Michael E. Hantman

Overview

Michael E. Hantman, a former Florida Assistant Attorney General, is a litigation lawyer in Holland & Knight's Miami office. Mr. Hantman focuses principally on white collar criminal defense, internal corporate investigations, compliance counseling and complex business litigation.

Mr. Hantman assists companies and individuals to investigate, respond to and defend against government scrutiny, whistleblower complaints and enforcement actions involving allegations of bribery, fraud, accounting misrepresentations, kickbacks, money laundering, false claims and other ethical lapses. He regularly helps companies design, implement and enforce comprehensive compliance and training programs throughout the enterprise to reduce their potential legal exposure.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Hantman was a criminal appellate Assistant Attorney General for the State of Florida. At the Office of the Attorney General, Mr. Hantman authored more than 150 briefs, state court responses and federal habeas corpus responses, and argued 39 appeals before the Third District Court of Appeal, including the first en banc hearing held in several years. See Kasischke v. State, 946 So. 2d 1155 (Fla 3d DCA 2006). Significant victories included defeating a petition for writ of certiorari in a first-degree murder case, defeating an emergency petition for writ of habeas corpus in a first-degree murder conspiracy case and winning certification to the Florida Supreme Court of a conflict between the Third District and First District Courts of Appeal. See Galindez v. State, 910 So. 2d 284 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005).

Media Coverage

The Brazilian Report, "Bolsonaro May Face Legal Problems in the U.S., Too," August 6, 2024
The Miami Herald, "Milestone for Miami: First Haitian-American nominee for U.S. attorney named by Biden,” December 7, 2022
Panama City News Herald, "Former Panama City Beach City Manager Tony O'Rourke Paid $131,250 in Whistleblower Settlement," February 14, 2022
Law 360, "Dem Advisory Panel Backs 9 For Fed. Judge, US Atty in Fla," June 3, 2021
Miami Times, "U.S. Attorney Finalists Include Haitian American," June 1, 2021
The Miami Herald, "Who Made the Final Cut for Miami Federal Judge Seats and U.S. Attorney? The List Is Out," May 27, 2021
The Miami Herald, "Palm Beach State Attorney Aronberg Steps Aside as Candidate for Top Federal Prosecutor," May 21, 2021
Law 360, "Florida Tensions Cloud Path For Fed. Bench, US Atty Hopefuls," May 21, 2021
Panama City News Herald, "Panama City Beach Misused Taxpayer Money on a Park? Former City Manager Lawsuit Says Yes," May 17, 2021
Law 360, "Meet the Lawyers Vying for US Atty Post in South Florida," May 7, 2021
The Miami Herald, "Fajardo Steps Down as U.S. Attorney in Miami After Leading Office Through Pandemic," March 26, 2021
Panama City News Herald, "Panama City Beach Investigating After Fired City Manager's Whistle-blower Complaint," March 1, 2021
The Miami Herald, "As Feds Target 'Blood Gold' and Dirty Money, This Miami Refinery Has Bigger Problems, December 22, 2018
Vanity Fair, "He Actually Believes He Is Khalid": The Amazing 30-Year Odyssey of a Counterfeit Saudi Prince," October 5, 2018
New York Daily News, "Soccer Executive Aaron Davidson, Arrested in FIFA Corruption Probe, Looking to Cut Deal," June 1, 2015
New York Post, "Marketing Executive Charged in Shady $3M FIFA Bribe Scheme," May 30, 2015

Representative Experience

Conducted an internal investigation of pharmaceutical sales and marketing practices for a Fortune 100 company subject to various criminal and civil investigations involving multiple U.S. Attorneys' offices and multiple investigative agencies
Co-led an internal investigation for a multibillion-dollar private equity firm that allegedly operated a Ponzi scheme and engaged in accounting fraud; the firm was subject to various investigations involving multiple criminal and civil federal and state agencies
Led an internal investigation for a multibillion-dollar private equity firm that allegedly engaged in accounting fraud concerning a nine-figure loan transaction
Co-led an internal investigation in Asia Pacific for a Fortune 100 company based on a whistleblower's allegations that company personnel secured a lucrative business opportunity via a bribe payment to a government official
Co-led an internal investigation for a publicly traded multibillion-dollar engineering and consulting company concerning allegations of improper lobbying by one of its executives
Led an internal investigation of a large law firm concerning allegations that firm partners counseled clients to commit tax evasion
Led an internal investigation of allegations of public corruption and malfeasance for a Florida municipality regarding the construction of a public park; presented findings publicly at city council meeting
Led an internal investigation for a large medical services provider concerning allegations of improper Medicare billing and risk-score manipulation; employee interviews largely conducted in Spanish
Conducted an internal investigation for a Fortune 50 multinational financial services company regarding allegations that it defrauded a prominent customer
Conducted an internal investigation into potential Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) offenses as part of the due diligence relating to the sale of a multinational energy corporation's Latin American subsidiary
Conducted an internal investigation for a large drug and alcohol rehabilitation and sober home company of allegations involving kickbacks, patient brokering and medical necessity
Conducted an internal corporate investigation for a biotech company regarding allegations of unlawful manufacturing of controlled substances by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in violation of the Controlled Substances Act
Led an internal investigation for a large private equity firm regarding allegations of embezzlement and fraud by a top executive at one of its portfolio companies
Conducted an internal investigation for a Fortune 50 multinational investment bank and financial services corporation of a personal relationship between a bank executive and a government official allegedly responsible for directing business to the bank
Conducted an internal investigation for a large Latin American airline defrauded by cybercriminals in a phishing scheme
Conducted an internal investigation for a leading telecommunications company under government scrutiny for alleged political contributions to the ruling political party of a foreign government in violation of the FCPA
Led an internal investigation for a large private equity firm post-acquisition concerning allegations of misappropriated inventory and accounting fraud by the company's prior owners
Led a data privacy and security investigation for vocational schools that had hundreds of student identities stolen; worked closely with the U.S. Secret Service and the IRS to assist with the criminal investigation

Defending a target in a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice (DOJ) bribery and money laundering investigation of conduct connected to an oil and natural gas company owned by a foreign government under investigation in the Eastern District of New York
Lead counsel defending a leading Paycheck Protection Program lender concerning criminal and civil investigations involving the U.S. House of Representatives and multiple U.S. Attorneys' offices and multiple investigative agencies
Lead counsel in the defense of two financial advisors who are subjects in a joint DOJ and IRS tax evasion investigation
Defending a subject under investigation for bribery by the DOJ's Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Unit of conduct connected to a government-owned energy company in Latin America
Served as pool counsel representing employees of a global multi-billion-dollar medical device company under investigation in the District of Massachusetts
Defended a target connected to the FIFA soccer bribery scandal under investigation in the Eastern District of New York
Defended the owner of a telemarketing medical referral company charged with conspiracy to commit Medicare fraud by the Fraud Section of the DOJ in the Southern District of Florida
Defending the owner of a check-cashing business charged with making false statements and operating an unlicensed money transmission business in the Middle District of Florida
Defended the subject of an art fraud investigation in the Southern District of Florida with no charges filed against the subject
Defended an investment fund employee in a criminal prosecution by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia and a related U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation
Defended a Certified Public Accountant indicted for money laundering and healthcare fraud by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida

Created anti-corruption and anti-money laundering compliance programs for:
- A financing company engaging in transactions in high-risk Latin American nations
- A U.S.-based commercial aircraft repair business
- A workplace safety technology company doing business in Africa and South America
- A Central American oil tanker leasing company
- A worldwide payroll and human capital management software company
Conducted anti-corruption and sanctions due diligence for a media company sold to a buyer with ties to a foreign government hostile to the U.S.

Secured the dismissal with prejudice of a lawsuit against a Fortune 100 diversified global financial services company on counts of fraud, defamation and tortious interference brought by the former head of a large company subsidiary
Co-leading the defense in a False Claims Act lawsuit of a luxury fashion design company concerning alleged misrepresentations of import duties and taxes
Lead counsel for a medical services provider concerning allegations that it induced the breach of non-competition agreements by the predecessor contractor’s employees concerning a $1+ billion U.S. government contract
Lead counsel in defending a publicly-traded financial institution under investigation by law enforcement of a U.S. territory concerning the financial institution's business relationship with a notorious convicted felon; no charges were filed against the institution
Obtained a multimillion-dollar judgment on behalf of an international luxury hotel chain against a hotel owner for breach of the hotel management agreement despite claims of gross mismanagement
Represented a lending consortium sued by more than a dozen contractors for improperly cutting off tens of millions of dollars in loan funding for the renovation of an iconic luxury resort; cases were settled with no liability for lenders

Credentials

Education

University of Miami School of Law, J.D., cum laude
New College of Florida, B.A., British and American Literature

Bar Admissions/Licenses

Florida

Court Admissions

U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

Memberships

American Bar Association, Litigation Section
Federal Bar Association, Southern District of Florida
Miami Dade County Bar Association
Junior Achievement of Greater Miami, Director

Honors & Awards

Finalist, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Federal Judicial Nominating Commission, May 2021
Holland & Knight Pro Bono All-Star, 2020, 2021
Daily Business Review Professional Excellence Award, Holland & Knight - Litigation Departments - International Large Honoree, 2017
Rising Star, Florida Super Lawyers magazine, 2014, 2015

Multimedia

New DoJ Efforts to Encourage Corporate Whistleblowers

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