Case results
/
Criminal Defense
Outcome
Dismissed
Charges dismissed before trial
A finance executive charged with fraud walked away without a plea after we showed the prosecution’s key evidence could not be used.
Practice
Criminal Defense
Year
2025
Court
Manhattan Criminal Court
Duration
5 months
Lead attorney
Marcus Hale
01 · The challenge
A case built on one witness
Our client, a senior finance executive, was charged with scheme to defraud after a former colleague went to prosecutors with a set of internal emails.
The charges threatened his licence and his career. The prosecution expected a quick plea.
Charges
Scheme to defraud, 2 counts
Exposure
Up to 4 years
Evidence
Internal emails, one witness
02 · Our approach
Three moves in five months
We treated the first month as trial preparation, not plea negotiation.
01
Weeks 1–2
Secure the evidence
We preserved the full email server and the witness’s own messages before they could be lost.
02
Months 1–3
Test the witness
Discovery showed the witness had been offered immunity and had edited the emails he handed over.
03
Months 4–5
Move to dismiss
We moved to suppress the altered emails and to dismiss for insufficient evidence.
03 · The outcome
Every count dismissed
The court suppressed the altered emails and the prosecution dismissed both counts. No plea, no record, and our client returned to work the following week.
2
Counts dismissed
0
Pleas entered
5
Months from arrest to dismissal
In their words
“Marcus told me on day one that the emails would not survive scrutiny. He was right, and he never once suggested I plead.”
Former CFO
Financial services, New York · name withheld
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