Education
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University of Virginia School of Law, J.D., 1999
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Washington and Lee University, B.A., 1993
Bar Admissions
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District of Columbia
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Georgia
Awards and Honors
- Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service
- Department of Justice Special Achievement Award
- Department of Justice Meritorious Service Award
- HHS Office of Inspector General’s Cooperative Achievement Award
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A former federal prosecutor, Jay Darden defends individuals and companies in white-collar criminal matters and government investigations. Mr. Darden focuses his practice on alleged health care fraud and abuse, including matters under the False Claims Act; actions and investigations under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA); and other white collar matters.
Before joining Patton Boggs, Mr. Darden served in the Justice Department as Assistant Chief of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. As Assistant Chief of the Fraud Section, Mr. Darden supervised the investigation and prosecution of health care fraud and anti-kickback violations nationwide. Mr. Darden played a pivotal leadership role in the implementation and success of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, part of the Administration’s Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative. For his work combating health care fraud, Mr. Darden received the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service, the second-highest award given by the Justice Department.
While at the Justice Department, Mr. Darden also personally investigated and prosecuted violations of the FCPA. He was the lead prosecutor in one of the largest FCPA dispositions in the history of the statute, which resulted in corporate deferred prosecution agreements, corporate guilty pleas, and combined criminal and civil penalties of $185 million.
Mr. Darden has significant experience handling all aspects of federal criminal trial work. During his time at the Justice Department, he became one of only a handful of federal prosecutors to have tried multiple health care fraud cases to verdict in multiple districts, including Miami, Houston, and Los Angeles. In addition, Mr. Darden trained prosecutors and agents in health care fraud and abuse matters at the Justice Department’s National Advocacy Center.
As a prosecutor, Mr. Darden also conducted corporate grand jury investigations, and evaluated internal investigations conducted by corporate outside counsel. Mr. Darden has detailed knowledge of the Justice Department’s Principles of Federal Prosecution of Business Organizations (previously known as the “Thompson Memo” and the “McNulty Memo”), the monitor selection process (also known as the “Morford Memo”), and the United States Sentencing Guidelines as they apply to corporations and individuals convicted of white-collar offenses. He has experience in both conducting and defending against parallel criminal and civil investigations involving the Securities and Exchange Commission staff and the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
While at the Justice Department, Mr. Darden held a top secret security clearance.
Before his service at the Justice Department, Mr. Darden practiced on the business litigation team of another prominent international law firm. He attended the University of Virginia School of Law, where he served as Managing Editor of the Virginia Law Review, After graduating cum laude with a major in politics from Washington & Lee University, Mr. Darden worked for on Capitol Hill as an aide to former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia.
Mr. Darden is a frequent writer and speaker on white collar issues. In 2013, Mr. Darden was named a Washington, DC “Super Lawyer” for Criminal Defense: White Collar. Mr. Darden is also a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for Law360/White Collar.
Representative Matters
In private practice:
- Lead counsel conducting internal investigation for non-public company into possible FCPA violations in Malaysia and Thailand
- Lead counsel representing current and former executives of publicly-traded medical device company under investigation by DOJ and SEC for possible FCPA violations in Mexico
- Lead counsel representing private U.S. company under investigation by DOJ for possible FCPA violations in Afghanistan
- Lead counsel conducting internal investigation for public company into possible FCPA violations in Qatar
- Co-counsel representing non-U.S. company under investigation by DOJ for possible FCPA violations in multiple countries, including Saudi Arabia and Taiwan
- Provided FCPA compliance advice to public and private companies and other institutions, including drafting compliance policies and giving training to senior management
- Co-lead counsel representing company under investigation for alleged violations of the False Claims Act
- Co-lead counsel representing board of directors of hospice company under investigation for alleged violations of the False Claims Act
- Lead counsel representing current executive of pharmaceutical company under investigation for alleged violations of the False Claims Act based on kickbacks and off-label marketing
- Lead counsel representing former executive of hospital company under investigation for alleged violations of the False Claims Act
- Lead counsel representing current and former executives of dialysis company under investigation for alleged violations of the False Claims Act
- Co-counsel in defense of hospital and physicians in federal civil False Claims Act case alleging fraudulent Medicare billings and whistleblower retaliation, resulting in settlement with relators and DOJ’s Civil Division
- Lead counsel representing reporter subpoenaed by DOJ for testimony and documents identifying confidential sources
- Co-lead counsel representing congressional campaign committee in connection with DOJ and Federal Elections Commission (FEC) investigations of embezzlement by former campaign treasurer
- Co-counsel representing member of Congress in investigation by Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE)
- Co-counsel in defense of former controller of publicly-traded company in accounting and securities fraud investigation resulting in favorable settlement with SEC after Wells submissions
- Co-trial counsel in civil fraud and conspiracy action against corporate and individual defendants resulting in $8 million jury verdict in favor of client
In government:
- Lead and co-lead trial counsel in multiple health care fraud trials in Miami, Los Angeles, and Houston
- Lead prosecutor in Medicare Fraud Strike Force take-downs of over 45 health care fraud defendants, and in charge of supervising investigations, grand jury presentations, plea negotiations, and trials
- Lead counsel in investigation of nationwide anti-kickback violations by sales force of public pharmaceutical company
- Lead counsel in prosecution of worldwide FCPA violations by non-U.S. company resulting in corporate deferred prosecution agreements, corporate guilty pleas, combined criminal and civil penalties of $185 million, and three-year monitorship of parent company’s FCPA compliance program and related internal controls and books and records
- Co-lead counsel in investigation of allegations of fraud in connection with post-disaster claims under National Flood Insurance Program
- Co-counsel in investigation of allegations of FCPA violations by non-U.S. based company, working with the United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office
Professional Affiliations:
- Member, Law360 White Collar Editorial Advisory Board (2012)
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