(NEW YORK) Katten announced today that Vikas Khanna, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney's Office in Newark, has rejoined the firm's New York office as a partner in the White Collar Litigation practice.

"Vikas brings to Katten valuable trial and investigation experience and has a stellar reputation as an attorney of impeccable integrity. This is a move that will greatly benefit our clients and further strengthen our white collar team. We are excited to welcome him back to the firm," said Katten partner Scott A. Resnik, national chair of the White Collar Litigation practice, which handles criminal defense and internal investigations for individuals and companies.

Resnik, a former assistant US attorney, first recruited Khanna to Katten as an associate in 2007, where he represented both individuals and corporations who were subjects and targets of government investigations.

Prior to his return to Katten, Khanna served for nearly nine years as a federal prosecutor in the US Attorney's Office in the District of New Jersey, handling a number of cases, including tax evasion, money laundering, health care fraud, extortion, bribery and public corruption against pharmaceutical sales representatives, public officials, company executives, police officers and fire inspectors.

There he held several positions, including Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, where he supervised dozens of assistant US attorneys in the Health Care and Government Fraud, Opioid Abuse Prevention and Enforcement, and Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Units and oversaw complex investigations, prosecutions and trials of multinational corporations and individuals involving the Anti-Kickback Statute, the False Claims Act and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Khanna also served as Deputy Chief of the Health Care and Government Fraud Unit in Newark, where he worked on and supervised several criminal and civil health care investigations and prosecutions of corporations, executives, doctors and pharmacies.

As a federal prosecutor, Khanna has handled many high-profile white-collar and public corruption matters. In 2016, Khanna, as co-lead attorney, convicted two high-ranking New Jersey officials in the "Bridgegate" case after a lengthy and highly publicized trial. In a separate matter, Khanna successfully prosecuted a former New Jersey attorney general and Port Authority chairman charged with bribery for misusing his authority to extract favors from a national airline operating out of Newark Liberty International Airport.

Khanna has spoken at various conferences addressing the US Department of Justice's white-collar enforcement policies and priorities, internal investigations, the Anti-Kickback Statute, corporate compliance, the False Claims Act and opioid investigations and enforcement. Earlier this year, he served on a panel of federal law enforcement officials who discussed efforts to address the ongoing opioid crisis in New Jersey.

Khanna was also recognized among the Diverse Attorneys of the Year in 2017 by the New Jersey Law Journal for his exceptional accomplishments.