Kenneth A. Caruso

Special Counsel

[email protected]

New York
T (212) 466-6401
M (646) 599-4970
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Ken Caruso is Of Counsel at Mukasey Frenchman.  Ken has over 40 years of private and public legal experience, specializing in civil and criminal litigation and investigations, often involving international matters. He has been recognized in many guides to leading lawyers, such as Chambers USA, Benchmark Litigation, and The New York Area's Best Lawyers. Ken is one of the few lawyers in New York to be recognized for both white collar and commercial work.  The New York Law Journal has described him as a “prominent Manhattan litigator.”

Ken has substantial experience, both civil and criminal, in matters arising under U.S. Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) regulations (and similar New York state laws), the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the anti-money laundering laws, the USA PATRIOT Act, the civil and criminal asset forfeiture laws, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (“RICO”) Act and federal and state banking laws, export control laws, anti-terrorism laws and extradition treaties.  He also conducts and advises clients on corporate internal investigations and cross-border, asset-recovery investigations relating to the proceeds of fraud, insolvency, money laundering and bribery. His matters, civil and criminal, have involved numerous foreign jurisdictions including Argentina, Australia, the Bahamas, Belarus, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Cuba, Chile, Dubai, England, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Jersey, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey and Venezuela.

Recently, Ken played integral roles at the trials of, and on post-verdict proceedings in, two nationally-followed federal criminal cases, which involved, respectively, securities and wire fraud, and false statements to the government.  Ken also has lead roles in pre-trial proceedings in other federal criminal cases, involving money laundering, health care fraud and false statements.  On the civil side, Ken won a substantial money judgment for a client victimized by a cyber-stalker.  He also represents a disbarred lawyer in actions, brought by that lawyer's former clients, for breach of fiduciary duty and fraud.

Ken has also appeared as lead counsel in more than 50 civil and criminal appeals — in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the New York Court of Appeals, and other appellate courts around the country.

Before he entered private practice, Ken served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and as Deputy Associate Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.

Admissions:

• State of New York
• Supreme Court of the U.S.
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York
• Supreme Court of the State of New York

Education:

• JD, Columbia University School of Law, 1977
• BA, Rutgers College, magna cum laude, 1974

Public Activities and Publications:

• Criminal Justice Act Panel, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, representing, by court appointment, indigent criminal defendants on appeal, 2014 – present
• Mediator, US District Court, Southern District of New York, 1992-2013
• Columbia University School of Law
  • Member, Alumni Trustee Nominating Committee, 2017 – Present
  • Member, Board of Visitors, 2012 – Present
•  “Which Jurisdiction?  Choosing Where to Litigate, A Jurisdictional Overview of the World's Court Systems,” White & Case, February 2019 (Mr. Caruso contributed the materials regarding U.S. courts)
• Speaker/Panel Member, Africa Legal Network, Anti-Bribery Conference, Nairobi, November 2017
• Moderator, “The E.U. Court of Justice,” White & Case, New York, November 2017
• “Tackling Sanctions Violations That Arise Mid-Transaction,” Advanced Forum on Economic Sanctions and Financial Crime, London, November 2015.
• “How Long Is The Arm of U.S. Law?”  New York Conference of Financial Examiners, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, October 2015
• “How Long Is The Arm of U.S. Law?”  Economic Week Conference, Munich, May 2015 (focusing on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act)
• “U.S. Sanctions Against Cuba, Iran and Russia,” Economic Week Conference, Munich, May 2015
• “U.S. Financial and Trade Sanctions,” 28th Forum on Fraud, Asset Tracing & Recovery, Geneva, March 2015 (focusing on basics of sanctions and recovery of assets upon unblocking).
• “U.S. Economic and Trade Sanctions,” American-German Chamber of Commerce, Eighth Annual Transatlantic Business Conference, Frankfurt, November 2014.
• “The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act:  Still A Centerpiece For Enforcement,” Compliance, Corruption and Cybercrime Conference, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, October 2014
• “U.S. Sanctions,” part of “Money Laundering and Sanctions Violations in the EU and U.S.,” White Collar Crime and Regulatory Trends in the EU and the U.S., ABA Criminal Justice Section, Amsterdam, May 2014
• Panel Member, “Whistleblowers:  Who They Are, What Motivates Them and How Best to Respond,” White & Case, New York, March 2014