Lesley Brovner and Mark Peters Lay Out Why They Support the Attorney General’s Lawsuit Against the Mayor and the NYPD in the Gotham Gazette OpEd.

Brovner and Peters write, “This Mayor and his police commissioners have repeatedly shown an unwillingness to make needed changes even when confronted with evidence of problems. If they haven’t taken steps they’ve known were needed for the last seven years, it’s hard to imagine they will do so now. For this reason, we’ve reached the point where a federal monitor to force change on the NYPD is the best option for this Department.”

Their opinion is informed by their five year-experience of running the City’s Department of Investigation, which oversees the NYPD’s Inspector General, during which time they “issued several reports on systemic failures that were largely brushed aside by the NYPD’s top leadership and the Mayor.”

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Lesley Brovner and Mark Peters Join Distinguished Panel for the 33rd Annual Accredited CLE Update on Dec. 10-11.

The 2-day event was hosted by Carver Financial Services and included 2 judges and 9 speakers. In their session on Dec. 10, Lesley Brovner and Mark Peters discussed employers’ duties and responsibilities in reporting the misconduct of their employees. They also discussed the ethical considerations and best practices surrounding these issues, including best practices with an eye toward minimizing misconduct at the outset.

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Lesley Brovner and Mark Peters pen letter to the editor criticizing NYT Magazine coverage of child abuse law enforcement

The letter was written in reaction to Michael Winerip’s piece about Operation Net Nanny, an online sting operation to catch child predators that snared hundreds of men and appeared in the New York Times Magazine on Sept. 13, 2020.

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Lesley Brovner Featured in Practising Law Institute (PLI) inSecurities Podcast on Fraud and the Cares Act

Partner Lesley Brovner and Fabio Leonardi (the Assistant U.S. Attorney & Coronavirus Fraud Coordinator for the Northern District of Texas) discussed the various types of fraud that could occur as a result of the CARES Act on the latest edition of Practising Law Institute (PLI)’s #inSecuritiesPod with Chris Ekimoff and Kurt Wolfe.

Lesley delved into how fraud in the CARES Act might compare to fraud in other large government spending programs, the landscape of the anticipated enforcement response, the ways in which NYC faces different Cares Act spending issues than the rest of the country and the time frame for prosecuting fraud in the CARES Act.

Listen to the PLI fraud podcast.

Lesley Brovner and Mark Peters Presented a Celesq West LegalEdcenter CLE program on the Importance of Oversight of the CARES Act and Beyond

On June 15, Lesley Brovner and Mark Peters presented a Celesq West LegalEdcenter CLE program on “The Importance of Oversight of the CARES Act and Beyond.”

The program explored the potential for fraud related to the CARES act and the need for vigilant monitoring by government Inspectors General. Lesley and Mark reviewed the history and jurisdiction of both the federal IG movement and New York City’s Department of Investigation. They examined fraud and government responses in other comparable spending programs as well as discussed current investigations and reports concerning the CARES Act.

Download the audio recording of the presentation here.

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Lesley Brovner Featured in National Association of Women Business Owners

May 29, 2020

Lesley Brovner was featured in a National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) NYC Q&A, which looked at her career path and why she enjoys what she does. When asked why she chose to become a lawyer, she said, “I’ve always been focused on using my legal knowledge and skills to achieve justice and the best results for the people I represent.” She noted that her ideal client is someone who, “needs help conducting an internal investigation or dealing with a regulatory agency or governmental investigation. ”

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Lesley Brovner and Mark Peters Co-Author Article for the New York Law Journal on the Importance of Oversight of the CARES Act

May 6, 2020

Lesley Brovner and Mark Peters co-authored an article for The New York Law Journal titled, “The Importance of Oversight of the CARES Act.”

The article delves into why a massive spending program such as the CARES Act needs close oversight to protect it against fraud.

Lesley and Mark served as First Deputy Commissioner and Commissioner at the New York City Department of Investigation during the rebuilding after Hurricane Sandy and spent over a decade prosecuting fraud in other government spending programs including 9/11 recovery, the WIC program and Social Security. Through their experience on these programs, they note that massive spending programs are invariably victimized by fraud.

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