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Christina O. Gotsis

Associate
Christina O. Gotsis's headshot
Christina O. Gotsis Associate
Christina Gotsis is an experienced litigator who focuses her practice on white-collar criminal defense and investigations.
Christina represents corporate clients, executives and high-net-worth individuals in criminal and civil enforcement actions and investigations involving various types of fraud, including securities fraud, accounting fraud, digital asset fraud, loan fraud, corporate fraud, investment schemes and Ponzi schemes.
She also provides counsel regarding criminal tax issues, money laundering, racketeering, False Claims Act issues, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act issues and other securities violations. Christina’s practice also includes representing audit committees and boards of directors to identify and remediate corporate misconduct in internal investigations, as well as corporate compliance and fraud-adjacent civil litigation. Christina uses a real-world approach to counsel and create innovative solutions for her clients. 
As a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Fraud Examiner, and a Cryptocurrency Tracing Certified Examiner, Christina has a distinct skill set that allows her to analyze financial transactions and public filings to uncover fraud, trace assets for recovery and mount nuanced technical defenses for her clients. Her deep understanding of internal controls also allows her to design comprehensive compliance programs across industries with an emphasis on anti-corruption and anti-money laundering. Christina is currently pursuing Certification in Financial Forensics and proactively engages in extensive research and thought leadership, authoring numerous articles and client alerts on criminal policy and its implications.
Prior to joining Morrison Cohen, Christina was a white-collar defense and investigations associate at Baker & Hostetler LLP. She received her J.D., cum laude, from St. John’s University School of Law, where she earned a full academic Dean’s Scholarship and was a member of the St. John’s Law Review. She holds a B.S., summa cum laude, in accounting from Molloy College, where she earned a full academic scholarship and from which she graduated two years early. Christina is also fluent in Greek.

Experience

Prior to joining Morrison Cohen

  • Represented Securities Investor Protection Corp. with respect to the largest Ponzi scheme in history including conducting exhaustive discovery and research, evaluating evidentiary issues and witness testimony, collaborating extensively with experts regarding accounting anomalies, engaging in settlement discussions, and preparing for civil federal trial to recover funds for the victims of Bernard L. Madoff’s Ponzi scheme from the first bad faith feeder fund.
  • Represented the Receiver in a digital asset Ponzi scheme including conducting tracing to identify potential digital asset wallets and exchanges for recovery, determining litigation strategy to pursue recovery, and engaging with experts to cultivate financial models in support of legal theories to prove the Ponzi scheme presumption.
  • Secured a declination for an individual in connection with a criminal IRS matter through creative theory development supported by thorough expert analysis.
  • Represented beauty industry leader in DOJ investigation defense strategy relating to allegations of Paycheck Protection Program loan fraud and tax evasion.
  • Represented individual in a late-stage DOJ investigation relating to loan fraud and secured favorable cooperation agreement and sentencing terms.
  • Performed in-depth investigation of accounting issues for a financial services company to assess potential corporate misconduct, identify weaknesses in infrastructure, and propose solutions to the Audit Committee.
  • Successfully secured a deferred prosecution agreement for a multi-national data management company in DOJ investigation, requiring comprehensive potential damage calculations.
  • Successfully defended Board of Directors against allegations of securities violations and other corporate misconduct while simultaneously securing insurance coverage.
  • Represented former marketing executive in measuring and securing certain company assets as well as combatting allegations of wrongdoing, which required innovative discovery techniques involving accounting software.
  • Conducted onsite internal investigation of start-up data management company to identify the source of a data leak.
  • Successfully prevented multiple witnesses in DOJ and SEC investigations from becoming targets related to allegations of fraud and improper broker-dealer relationships.
  • Represented individual in pursuing third party liability against a banking institution for failure to protect against fraud.
  • Represented Director nominees to challenge incumbent Directors of a pharmaceutical company in expedited proxy contest and litigation proceedings.
  • Designed and implemented anti-fraud policies and controls for several clients across the infrastructure, pharmaceutical, digital asset, construction, technology and financial sectors.

Professional Activities

Professional Affiliations

  • Corresponding Secretary, Hellenic Lawyers Association
  • Member, Equal Justice in the Courts Committee
  • Member, New York State Bar Association
  • Member, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
  • Member, AICPA

Certifications

  • Certified Public Accountant
  • Certified Fraud Examiner
  • Cryptocurrency Tracing Certified Examiner

Recognition

  • New York Metro Super Lawyers Rising Stars – White Collar Criminal Defense, 2023 and 2024
  • St. John’s University School of Law, Queens, NY
    • Full Academic Dean’s Scholarship
    • Hellenic Lawyers Association Scholarship
    • Member, St. John’s Law Review
    • Treasurer, Hellenic Law Society
    • Member, Criminal Law Society

News & Publications

  • Co-Author, “Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs): Overview,” Practice Note, Practice Law by Thomson Reuters, December 4, 2023.
  • Co-Author, “Warning: SEC Exams and Enforcement Targeting Broker-Dealer AML Compliance,” Westlaw Today, August 24, 2023.
  • Co-Author, “Get Ready For IRS Criminal Crackdown On Crypto,” Law360, May 2, 2023
  • Co-Author, “Top 5 Digital Asset Litigation and Investigation Trends of 2022,” The Journal of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence & Law, January/February 2023.
  • Co-Author, “The Tax Man Is Back: IRS Issues First John Doe Summons in 2022 to Major Crypto Platform, Seeking Treasure Trove of Information on Tax Noncompliance,” Westlaw Today, Sept. 14, 2022.
  • Co-Author, “Rewarding Tipsters Through Whistleblower Programs and False Claims Acts Increases the Likelihood of Cryptocurrency Tax Enforcement, Journal of Taxation of Investments (a CRI publication), Summer 2022.
  • Co-Author, “Borrowers, Lenders: Expect Tougher PPP Fraud Enforcement,” Bloomberg Law, Feb. 7, 2022.
  • Co-Author, “Understanding the DOJ Enforcement Tools,” ABA’s Antitrust Section – Cartel and Criminal Practice, July 6, 2021.
  • Co-Author, “New Rules and Enforcement Risks for the Paycheck Protection Program,” The Review of Banking & Financial Services, March 2021.
Christina O. Gotsis's headshot

Education

  • St. John's University, J.D., cum laude
  • Molloy University, B.S., summa cum laude

Bar Admissions

  • New York
  • U.S. District Court – Southern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court – Eastern District of New York
  • U.S. Court of Appeals – Second Circuit

Media & Insights