Victoria A. Degtyareva

Government and Internal Investigations

Victoria counsels clients in government and internal investigations, and represents companies and individuals charged with white-collar crimes.

Key representations include:

MGM Resorts International in a criminal investigation and prosecution involving allegations of money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act violations.

Higher education institutions in investigations related to allegations of misconduct and disparate treatment.

A major defense contractor in a criminal and civil investigation involving the False Claims Act.

A former bank executive in a criminal investigation alleging failure to maintain an effective AML program.

Assistant United States Attorney, Central District of California (2016-2022)

During her six-year tenure as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Central District of California, Victoria was a member of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section and the International Narcotics, Money Laundering and Racketeering Section.

In these roles, she handled numerous investigations and litigation involving cyberfraud, intellectual property violations, financial crimes and money laundering. These included prosecuting global malware attacks, an extensive, international conspiracy involving the attempted theft of millions of dollars through business email compromise schemes, romance scams and elder fraud, an intrusion into the internal network of a multinational e-commerce company, resulting in the theft of hundreds of millions of customer records, and importers and distributors of hundreds of thousands of counterfeit cell phone parts, laptop batteries and other electronics.

Victoria also prosecuted violent crime cases, including gang, cartel, kidnapping and murder cases, many of which involved international coordination.

Key prosecutions include:

• Following a three-year investigation, an indictment charging 50 members and affiliates of the Mexican Mafia with murder, money laundering and racketeering. Three RICO trials, each three to four weeks long, resulted in across the board convictions.
• An indictment charging dozens of members of an international money laundering conspiracy involving $6 million in fraudulently obtained funds and the attempted theft of an additional $40 million. A two-week trial of two defendants led to convictions on all counts, including money laundering, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
• An indictment charging members of a violent kidnapping organization that held hostage two dozen Mexican nationals while attempting to extort money from their relatives in the United States. A trial of one of the defendants led to a conviction on federal conspiracy charges.