Marisa is a former state and federal prosecutor who assists clients across myriad industries. As the Chair of the White Collar, Government Investigations & Regulatory Practice Group, Marisa actively advises companies and individuals in defense of civil and criminal investigations and prosecutions brought by law enforcement and regulatory agencies. Marisa has successfully tried more than 15 complex criminal cases to verdict and has argued before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
In addition, Marisa has advised clients, litigated, and conducted internal investigations on a range of issues, such as allegations of wrongdoing in violation of federal and state law, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, bribery, corruption, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, and other criminal and civil violations of law. She has handled investigations in federal court regarding wire and mail fraud as well as complex financial investigations. Marisa regularly conducts corporate inquiries surrounding allegations of sexual harassment and workplace discrimination, civil rights and Title IX violations, and other corporate malfeasance.
Marisa began her career as a litigator in New York. She was part of the team that liquidated the largest broker-dealer in U.S. history, which ultimately administered more than U.S. $100 billion in assets. Marisa clerked for the Honorable Morrison C. England in the Eastern District of California, and worked as an Assistant District Attorney in the New York County (Manhattan) District Attorney’s Office. She is also an adjunct faculty member at Case Western Reserve School of Law, lecturing on criminal law.
Representative Experience
- Represented a consumer products company in an internal investigation regarding allegations of racial bias and a hostile work environment involving a human resources manager. Benesch reviewed all internal communications, interviewed company personnel and provided a detailed investigative report with factual findings and proposed remedial actions.
- Represented a professional basketball player accused of conspiracy and wire fraud for allegedly attempting to avoid paying child support and taxes for several years. The government claimed that the pro athlete "unlawfully, voluntarily, intentionally and knowingly" conspired to defraud the U.S. by falsely underreporting his income and sought prison time for the athlete. Benesch defended the athlete, securing a probationary period and avoiding prison time for the client.
- Represented a member of the leadership team at a public Big 10 state university in a dispute involving allegations that the dean of the business school was improperly removed from his position after failing to mandatory report allegations of staff improper behavior, in violation of Title IX. The parties reached a settlement favorable to our client.
- As a Federal Prosecutor, prosecuted the first case that challenged a non-U.S. resident with international drug trafficking in the Northern District of Ohio.
- As a Federal Prosecutor, prosecuted several individuals and group drug dealers as part of an opioid taskforce resulting in several landmark sentences.
- Represented the Board of Directors in one of the largest RICO investigations in U.S. history in the energy sector, resulting in a deferred prosecution agreement with the Government.
- Represented pharmaceutical sales representative in large DOJ and HHS investigation into kickback scheme initiated by a Qui Tam relator.
- Member of legal team that represented the largest broker-dealer liquidation in U.S. history.