Overview

Richard Roper focuses his litigation practice on white collar criminal defense, government investigations, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement and commercial litigation. His practice also involves directing internal corporate investigations and representation in qui tam litigation, antitrust matters, environmental criminal matters and complex immigration matters.

Previously, Mr. Roper served as United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, leading an office of 93 attorneys covering 100 counties, including the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, in criminal and civil affirmative and defensive matters. During his career, he has personally prosecuted more than 150 jury trials involving a broad range of matters from major white collar crime (including securities, tax, bank and healthcare fraud), to narcotics and money laundering matters, to capital murder.

Mr. Roper is Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

To view information on the Millennium Bank Receivership, please click here.

Representative Matters

  • Court-appointed receiver in the SEC enforcement action SEC v. Provident Capital Indemnity, Ltd., Minor Vargas Calvo, Jorge L. Castillo, and Desarrollos Comerciales Ronim, S.A., pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, involving a $200 million international securities fraud scheme
  • Court-appointed receiver in the SEC enforcement action SEC v. Millennium Bank, et al., involving a $120 million international Ponzi scheme
  • Serves as counsel for Ralph S. Janvey, the court-appointed receiver, in the SEC enforcement action SEC v. Stanford International Bank Ltd., Robert Allen Stanford, et al., involving an $8 billion international Ponzi scheme
  • Assisted corporation in obtaining prosecution of trade secret theft
  • Assisted corporation in investigation of data breach by former employee
  • Assisted corporation in response to denial of service attack
  • Assisted corporation in response to improper computer access by corporate executive
  • Defended a corporate executive against charge of theft of trade secrets by the FBI and Department of Justice
  • Defended a major public oil and gas corporation in a criminal investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
  • Defended a large public corporation performing environmental compliance in a criminal investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency
  • Assisted the DFW Airport Board and Management in an internal investigation
  • Defended a national bank in a criminal investigation against the bank
  • Defended an attorney/CPA in a securities and commodities fraud investigation by the SEC and CFTC
  • Defended three separate corporations in investigations by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Department of State
  • Defended an oil and gas executive in an investigation brought by the DOJ and SEC
  • Defended a registered investment advisor in an investigation brought by the DOJ and SEC
  • Defended a businessman in a criminal investigation by the Internal Revenue Service
  • Served as the special prosecutor in the prosecution of a former district judge and district attorney of Williamson County, Texas, Kenneth Anderson; Anderson sent Michael Morton, an innocent man, to prison for nearly 25 years
  • Represented a money-transmitting business in a federal unlicensed money-transmitting business prosecution
  • Represented two physicians in a federal criminal healthcare fraud investigation
  • Represented a business owner in an EPA/DOJ criminal prosecution involving an EPA supersite
  • Counseled numerous companies on compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and federal export laws
  • Represented the president of a company in a criminal tax fraud investigation
  • Represented an individual on allegations of violations of the Lacy Act involving possession and sale of protected animals
  • Represented an oil and gas company in a state criminal investigation

Credentials

Education
  • Texas Tech University School of Law, J.D.
  • The University of Texas at Arlington, B.A., with honors
Bar Admissions/Licenses
  • Texas
Court Admissions
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
Memberships
  • State Bar of Texas
  • Texas Bar Foundation, Fellow
  • Eldon B. Mahon Chapter, American Inns of Court, Master
  • National Association of Former United States Attorneys (NAFUSA), Board of Directors
  • Northern District of Texas Attorney Advisory Committee
  • North Texas Crime Commission, Co-Chair of the Board of Directors
  • Ferguson Road Initiative, Advisory Board of Directors
  • Legal Aid of North West Texas, Pro Bono Lawyer Assistance Program
  • Past Member, Northern District of Texas United States Magistrate Judge Evaluation Committee, 2003
  • Past Member, North Texas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), 2004-2008; Chair, 2006
  • Past Co-Chair, Fort Worth Neighborhood Policing Board
  • Past Member, Southwest Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory Board of Directors
  • Past Member, Fort Worth Area Safe City Crime Commission
Honors & Awards
  • Chambers USA – America's Leading Business Lawyers guide Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations, 2018-2023
  • The Best Lawyers in America guide, Dallas Criminal Defense: White-Collar Lawyer of the Year, 2022
  • The Best Lawyers in America guide, Criminal Defense: White-Collar, 2012-2024
  • Texas Super Lawyers magazine, 2010-2023
  • Top 100 Dallas/Fort Worth Region, Texas Super Lawyers magazine, 2015-2016
  • Top 100 Overall, Texas Super Lawyers magazine, 2016
  • Best Lawyers in Dallas, D Magazine, Criminal Defense: White Collar, 2012-2023
  • Local Litigation Star, Benchmark: Litigation, The Definitive Guide to America's Leading Litigation Firms & Attorneys, 2015-2019
  • Who's Who Legal: Business Crime Defense, 2015-2017
  • Tarrant County's Top Attorneys, Criminal, Fort Worth, Texas magazine, 2009, 2012
  • Recipient, 2007 Distinguished Alumnus of the Texas Tech University School of Law
  • Recipient, Genesis Women' Shelter Jane Doe Award

Publications

News