Grant P. Fondo

Fondo is a former assistant U.S. attorney in the Northern District who joined Goodwin Procter in 2013 and now heads the firm’s California litigation department. He is a partner in the securities litigation and white collar defense group and also the founder and co-chair of the digital currency and blockchain technology practice.

His background as a prosecutor is a major plus, he said. “It gives me great insight into how and why the government brings cases and in how the U.S. attorney’s office works.”

Fondo was retained this year to defend a tax attorney indicted for his alleged role in what the government describes as the largest tax fraud case in U.S. history. Houston-based Carlos E. Kepke is charged with aiding, abetting and conspiring with billionaires Robert Brockman and Robert Smith—who is cooperating against Kepke—to create off-shore tax structures that resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in evaded taxes. U.S. v. Kepke, 3:21-cr-00155 (N.D. Cal., filed April 15, 2021).

Fondo continues to represent John Stumpf, the former chairman and CEO of Wells Fargo Bank N.A., in the government’s sprawling investigations and litigations over allegations that the bank opened unauthorized accounts and issued unauthorized products for customers. In Sept. 2016, Wells Fargo agreed to pay $185 million to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the City of Los Angeles to settle those claims. Stumpf settled with the OCC without admitting liability; he paid nothing in the $480 million settlement in a subsequent securities class action. Hefler et al. v. Wells Fargo & Co., 3:16-cv-05479 (N.D. Cal., filed Sept. 26, 2016).

“We still represent Mr. Stumpf in publicly-filed matters that are ongoing as to others,” Fondo said.

In another pending case, Fondo continues his representation of former JPMorgan investment banking analyst Ashish Aggarwal, for whom Fondo obtained a complete defense victory in a jury trial on a 30-count criminal indictment over insider trading conspiracy charges. U.S. v. Aggarwal, 2:15-cr-00465 (C.D. Cal., filed Aug. 20, 2015).

“We were able to put doubt into the government’s case that Mr. Aggarwal ever intended to provide others with inside information that they’d trade on,” Fondo said.

While that case ended successfully for his client, Aggarwal still faces Securities and Exchange Commission civil claims over the government’s contention that Aggarwal tipped a friend who tipped a third person over two impending JPMorgan transactions—a chain of events that allegedly resulted in about $700,000 in illicit profits. SEC v. Aggarwal et al., 2:15-cv-06460 (C.D. Cal., filed Aug. 25, 2015).

The SEC matter is on hold while the criminal cases against the other defendants proceed.

Meanwhile, Fondo’s cryptocurrency practice has grown to involve numerous lawyers at the firm. “The government continues to take a hard look at digital asset companies,” he said.

- John Roemer