David Kent is a seasoned trial lawyer with over 20 years of experience conducting and managing high-stakes investigations and enforcement litigation as both a federal prosecutor and a defense attorney. Mr. Kent’s practice spans complex white-collar matters, including financial and corporate fraud, violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), health care and government contracting fraud, securities and commodities violations, cybercrime, money laundering, virtual currency and decentralized finance (DeFi) investigations, and public corruption cases. Mr. Kent previously served in the U.S. Department of Justice (U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia), where he handled high-profile fraud and public corruption cases, including investigations involving senior government officials and sensitive national security matters. Mr. Kent also served as a trial attorney at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, where he investigated and litigated matters involving market manipulation, disruptive trading practices, and other forms of financial fraud.
Mr. Kent’s civil litigation experience includes representing businesses and individuals in False Claims Act and anti-kickback litigation, accounting and procurement fraud, breach of contract disputes, and matters involving emergent technologies. Mr. Kent has conducted internal investigations and developed compliance and training programs, including on the FCPA and anti-money laundering (AML) laws and regulations.
Immediately prior to joining Verdi & Ogletree PLLC, Mr. Kent served as director and associate general counsel of global investigations, litigation, and governance at a leading blockchain intelligence and data analytics software company. In that role, Mr. Kent oversaw risk management and expert witness litigation support, including in United States v. Roman Sterlingov (“Bitcoin Fog”), which resulted in a precedential Daubert ruling affirming the admissibility of blockchain analytics expert testimony.
Bar Admissions
- United States Supreme Court
- United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
- United States District Court for the District of Columbia
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
- District of Columbia
- Virginia
Education
- Stanford Law School, J.D., 2002
- Georgetown University, B.S. in Foreign Service, 1994
Verdi & Ogletree PLLC
1325 G Street, N.W.
Suite 500
Washington D.C. 20005
ph: 202-449-7703
fax: 202-449-7701
