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Seigmann_Stephanie

B. Stephanie Siegmann

Partner Boston

Leveraging her extensive and vast trial experience as a former Navy JAG and national security prosecutor, B. Stephanie Siegmann specializes in handling high-stakes civil and criminal investigations, prosecutions,  and enforcement proceedings, as well as sensitive internal investigations. Stephanie is a litigation partner, Chair of the International Trade & National Security group, and Co-Chair of the Cybersecurity, Privacy & Data Protection group.

Stephanie has been a trial lawyer for more than 25 years overseeing hundreds of complex investigations and trying countless trials. Prior to joining Hinckley Allen in March 2022, Stephanie handled and supervised some of the highest profile national security matters in the country during her 18-year tenure as a former prosecutor and National Security Chief in the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts. Stephanie understands the current threat landscape facing businesses and is uniquely positioned to assist organizations in preparing for, investigating, and mitigating risks of all kind, including those arising under the False Claims Act, the Securities Exchange Act, and national security laws.  She offers extensive experience and insider perspectives on the application of national security and federal criminal laws, white collar defense, trial tactics and strategies, cyber threats, crisis management, and government enforcement.

Stephanie uses her experience as a former prosecutor to defend companies and individuals in complex government investigations and advises clients on a full range of issues involving national security, export controls (ITAR and EAR), sanctions, cybersecurity, cyber incident response, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, anti-money laundering, grant compliance, theft of trade secrets and intellectual property, healthcare and financial crimes.  She conducts internal investigations, provides guidance on developing robust regulatory compliance programs, interfaces with law enforcement agencies, responds to government inquiries and subpoenas, seeks to favorably resolve government enforcement matters, and provides aggressive representation in civil and criminal matters.

Prior to joining Hinckley Allen, Stephanie served as the National Security Chief of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts and in that role, learned how to thwart insider threats and respond to emergencies of all kinds. She was responsible for supervising all national security investigations and prosecutions in Massachusetts, including national security cyber intrusions, international and domestic terrorism, terrorist financing, violations of U.S. export control laws and sanctions regulations, theft of intellectual property and proprietary information, online threats, money laundering, espionage, and fraud. She also oversaw investigations involving foreign influence operations and attempts by China and other countries to steal U.S. technology and intellectual property from businesses and academia using cyber-enabled means and insiders.

Stephanie began her career in 1997 as a prosecutor in the Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps where she prosecuted numerous violent crimes (i.e., murder, rape, and child abuse) as well as cases involving fraud and computer offenses. While at the U.S. Attorney’s Office from September 2003 to February 2022, Stephanie handled several high profile matters as a national security prosecutor including: the extradition and successful prosecution of a Chinese businessman for illegally supplying hundreds of U.S. manufactured pressure transducers (a critical component in developing weapons’ grade uranium) to Iran’s nuclear weapons program using front companies located in China and conspirators located in several countries; obtaining a guilty plea from a Chinese businessman for illegally supplying parts with applications in anti-submarine warfare to a prohibited end-user on the Department of Commerce’s Entity List; a plot directed by a prolific ISIS recruiter located in Syria to behead people in the United States, resulting in a 30-year sentence against the leader of the conspiracy after trial; and the successful prosecution of three friends of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev for the obstruction of the Boston Marathon bombings investigation.

Additionally, working with the Deputy Chief of Export Control and Sanctions at the Department of Justice, Stephanie conducted a three-year investigation of SAP SE, a global software company headquartered in Germany, after they made a voluntary self-disclosure that their software had been illegally downloaded in Iran, resulting in a non-prosecution agreement due to the company’s self-disclosures, level of cooperation, and extensive remediation efforts.

Experience

Defense/Compliance Experience:

  • Defend healthcare company in investigation of Medicaid fraud and State False Claims Act violations.
  • Represent healthcare transportation company in connection with federal and state investigations for Medicaid and Medicare fraud, False Claims Act violations, and money laundering offenses.
  • Represent global life sciences company in conducting internal investigation of theft of trade secrets and succeeded in negotiating favorable settlement from former employee prior to filing lawsuit.
  • Defend individuals charged with insider trading in DOJ and SEC investigations.
  • Defend medical professional investigated for violations of Controlled Substances Act and secured favorable resolution of matter with U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
  • Defend individuals being investigated for research misconduct by research institutions and federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health.
  • Represent attorney victim of real estate wire fraud scheme in successfully mediating and resolving matter.
  • Led internal investigation of former employee of global technology company for embezzlement, wire fraud, and drug offenses uncovered as a result of ransomware attack resulting in successful DOJ prosecution and recovery of losses.
  • Led cyber incident response and data breach investigations for numerous companies of all sizes and types, from manufacturers, technology companies, and financial institutions to accounting and legal services businesses in connection with network intrusions, ransomware attacks, email and text message compromise scams resulting in wire fraud, and theft of sensitive data.
  • Advise and assist organizations on cybersecurity, government contractual requirements, safeguarding electronic protected health information, HIPAA issues, data privacy, export control laws and sanctions, the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and national security laws such as the regulations pertaining to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), online threats, protection of intellectual property and proprietary information, insider threats, fraud, and general compliance matters.

As the District of MA National Security Chief from 2018-2022:

  • Supervised all national security investigations and prosecutions in the District of Massachusetts including several cyberattacks by suspected foreign actors and the theft of trade secrets from several U.S. based companies;
  • Supervised trial of Harvard Professor Charles Lieber resulting in his conviction on all counts in the December 2021;
  • Supervised successful prosecution of a researcher at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for lying about attempting to smuggle 21 vials of biological materials (hidden in his luggage) to China;
  • Supervised the prosecution of a Raytheon employee, Ahmedelhadi Yassin Serageldin, for the mishandling of classified information;
  • Supervised the investigation of two hackers charged in September 2020 with damaging multiple websites across the United States as retaliation for the United States military action in January 2020 that killed Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force; and
  • With DOJ’s National Security Division, conducted an extensive investigation of SAP SE, a software company headquartered in Germany, involving the analyses of thousands of documents and witness interviews overseas after a voluntary self-disclosure was made to DOJ resulting in the approval of non-prosecution agreement due to the extensive cooperation and remediation efforts costing more than $27 million.

Representative trials and guilty pleas while a national security prosecutor include:

  • United States v. Shuren Qin (2018-2021) – After successfully overcoming several motions including, a motion to suppress evidence obtained from border search of electronic devices, negotiated a guilty plea to ten charges, including illegal exports of items used in anti-submarine warfare to a Chinese military university on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Entity List.
  • United States v. David Wright and Nicholas Rovinski (2015-2020) – Successfully prosecuted two individuals for conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and plotting to behead persons in the United States. This terrorist cell was in direct contact with an ISIS leader/recruiter in Syria. Obtained guilty plea of Rovinski who agreed to cooperate and testify at Wright’s trial. Lead counsel at Wright’s trial, involving numerous novel and complex issues, which resulted in convictions against Wright on all counts.
  • United States v. Sihai Cheng (2013-2017) – Oversaw and coordinated an extensive investigation of Cheng, a Chinese citizen, who was responsible for creating an illegal procurement network that supplied hundreds of U.S. manufactured pressure transducers (a critical component in developing weapons’ grade uranium) to Iran’s nuclear weapons program using front companies located in China and conspirators located in several countries. Upon learning that Cheng had traveled from the PRC to the United Kingdom, succeeded in obtaining Cheng’s extradition from the United Kingdom to face charges in the United States. Cheng pled guilty to six counts of conspiring to export and illegally exporting pressure transducers to Iran through PRC over a period of several years. At sentencing hearing, presented expert testimony on Iran’s nuclear program and how Cheng’s activities gravely harmed the national security of the United States. As a result, Cheng received a sentence of nine years’ imprisonment, which was affirmed by the First Circuit.
  • United States v. Dias Kadyrbayev, Azamat Tazhayakov, Robel Phillipos (2013-2015) – Successfully prosecuted the cases commonly referred to as the Boston Marathon Bombing obstruction cases. After the FBI released pictures of the suspected Boston Marathon bombers (Tamerlan and Dzhohzar Tsarnaev) to the public seeking assistance in identifying them, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s college friends (Kadyrbayev, Tazhayakov, and Phillipos) went to Dzhokhar’s dorm room and removed critical evidence and lied to law enforcement.
  • United States v. David Maricola (2012-2015) – Successfully prosecuted a Massachusetts resident for illegally exporting hundreds of assault rifle and firearm components to people in more than 20 countries. Maricola pled guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with violations of the Arms Export Control Act, smuggling, and money laundering.
  • United States v. Rezwan Ferdaus (2011-2012) – Oversaw undercover investigation of, and successfully prosecuted, a 26-year old al Qaeda radicalized individual who planned to attack the Pentagon and U.S. Capital Building using remote controlled aircraft filled with C4 plastic explosives. Ferdaus pled guilty and is serving a 17-year sentence of imprisonment.
  • United States v. Hok Shek Chan (2009-2011) – Succeeded in extraditing Chan from Hong Kong (this was the first time Hong Kong had extradited anyone to the U.S. for export violations since it reverted back to the sovereignty of the PRC in 1997) and after extensive pre-trial litigation, Chan pled guilty to conspiring to illegally exporting, and attempting to export, U.S. military aircraft parts to the Islamic Republic of Iran through Hong Kong.
  • United States v. Zhen Zhou Wu, Yufeng Wei, Chitron Electronics, Inc. (2006-2010) – Lead counsel in the successful prosecution of a ten-year conspiracy to violate U.S. export laws. On May 10, 2010, following a six-week trial, involving more than 800 exhibits and 40 witnesses including five expert witnesses, a federal jury found Wu, Wei, and Wu’s company, Chitron Electronics, Inc., guilty of conspiring, from 1997 to 2007, to illegally export defense articles and sophisticated electronics/semi-conductors used in military phased array radar, electronic warfare, and missile systems from the United States to the PRC and illegally exporting such parts to the PRC on numerous occasions between 2004 and 2007. Wu’s customers included Chinese military research institutes and military entities responsible for procuring, developing, and manufacturing electronic components for China’s Army (PLA), Navy, and Air Force.

Credentials

Work Experience

  • Hinckley Allen
    • Partner (2022-Present)
    • Chair, International Trade & National Security Group
    • Co-Chair, Cybersecurity, Privacy & Data Protection Group
  • United States Attorney’s Office, National Security Unit
    • Chief (2018-2022)
    • Assistant U.S. Attorney (2003-2018)
  • Suffolk University Law School
    • Adjunct Faculty Member (2011-2013)
  • Edwards & Angell, LLP
    • Litigation Associate – Intellectual Property and Business Disputes (2003)
  • Hill & Barlow
    • Litigation Associate (2001-2003)
  • United States Navy, Judge Advocate General’s Corps
    • Trial Counsel (1997-2001)

Honors & Awards

  • Super Lawyers, Massachusetts
    • Super Lawyers (2023)
  • Boston Magazine, Top Lawyers (2022-2023)
    • Criminal Defense White Collar
  • Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, Go To Lawyer (2022)
    • Cybersecurity/Data Privacy
  • Massachusetts Lawyer’s Weekly, 2021 Top Woman of the Law Award (2021)
  • Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys, Director’s Award for Superior Performance as an Assistant U.S. Attorney (2017)
  • Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations Director's Award, Outstanding Counterproliferation Investigation for the successful prosecution of Qiang Hu and Sihai Cheng (2016)
  • Women in Federal Law Enforcement, Top Prosecutor, National Security (2011)
  • Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations Director's Award, Outstanding Counterproliferation Investigation for the successful prosecution of Zhen Zhou Wu, Yufeng Wei, and Chitron Electronics (2011)
  • Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (2000)
  • Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (1999)

Charitable & Civic Involvement

  • Massachusetts Woman’s Bar Association
    • Co-Chair, Women in the Courtroom Committee (2022-present)

Professional Affiliations

  • Boston Bar Association
    • White Collar Crime Section Steering Committee (2021-2022, 2023-Present)
    • International Law Section Steering Committee (2022-2023)
    • Government Lawyer’s Forum Advisory Committee (2020-2022)
  • Boston College, Woods College of Advancing Studies
    • Part-time Faculty Member, M.S. Cybersecurity Policy and Governance Program
  • Law360, Massachusetts Editorial Review Board (2023-present)
  • Massachusetts Woman’s Bar Association
    • Women in the Courtroom Committee (2021-present)
  • National Defense Industrial Association
    • Vice President (2022-present)
    • Board Member (2022)
    • Government Liaison, New England Chapter (2021-2022)

Bar Memberships

  • District of Columbia
  • Massachusetts
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
  • United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
  • United States Court of Federal Claims

Publications

  • "The Prosecution of Chitron Electronics, Inc.: How We Identified, Prosecuted, and Dismantled a Chinese Front Company Hiding in the United States," U.S. Attorney's Bulletin, November 2013
  • Stephanie Siegmann & Daniel C. Winston, “Copyright Infringement,” Chapter 6 of MCLE’s Business Torts in Massachusetts (2002)
  • “Jack Teixeira Pleads Guilty to Leak of Pentagon Secrets.” TIME, 4 Mar. 2024.
    • B. Stephanie Siegmann quoted in TIME’s article.

Newsroom

Publication

Navigating Profound Change: CISA Announces Proposed Rule for Mandated Cyber Incident Reporting

In 2025, new federal reporting requirements will require hundreds of thousands of organizations to report cyber incidents within hours of discovery to the United States Government, marking a significant impact on how organizations manage cyber incidents to…

Publication

US launches counterattack in battle over data

What is the impact of the latest Executive Order (EO-14117), aimed at preventing "countries of concern" from gaining access to U.S. sensitive personal data? Chair of the International Trade & National Security practice, B. Stephanie Siegmann shares her…

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Firm News

Hinckley Allen’s Legal Excellence Recognized by Boston Magazine

Hinckley Allen is pleased to announce that numerous attorneys have been recognized by Boston Magazine, earning the prestigious title of "The Top Lawyers of 2023." This annual accolade, initiated in 2021, is designed to highlight outstanding legal talent in…

Firm News

57 Hinckley Allen Lawyers Included in 2023 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists

A total of 57 Hinckley Allen attorneys were named to the Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars lists in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Upstate New York for 2023, including those newly recognized as well as featured in Top Lists.Ger…

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Events

Past Event

The Truth About the False Claims Act

April 3, 2024

B. Stephanie Siegmann, Litigation & Investigations Partner, Chair of the International Trade & National Security group, and Co-Chair of the Cybersecurity, Privacy & Data Protection group will join Eric Crusius, Partner at Holland & Knight, …

Past Event

Bridging the Cybersecurity Gap: Safeguarding National Defense and Corporate Frontiers with CodeX

February 29, 2024

B. Stephanie Siegmann, Litigation & Investigations Partner, Chair of the International Trade & National Security group, and Co-Chair of the Cybersecurity, Privacy & Data Protection group will moderate panel discussion featuring SMEs from academ…

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