Scott Mascianica

Scott F. Mascianica is an experienced investigative and litigation attorney, co-chair of Holland & Knight's Securities Enforcement Defense Team and a member of the White Collar Defense and Investigations Team. With more than 17 years of experience in the government and private sectors, Mr. Mascianica has a national practice where he regularly advises businesses and individuals in connection with government and internal investigations, enforcement-related litigation, cybersecurity-related misconduct and regulatory and compliance issues.

Mr. Mascianica has extensive experience in matters facing public company issuers, board and audit committees, auditors and regulated entities. He is highly experienced at identifying potential misconduct and regulatory issues concerning public company and accounting disclosures [including Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosures], registered investment adviser obligations, auditing standards, evolving digital assets and cryptocurrencies issues, and cybersecurity obligations. Additionally, given his particular experience in the asset management industry, Mr. Mascianica regularly counsels investment advisers, asset managers, and funds on regulatory compliance inquiries and investigations.

Mr. Mascianica joined Holland & Knight in 2022 after serving for nearly a decade at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in various investigative, litigation and supervisory roles. Mr. Mascianica held supervisory roles in the SEC’s Fort Worth Regional Office, where he served as an Assistant Regional Director for the SEC's Division of Enforcement in that region and Assistant Director with the Enforcement Division’s Asset Management Unit, a nationwide unit that leads the SEC’s efforts to investigate and litigate issues involving the asset management industry. In his management role, he supervised a team of experienced enforcement attorneys and accountants on more than 150 confidential investigations. His team filed more than 30 SEC enforcement actions against entities and individuals under his leadership that resulted in judgments totaling more than a quarter-billion dollars. As a result, he received several awards from the SEC's Division of Enforcement for his outstanding contributions to the enforcement of federal securities laws. During his government service, Mr. Mascianica also served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado, where he prosecuted crimes involving securities-related misconduct.

Prior to his time at the SEC, Mr. Mascianica worked for two AmLaw 100 firms, where his litigation practice focused on internal investigations, white collar defense and high-stakes commercial litigation. He has extensive experience in investigating and identifying possible violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), representing trustees and receivers, and defending entities and individuals in connection with SEC and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigations. Before practicing as an attorney, Mr. Mascianica worked as a financial forensic consultant at a Big Four accounting firm.

As a result of his broad knowledge and experience, Mr. Mascianica is a sought-after speaker and commentator on various regulatory and government enforcement-related topics, including issues related to ESG, cybersecurity, public companies, auditors and regulated entities, and SEC enforcement trends. Mr. Mascianica also serves as editor of Holland & Knight’s SEC-focused blog, SECond Opinions.