Peter Hardy

Peter Hardy, a former federal prosecutor, is a litigation attorney in Holland & Knight's Philadelphia office. Mr. Hardy's practice focuses on white collar criminal defense and internal investigations, Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering (BSA/AML) regulatory compliance, criminal tax and civil tax controversy defense, and civil litigation involving allegations of fraud.

According to reviews in Chambers USA, Mr. Hardy is "brilliant and efficient" and "an insightful and strategic adviser." He is also "incredibly responsive" and "provides practical, actionable advice."

Mr. Hardy advises corporations and individuals across a range of industries against allegations of financial fraud, including money laundering, tax fraud, mortgage fraud and lending law violations, securities fraud and public corruption. He conducts internal investigations, defends against grand jury investigations and has litigated complex criminal matters at the trial and appellate levels.

Mr. Hardy also counsels financial institutions and businesses on their AML obligations under the BSA and other compliance requirements, including issues involving sanctions law, countering the financing of terrorism, money transmission, digital assets and cryptocurrency, cannabis and anti-corruption.

In addition, Mr. Hardy advises on potential disclosures to the IRS and counsels clients through every stage of a tax controversy, from audit through administrative appeal to litigation for a civil case, and from the grand jury investigation to any prosecution for a criminal case. He has both represented whistleblowers before the IRS and defended corporations against the allegations of whistleblowers.

Mr. Hardy also handles complex civil litigation relating to allegations of fraud, including Ponzi schemes, fraudulent transfers and false claims.

Mr. Hardy is the author of Criminal Tax, Money Laundering, and Bank Secrecy Act Litigation, a well-reviewed and comprehensive legal treatise concerning the investigation, prosecution and defense of criminal tax, money laundering and BSA cases, published by Bloomberg BNA.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Hardy was an attorney at a national law firm, where he founded the AML team and the tax controversy team.

Before entering private practice, Mr. Hardy spent more than a decade as a federal prosecutor. He served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Philadelphia, where he focused on fraud and financial crime cases. He also served as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice's Tax Division in Washington, D.C., where he tried criminal cases in several federal districts.

Mr. Hardy served as a judicial clerk for the Honorable George E. Woods of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, as well as for the Honorable Cornelia G. Kennedy of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Representative Experience

• Conducted numerous corporate internal investigations across a spectrum of industries, including investigations focused on potential BSA/AML, tax and other financial fraud violations, prompted by allegations by the federal government, private plaintiffs and/or company insiders and would-be whistleblowers; these engagements frequently involved advising on the response to criminal, civil and administrative government subpoenas, investigations and examinations
• Advised U.S. and non-U.S. financial institutions and other companies, including non-bank lenders, money transmitters, gaming institutions, insurance companies and real estate industry participants, on regulatory compliance with BSA/AML, counterterrorism financing and anticorruption requirements. This work has included the drafting and revising of compliance policies and procedures; developing risk assessments; advising whether a suspicious activity report (SAR) filing(s) is appropriate; conducting AML due diligence during merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions; conducting enhanced due diligence on certain customers and transactions and determining whether to close customer accounts; compliance relating to bank and financial technology (FinTech) partnerships; helping institutions respond to government regulatory examinations, investigations and subpoenas; contesting the application of "Special Measures" for a foreign financial institution designated as a "primary money laundering concern"; determining whether a business should register as a money transmitter; sanctions compliance; and providing BSA/AML advice specific to issues involving cryptocurrency, digital assets and cannabis.
• Successfully defended a major financial institution in multiple complex civil lawsuits alleging that the financial institution violated its own BSA/AML procedures and contributed to misconduct perpetrated by former customers
• Successfully defended a major financial institution against aggressive discovery motions seeking sensitive financial institution BSA/AML materials, including BSA/AML/anti-fraud policies and internal investigatory documents generated through the financial institution's AML transaction monitoring processes
• Assisted a major industry group in drafting a comment letter to the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) regarding proposed AML regulations
• Filed amicus brief on behalf of major industry group contesting AML regulations promulgated by FinCEN
• Advised financial institutions and other businesses on BSA/AML and money transmitter issues relating to the institutions' direct use of blockchain or cryptocurrency, including issues relating to hosting blockchain nodes, serving as an "omnibus" cryptocurrency bank, and potentially issuing stablecoins, or to the institutions' customers' use of blockchain or cryptocurrency
• Successfully defended a major international corporation in a wide-ranging criminal tax investigation and civil tax audit relating to a 10-figure intercompany transaction and nine-figure monetary liability; the case resulted in no criminal charges and no fraud penalty
• Successfully defended a major insurance company in a regulatory investigation relating to multibillion-dollar tax structures involving related businesses and offshore entities
• Successfully defended numerous individuals and businesses accused of multimillion-dollar federal tax fraud schemes, including alleged income tax evasion and payroll schemes
• Advising a major international financial institution on response to IRS "John Doe" summons
• Successfully convinced the IRS to abate an entire potential seven-figure penalty for a gaming institution client that allegedly failed to file IRS reporting forms for winnings by internet sports betting clients
• Engaged as an expert witness regarding application of FinCEN and U.S. banking rules to activity involving use of blockchain and digital assets
• Represented an investment firm under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for interfund loans involving alleged conflicts of interest; pursued related constitutional litigation regarding the ability of the SEC to pursue administrative enforcement actions that was the first of its kind