather than pursue his preferred defense strategy for his own client.”
The court has scheduled a status conference for March 18 to set a new trial in the matter.
“I am extremely excited and happy with the news, which reinforces the importance that every defendant is entitled to justice and fairness. This entire process has been difficult for Mr. Boncy,” Dwyer said. “Having achieved the new trial, where my team will continue to fight for the right result, we are confident that we can help Mr. Boncy put all of these matters behind him.”
Boncy is a Haitian national and U.S. citizen the federal government alleged had conspired to funnel bribes from the non-profit National Organization for the Advancement of Haitians, to high-level Haitian government officials. He was charged with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the Travel Act; substantive violation of the Travel Act; and conspiracy to launder money. If convicted on all charges, Boncy faced a possible 50-year prison sentence.
Prior to the March 11 decision, Dwyer was successful in achieving acquittals for Boncy on all charges except for one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA and the Travel Act.
Dwyer focuses his practice on white collar criminal matters, criminal and civil tax litigation, and other complex civil litigation. He has tried more than 40 jury and non-jury trials and has been involved in over 100 investigations and prosecutions, many of which included complex fraud and regulatory matters. Dwyer leverages his experience to represent individuals and organizations in investigations and other proceedings concerning tax fraud, money laundering, public corruption, complex international financial crime, financial institution fraud, and violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, among others. Prior to joining Greenberg Traurig, he served for ten years as a federal prosecutor, first as a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Enforcement Section, Tax Division.
Other attorneys in the Greenberg Traurig team were Boston office Shareholder Mark A. Berthiaume and Miami office Of Counsel Jay A. Yagoda and Associate Stephanie Peral.
About Greenberg Traurig, LLP: Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has approximately 2200 attorneys in 41 locations in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, diversity, and innovation, and is consistently among the largest firms in the U.S. on the Law360 400 and among the Top 20 on the Am Law Global 100. Web: www.gtlaw.com Twitter: @GT_Law.