McGuireWoods LLP

Jason Cowley, a former federal prosecutor, is a member of the firm’s Government Investigations and White Collar Litigation department and its Securities Enforcement and Litigation practice group. He principally represents financial institutions (including investment funds), corporations, and executives in criminal investigations and trials, regulatory enforcement proceedings, and complex civil litigation. He also conducts internal investigations, undertakes transactional diligence, and advises on compliance matters. Jason has a particular expertise in matters involving securities and commodities fraud, cross-border enforcement issues, anti-money laundering issues, and criminal and civil asset forfeiture.

Prior to joining McGuireWoods, Jason served for over 13 years in the Department of Justice as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York and, prior to that, the Eastern District of North Carolina. In the Southern District of New York, he held key leadership positions, serving for over three years as Co-Chief of SDNY’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force and as Chief of SDNY’s Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture Unit.

As a Chief of SDNY’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force, Jason supervised a team of approximately twenty senior prosecutors. He oversaw the investigation and prosecution of various white collar offenses, including insider trading, accounting fraud, corporate embezzlement, investment advisor fraud, market manipulation, hedge fund and private equity fund overvaluation, and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. In this position, he worked with a variety of domestic and foreign regulatory entities, including the SEC, CFTC, FERC, FINRA, PCAOB, NYSE, and the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority.