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Cory S. Flashner

Member

[email protected]

+1.617.348.1605

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Cory is a white collar defense attorney in the firm’s Chambers ranked White Collar practice group, and a former federal and state prosecutor with extensive trial experience who specializes in representing individuals and companies in the financial services sector in investigations, enforcement actions and compliance related to financial laws. Cory uses his experience as a first chair litigator in over 75 state and federal jury trials and hundreds of grand jury proceedings to advise his clients on a variety of actions, from subpoena responses to plea negotiations to trial proceedings related to alleged financial crimes, and violations of securities laws, anti-money laundering laws and regulations. He also has extensive expertise in advising clients on FCPA compliance and due diligence, as well as drafting and implementing internal anti-money laundering and FCPA policies for clients looking to mitigate risk. In addition, Cory has a long history of representing broker-dealers before the SEC and DOJ, in both subpoena responses and enforcement proceedings and skillfully guides clients through such challenges with a deep understanding of potential civil, criminal and reputational impacts. As a former prosecutor and head of anti-money laundering for a global systemically important bank, Cory’s approach to legal challenges is holistic and draws on his unique experiences in the role of defense counsel, prosecutor and in-house counsel in complex disputes.

Cory also works with clients on navigating the complex regulatory and legal issues surrounding the cannabis industry at both the state and federal level. He helps guide investors, startups and individuals through this uncertain and evolving legal landscape, including counseling them on risk assessment, compliance measures, and helping to minimize business disruption. He has extensive experience in advising clients and individuals in the cryptocurrency industry on navigating the rapidly evolving legal landscape including counselling them on complex legal issues related to criminal and civil disputes, government investigations and regulatory compliance.

In addition to his robust white collar practice, Cory is an active member of the firm’s pro bono initiatives, where he works on a variety of different regional and national projects, including advising domestic violence shelters in understanding and responding to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions.

Prior to joining Mintz, Cory was a vice president and the regional head of the anti-money laundering (AML) division for North America at a Boston-based global systemically important bank (G-SIB). His work encompassed supervising more than two dozen compliance professionals and providing oversight and guidance to the company’s North American business units on AML regulations, the Bank Secrecy Act, and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regulations. In addition, he negotiated and resolved matters before federal, state, and international regulatory bodies including FINRA, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Federal Reserve Bank.

Between 2010 and 2016, Cory served as an Assistant US Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, where he investigated and indicted one of the largest pyramid schemes ever prosecuted by the US Department of Justice involving investors in 240 countries and over $3 billion in losses. Earlier, he worked in the homicide and senior trial units of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office in Boston, handling all aspects of homicide and high-profile felony cases. In addition to his extensive trial court and grand jury work, Cory argued before the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts and succeeded in persuading the court to adopt the doctrine of forfeiture by wrongdoing. In 2008, Cory was the recipient of the Outstanding Superior Court Prosecutor Award from the Suffolk County DA’s Office.  

In law school, Cory served as a notes & comments editor of the Fordham Intellectual PropertyMedia & Entertainment Law Journal and senior director of Fordham Student Sponsored Fellowship. He was also a two-time recipient of the fellowship and was granted the Archibald R. Murray Public Service Award.

He coaches various Weston youth athletic teams, including baseball and wrestling.

Experience

  • Currently represents two defendants charged with fraud in relation to the ongoing College Admissions prosecution.
  • Represented CFO charged in $30+ million fraud scheme and secured disposition substantially more favorable than recommended by the Federal Guidelines. The sentencing judge remarked that he was “frankly surprised that [CFO’s] counsel was able to negotiate such a favorable agreement.”
  • Represented former professional athlete as a witness in a DOJ investigation related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
  • Represented numerous broker dealers in connection with various investigations and actions brought by the DOJ and SEC.
  • Represented CFO indicted in a $25 million fraud.
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viewpoints

The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts recently unsealed what it described as the “first-ever criminal charges against financial services firms for market manipulation and ‘wash trading’ in the cryptocurrency industry.” 

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In remarks given at the University of Oxford on February 14, 2024, Deputy Attorney General (“DAG”) Lisa O. Monaco announced the Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) latest approach to artificial intelligence: naming the DOJ’s first Chief Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) Officer.

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In 2023, the DOJ amplified compliance-related incentives for companies under criminal investigation (including health care companies), while the OIG has substantially revised and modernized previously issued compliance guidance and resources applicable to health care companies and providers.

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Just barely two weeks ago, we wrote about the half-victory for Ripple Labs in its ongoing litigation with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), in which Judge Analisa Torres granted partial summary judgment in favor of Ripple on the issue of whether certain sales of Ripple’s XRP cryptocurrency tokens were “securities” under the federal securities laws. Some in the crypto industry interpreted her ruling to mean that secondary transactions in crypto assets on centralized and decentralized crypto exchanges were not transactions in “securities,” even though Judge Torres expressly declined to address the secondary trading issue. Fast forward to today, and a new ruling out of the SDNY against Terraform Labs casts further doubt on this interpretation.

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At the American Bar Association’s 38th Annual National Institute on White Collar Crime, Department of Justice (“DOJ”) officials announced multiple significant policy updates regarding corporate compliance.

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Whistleblowers are often thought of as public company insiders who report alleged wrongdoing like insider trading, market manipulation, submitting false or misleading company disclosures or other securities and commodities law violations. The emergence of the digital asset industry, and the expanding number of crypto companies using public-facing blockchains, has changed this paradigm. Now anyone with the time, skill, and inclination can audit every transaction on a public blockchain, and the concept of the “traditional” whistleblower has greatly expanded in this relatively unregulated space.

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News & Press

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187 Mintz attorneys have been recognized by Best Lawyers® in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America©. Notably, three Mintz attorneys received 2025 “Lawyer of the Year” awards, and 64 firm attorneys were included in the 2025 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch.

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Mintz announced today that 42 of its practices and 83 of its attorneys earned recognition in the 2024 edition of Chambers USA, a guide to the country’s leading law firms. Of those included in the guide, 18 attorneys and seven practice areas were awarded Chambers’ highest ranking, Band 1. The firm obtained new listings in three practice areas and 10 of its lawyers were recognized for the first time.

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Member Cory Flashner spoke to the National Law Journal about a pivotal lawsuit brought by investor James Harper against the IRS, challenging the warrantless seizure of cryptocurrency records and questioning the third-party doctrine’s relevance to digital privacy at the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals. He explains the distinction in privacy expectations between crypto exchange data and cell phone records.

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Member Cory Flashner was quoted in a Law360 article, sharing his insights on the return of the pre-pandemic 12-person jury to Massachusetts state courts.

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BOSTON –  Twenty-five Mintz attorneys have been named to Boston Magazine’s Top Lawyers list.

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Mintz is pleased to announce that 120 firm attorneys have been recognized as leaders by Best Lawyers® in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America©.

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BOSTON – Mintz has earned top rankings in the 2023 edition of Legal 500 United States guide. The firm is recognized in 14 practice categories, and 59 individual attorneys are also recognized in the guide, some in more than one category.

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BOSTON –Mintz announced today that 39 of its practices and 81 of its attorneys earned recognition in the 2023 edition of Chambers USA, a guide to the country’s leading law firms.

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Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly covered an article written by Members Cory Flashner, and Adam Sisitsky, and Associate Edmund P. Daley about the rise in cryptocurrency whistleblowers.

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Member Cory Flashner spoke to McKnights Long-Term Care News about a case of large scale COVID relief fraud at a nursing home in Iowa.

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In its second annual edition, 28 Mintz attorneys were named to Boston Magazine’s Top Lawyers list.

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Best Lawyers® recognized 108 firm attorneys in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America©. Notably, two Mintz attorneys – Poonam Patidar and Scott M. Stanton – received 2023 “Lawyer of the Year” awards, and 28 firm attorneys were included in the inaugural edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch.

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In a recent article for The Real Estate Finance Journal, Member and Co-Chair of the firm’s Financial Services Practice, Pete S. Michaels, Member Cory S. Flashner, and Associate Alyssa C. Scruggs, explore the recent increased focus on money-laundering risks in residential real estate transactions, including an overview of regulatory efforts to prevent money laundering.
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Events & Speaking

Panelist
Mar
7
2024

ACAMS Greater Boston Chapter March 2024 Event: Career Tracks in Financial Crime

Boston University Law School, Barristers Hall, Ground Floor, 765 Commonwealth Ave. Boston, 02115

Moderator
Jan
15
2020

2020 White-Collar Crime Conference

Boston Bar Association

Aloft Boston | Seaport District 401-403 D Street Boston, Massachusetts, 02210

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Speaker
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Recognition & Awards

  • Chambers USA: Massachusetts- Litigation: White Collar Crime and Government Investigations (2023-2024)

  • Best Lawyers in America: Criminal Defense: White Collar (2021-2025)

  • Boston Magazine Top Lawyers – Criminal Defense-White Collar (2021 - 2024)

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Involvement

  • Board Member, Healing Abuse Working for Change (HAWC) (2021)
  • Board Member, Weston Dads Foundation (2016 - present)
  • Vice President, Show-Me Wrestling Club
  • Secretary, New England Chapter, Fordham Law Alumni Association (2008 - 2015)
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