Michael D. Padula Joins Carlton Fields

Miami, Fla. – Carlton Fields is pleased to announce that Michael D. Padula has joined the firm’s Miami office as of counsel. Padula will practice in the White Collar and Government Investigations practice group.

Padula was a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division in Washington, D.C. During his tenure, he was assigned to numerous positions, most recently with the Money Laundering Bank Integrity Unit. Padula led high-end money laundering investigations and investigations into financial institutions for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act.

He also served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, where he prosecuted white-collar crime, including money laundering, bank fraud, Medicare fraud, and structuring cases. Padula has litigated at all levels, and won convictions in cases involving money laundering, healthcare fraud, tax fraud, and bank fraud.

Prior to joining the firm, Padula served as a partner at Weil Quaranta, P.A. in Miami, where he represented companies and business leaders and other high-profile clients in a wide range of civil litigation matters, including complex business disputes.

“We are excited to welcome Michael to the firm, and are confident that our clients will find his knowledge and skillset to be a valuable resource,” said Adam P. Schwartz, who chairs the firm’s White Collar and Government Investigations practice. “His trial and investigation experience further strengthens our existing offerings in these areas, which is particularly important in this era of increased regulation and scrutiny.”

In 2016, Padula and a trial team from the U.S. Attorney’s Office convicted the former CEO of Cay Clubs for running a $300 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded multiple banks and 1,400 investors.