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Byron McLain is a Los Angeles-based litigator and white-collar criminal defense partner at Foley & Lardner LLP. He is a member of the firm’s Government Enforcement Defense & Investigations and Securities Enforcement & Litigation Practice Areas. Byron works closely with the Health Care, Cannabis and Sports & Entertainment Industry Teams. Byron also is the chair of Foley & Lardner’s Racial Justice and Equity Practice Group.

Byron investigates, litigates and tries complex criminal and civil cases, including those involving government investigations. He also conducts corporate internal investigations and often successfully persuades the government not to pursue investigations of his clients. As a former federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, Byron has leveraged his extensive knowledge and broad network of relationships to achieve the best results for his clients in a very discrete manner. He is strongly adept at articulating complex issues in layman’s terms across industries and at humanizing corporate clients so they are relatable as witnesses during interviews and at trial. Byron also advises clients concerning the distribution and marketing of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrencies, in order to best avoid these assets from being construed as securities by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Byron previously served as deputy chief of the General Crimes Section in the U.S. Attorney’s office (USAO) for the Central District of California, where he co-supervised a training section of more than 50 assistant U.S. attorneys. He also served as a prosecutor in the Major Frauds Section of the Criminal Division, where he investigated and prosecuted white-collar crime. As a fraud lawyer at the USAO Los Angeles location, he has tried many criminal cases to jury verdict and argued cases before the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. His experience includes navigating criminal and civil allegations concerning health care fraud, securities law violations, false claims, kickbacks, wire and mail fraud, tax conspiracy fraud, movie investment fraud, obstruction of justice, marijuana/cannabis distribution and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan fraud.

Byron has a specialized knowledge of the health care claims and reimbursement industry. He served as the USAO’s health care fraud coordinator, where he evaluated health care-related False Claim Act (FCA) civil claims and determined whether criminal investigations should be initiated. He coordinated with other assistant U.S. attorneys and investigative agencies to identify the USAO’s top priority cases in home health care, hospice, prescription drugs, and skilled nursing facility care. He also worked with the U.S. Department of Justice’s local Medicare Fraud Strike Force and assisted with the coordination and organization of its annual national sweep of health care criminal cases.