Overview
Chris is a former Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois that has spent the last 11 years in private practice helping companies and individuals navigate governmental and internal investigations. He has defended cases brought by almost every government agency, including the DOJ, SEC, CFPB, CFTC, to name a few.
He has conducted multiple internal investigations for Fortune 500 companies related to accounting fraud, corporate embezzlement, theft of trade secrets, and other sensitive topics.
Chris spends much of his time defending companies in the healthcare and other spaces against False Claims Act investigations, government audits, Medicare recoupment, and similar proceedings.
Chris has investigated and conducted complex federal civil, criminal, and administrative trials and appeals involving various subjects, including Medicare compliance, bankruptcy fraud, financial fraud, and legal and medical ethics. In addition, he has represented, advised, and assisted corporations in developing and implementing compliance programs, as well as conducting diligence as part of mergers, focusing on Medicare, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and Anti-Money Laundering compliance.
Chris also defends individuals accused of serious federal crimes. A trial lawyer at heart, Chris tried over 7 jury cases during his time as a federal prosecutor, and an additional 18 trials in his time in private practice. His recent victories include a seven figure damages award for a plaintiff that brought suit against a former partner as well as a full acquittal of a criminal defendant charged with multiple felonies.
As a side hustle, Chris has a keen knowledge of federal and state gambling laws, often providing advice to companies in the space. See Christopher Grohman, “Reconsidering Regulation: A Historical View of the Legality of Internet Poker and Discussion of the Internet Gambling Ban of 2006,” Journal of Legal Technology Risk Management, 1, No. 1 (Fall 2006)
Chris was a former instructor at Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and National Advocacy Center. He also was an Adjunct Professor at DePaul University Law School, Drafting (Jan. 2015 – 2018); Research and Writing for Law Enforcement (January 2016 – June 2018); and University of Illinois Chicago; and a current Adjunct Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago Law School (Federal Criminal Law (2024 – Present)).
*Matter handled prior to joining Benesch.
Experience
Successfully tried criminal insider trading case in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. After extensive briefing, the Court granted Rule 29 and Rule 33 acquittals in an oral ruling.
Securities Fraud: Tried and secured a securities fraud conviction against a defendant who fraudulently advertised the type of securities in which he intended to invest customer money and instead ran investment accounts in a manner similar to a Ponzi scheme.*
Fraud: Investigated and tried a 15-defendant, $3 million corporate check fraud scheme involving the creation of fake entities at the Illinois Secretary of State for the purpose of depositing and cashing large denomination corporate checks at various commercial banks.*
Fraud: Investigated and tried a 16-defendant, $3 million identity theft scheme involving employees of major commercial banks compromising customers’ bank accounts and other identifying information.*
Healthcare Fraud: Served as lead appellate attorney in United States v. Borassi, the Seventh Circuit’s leading case on the applicability of the safe harbor provision of the anti-kickback provision of the Medicare Fraud Statute.*
Ethics: Represented two attorneys, one charged with criminal contempt and the other facing disbarment from bankruptcy court.*
Civil Litigation: Represented School Superintendent in contract termination proceedings in front of school board and circuit court.*
Civil Litigation: Defended international union in federal civil suit alleging impermissible “secondary boycotting.”*
Secured probation for internal medicine physician accused of fraudulently billing Medicare and insurance companies over $3 million.*
Healthcare Fraud: Defended podiatrist and related company accused of committing over $70 million in Medicare fraud by creating and implementing a computerized medical records system that automatically qualified all medical treatments for Medicare coverage.*
Civil Litigation: Handled several multi-million dollar civil suits in federal court on various subject matters, including: construction defects, civil RICO, common law fraud, breach of contract, and civil rights.*
False Claims Act Prosecution: Investigated allegations that private special education contractor filed false claims alleging that company completed services not provided.*
False Claims Act Defense: Defended nursing home conglomerate in federal False Claims Act investigation regarding allegations of “worthless care” by nursing home staff; Defended home health care agency against civil and criminal allegations of false billing.*
Securities Fraud: Represented financial advisor in SEC 10b5 investigation; Managed team representing multinational bank being investigated by SEC for improperly writing off loans.*
Public Investigations: Defended two City of Chicago employees in Office of the Inspector General investigation into environmental malfeasance; Defended multiple corporations in OIG investigations into alleged WBE and MBE fraud.*
Federal Criminal Defense: Defended multiple federal criminal cases including: healthcare fraud, mortgage fraud, and federal program bribery; DefendedHead of Sales of Fortune 500 company against allegations that he paid bribes to Chicago-area politicians;Defended Chicago Alderman Willie B. Cochran in federal bribery charges.*
Civil Litigation: Successfully defended Illinois’s largest Medicaid provider in fraud investigation and secured restraining order against State of Illinois preventing State from withholding Medicaid funds from provider.*
Internal and Governmental Investigations: Conducted investigations for Fortune 500 companies regarding: (1) $7 million accounting fraud that occurred during a merger; (2) theft of over $100 million by a CEO; (3) criminal theft of trade secrets, and (4) FCPA violations in Indonesia. Conducted extensive internal investigation for company regarding potential employee theft of competitor’s trade secrets; Conducted internal investigation based on SEC order regarding SEC’s allegations that multi-national bank impermissibly failed to write-off loans on bank’s financial statements; Conducted internal investigation of Chinese company accused of violations of the Economic Espionage Act.*
Trials: Conducted 20 jury trials to verdict.*
No results found
Credentials
Education
- summa cum laude
Clerkships and Bar Admissions
More
- Member, American Bar Association (Vice-Chair Young Lawyers’ Division, Criminal Justice Committee)
- Member, Federal Bar Association
- Member, Chicago Bar Association
- Member, Seventh Circuit Bar Association
- Member, Just the Beginning Foundation
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Law Clerk to the Honorable Algenon L. Marbley, United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (2006-2007)
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Law Clerk to the Honorable Ann Claire Williams (ret.), for the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (2009-2010)
- Prosecutor of the Year – United States Postal Inspection Service, 2014
- Chicago Crime Stoppers, 2013 Award
- Leading Lawyer, 2019, 2020, and 2021
- Illinois Super Lawyer – Criminal Defense, White Collar: 2023-2025
- Listed, Crain’s Chicago Business, Notable Leaders in Accounting, Consulting & Law, 2024
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