Federal Criminal Defense in 2026: Investigations, Cooperation, Sentencing, and Emerging Enforcement Trends

Trevor C. Jones, Partner | Dynamis LLP

Trevor C. Jones is a Partner in the Miami office of Dynamis LLP. A former federal prosecutor, he defends companies, executives, and individuals in government investigations and complex, high-stakes litigation. He spent seven years at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, where he served as an Economic Crimes Section Chief, and his practice draws on deep experience with fraud schemes, financial crimes, and cryptocurrency enforcement matters. His prosecutorial background is paired with earlier private practice work in commercial disputes, product liability, and mass-tort litigation, along with four years of judicial clerkships at the trial and appellate levels.

• Education & Credentials

Mr. Jones earned his J.D., with High Honors, from Florida State University College of Law and his B.S. in Economics, with High Honors, from West Chester University. He is admitted to practice in Florida, before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and the U.S. District Courts for the Southern, Middle, and Northern Districts of Florida.

• Recognition & Leadership

Mr. Jones has held multiple leadership positions within the Federal Bar Association, including service on the Board of its National Judiciary Division, as Co-Chair and founder of its Federal Judicial Law Clerks Committee, and as President of its Broward County Chapter. He has also served as the Chair of a Florida Bar Grievance Committee.

• Professional Involvement

Mr. Jones co-authored an article on Florida’s certiorari review standard published in the Stetson Law Review, and he has appeared as a panelist at the IAFCI/FISA Financial Fraud Conference in South Florida in 2024, 2025, and 2026. As a prosecutor, he was a trusted advisor to federal and local law enforcement partners on litigation strategy, charging decisions, and prosecutions.

• Experience

As a federal prosecutor and supervisor, Mr. Jones investigated and prosecuted a wide range of federal crimes, specializing in fraud and financial crimes, and managed the caseload of a team of prosecutors, reviewing and approving charges, warrants, and other legal process. His matters included the trial conviction of recording artist Sean Kingston (Kisean Anderson) and his mother on federal wire fraud charges, the prosecution of a cryptocurrency exchange CEO for willfully failing to establish an anti-money-laundering program under the Bank Secrecy Act, a COVID-19 relief fraud investigation involving law enforcement personnel that produced more than 25 convictions, and multiple multi-million-dollar Ponzi and corporate embezzlement schemes.

Before joining the government, he defended international corporations in multi-district product liability and mass-tort litigation at Akerman LLP and handled federal and state cases for governmental entities at a municipal defense firm. He began his career clerking for federal district and magistrate judges in the Southern District of Florida and for judges of the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal.

David Tarras, Founder | Tarras Defense

David Tarras is the Founder of Tarras Defense, a Boca Raton, Florida firm devoted to federal criminal defense, sophisticated white-collar litigation, and regulatory compliance. He represents professionals, executives, business owners, and companies in high-stakes criminal and regulatory matters, from multi-agency investigations and fraud prosecutions to money laundering cases, and he regularly resolves sensitive government inquiries discreetly, often avoiding charges, penalties, and litigation altogether. He also advises clients on proactive compliance and strategic planning designed to minimize exposure before an investigation ever begins.

• Education & Credential

Mr. Tarras holds a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law, where he was a Merit Scholar, and a degree in Political Science from the University of Florida Honors College, earned magna cum laude.

• Recognition & Leadership

Mr. Tarras has been named to Law.com’s Daily Business Review On the Rise list for 2026, the LawDragon 500 X The Next Generation list for 2025 and 2026, and the Super Lawyers Rising Stars list for 2025 and 2026. The National Trial Lawyers has recognized him among its Top 40 Under 40 Trial Lawyers since 2022 and its Top 40 Under 40 Criminal Defense Lawyers since 2020, and he holds a 10.0 Avvo rating. He has provided legal commentary on Good Morning America, ABC News, NBC 6, and NewsNation, and in the Washington Post.

• Professional Involvement

Mr. Tarras serves as a Board Member of the Federal Bar Association’s Broward Chapter and previously served on the Board of Directors of the Broward Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers from 2020 to 2023. He is a member of the American Bar Association’s White Collar Crime Committee, the Palm Beach County Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and ProVisors, and he frequently presents CLE programs and educational resources for fellow practitioners.

• Experience

Mr. Tarras has defended clients in matters involving healthcare fraud, securities and cryptocurrency fraud, large-scale money laundering conspiracies, tax fraud, international drug trafficking, and allegations under the Anti-Kickback Statute. His results include persuading the DOJ to decline criminal prosecution in a federal tax fraud investigation alleging more than $10 million in losses to the IRS, securing declinations from federal prosecutors and SEC criminal investigators in a $57 million foreign-exchange investment fraud investigation, persuading DOJ Trial Attorneys to decline charges against the CEO of a genetic testing marketing company accused of causing $6 million in alleged Medicare losses, and winning dismissal of all federal charges in a multi-state Paycheck Protection Program loan case.

Before founding his firm, he led the federal and white collar practice at Rossen Law Firm, and he began his career in the Palm Beach County Public Defender’s Office, where he built extensive trial experience.

SESSION 1 – Understanding federal investigations, target letters, grand jury subpoenas, and preindictment advocacy | 12:00pm – 12:05pm

How federal cases begin and what each early signal means. This segment walks through investigation mechanics, reading a target letter, responding to grand jury subpoenas, and the pre-indictment window where advocacy can still change the charging outcome.

SESSION 2 – Cooperation, proffers, and strategic considerations when engaging with the government | 12:05pm – 12:10pm

Deciding whether a client should talk is rarely simple. Attendees examine proffer mechanics, cooperation credit, and the strategic calculus of engaging prosecutors, including protections to negotiate before any meeting and the risks that follow a misstep.

SESSION 3 – Federal sentencing trends and effective sentencing advocacy in white collar cases | 12:10pm – 12:20pm

Sentencing is where most federal matters are ultimately decided. This portion reviews current white collar sentencing trends and builds a framework for guideline objections, mitigation presentations, and variance arguments that move outcomes.

SESSION 4 – Healthcare fraud enforcement developments and emerging areas of scrutiny | 12:20pm – 12:30pm

Enforcement in the healthcare space keeps expanding into new billing arrangements and referral structures. Coverage includes recent developments, the areas drawing fresh scrutiny, and warning signs practitioners should recognize when advising providers.

SESSION 5 – Cryptocurrency investigations, blockchain tracing, money laundering allegations, and digital asset enforcement | 12:30pm – 12:40pm

Digital assets have produced an entire enforcement architecture. Discussion covers how investigators trace blockchain activity, how tracing turns into money laundering allegations, and defense approaches to the government’s digital asset theories.

SESSION 6 – Encrypted communications platforms, digital evidence, and technology-driven investigations | 12:40pm – 12:45pm

Messages once considered private now anchor federal prosecutions. Learn how the government obtains material from encrypted platforms, the authentication and admissibility fights over digital evidence, and suppression angles in technology-driven investigations.

SESSION 7 – Cybercrime prosecutions and the growing intersection of criminal law and technology | 12:45pm – 1:00pm

Criminal law and technology now collide in nearly every docket. This session surveys cybercrime prosecution patterns, the statutes the government reaches for, and defense theories emerging as courts confront novel technical conduct.

BREAK | 1:00pm – 1:10pm

SESSION 8 – Practical considerations when representing clients facing parallel criminal, regulatory, and reputational risks | 1:10pm – 1:20pm

One set of facts can spawn three simultaneous fights. Guidance here addresses sequencing criminal, regulatory, and reputational exposure, managing privilege across parallel proceedings, and keeping statements in one forum from damaging another.

SESSION 9 – Recent developments in DOJ enforcement priorities and what defense counsel should be watching | 1:20pm – 1:30pm

Priorities announced in Washington become cases everywhere else. A review of recent DOJ enforcement shifts, the signals that predict where resources will flow, and adjustments practitioners should make before the next wave arrives.

SESSION 10 – Practice tips for attorneys transitioning from state court matters into federal criminal practice | 1:30pm – 1:40pm

Federal practice rewards preparation and punishes assumptions carried over from state court. Closing takeaways cover procedural differences that surprise newcomers, building federal fluency quickly, and habits experienced practitioners rely on daily.