Eric L. Gibson is a Principal and Chair of the firm's Internal Investigations & White Collar Defense Practice Group, counseling and defending companies, organizations, and individuals under administrative, civil, or criminal investigation or facing charges from federal, state, or local authorities. Mr. Gibson also conducts internal investigations and provides compliance guidance so that companies and their directors, executives, and employees may avoid or minimize the risk of such inquiries.
A former state and federal prosecutor, Mr. Gibson is an experienced and aggressive litigator who has handled many complex and sensitive public corruption investigations and trials for state and federal offenses including racketeering, mail and wire fraud, money laundering, tax evasion, bribery, and extortion. He provides an insider's knowledge of the full government enforcement cycle, from investigation, audit, subpoena, and search warrant to trial and appeal.
Mr. Gibson most recently served as an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) for the Department of Justice (DOJ), acting as Deputy Chief of the Corruption and Civil Rights Section of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. During this tenure, he supervised an elite unit investigating and prosecuting officials at all levels of government. In 2022, Mr. Gibson was featured in the documentary series, Murder Under the Friday Night Lights, regarding a small-town murder in Pennsylvania and the subsequent coverup by local police.
Prior to his tenure at the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Mr. Gibson served in Washington, D.C. as a Trial Attorney in both the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. While at the DOJ, he briefed Attorneys General as well as Assistant Attorneys General in both the Criminal and Civil Rights Divisions, and also interacted with agencies and offices across the federal government including the Federal Election Commission, the Department of Homeland Security, the Central Intelligence Agency, the United States House of Representatives, the United States Senate, and the White House. Before serving in the DOJ, Mr. Gibson served as an Assistant District Attorney in Philadelphia for over a decade in various roles including the elite Special Investigations Unit. Given his experience, he has deep insight into the practices of federal investigators, their agencies, and the DOJ’s criminal enforcement policies.
Mr. Gibson was honored for his work as a prosecutor in 2008 with the Justice Department’s highest award for employee performance, the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service. In 2009, he received the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service, and in 2016, he was awarded the Assistant Attorney General’s Criminal Division Award for Exceptional Service. He was also recognized twice by the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) “for demonstrated excellence in successfully prosecuting major criminal cases.”
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Highlights from Mr. Gibson’s 25+ prosecutorial career with the U.S. Department of Justice and Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office include:
- Leading federal prosecution team, United States v. Michael “Ozzie” Myers; Indicted former U.S. Congressman and Abscam defendant Michael “Ozzie” Myers for conspiring to violate voting rights by fraudulently stuffing the ballot boxes for specific political candidates in the 2014, 2015, and 2016 primary elections, bribery of an election official, falsification of records, voting more than once in federal elections, and obstruction of justice; Obtained guilty plea and cooperation agreement from former judge of elections.
- Led federal prosecution team, United States v Kenneth Smukler; Indicted and convicted Smukler, a 30-year veteran of political campaigns involving some of the most powerful politicians in the Philadelphia region and across the nation, of engaging in two schemes by which he, working with others, used similar methods in two consecutive election cycles in two separate campaigns for the United States House of Representatives, to willfully circumvent federal campaign finance limits, and to defeat transparency and obstruct justice in the campaign finance process as administered by the Federal Election Commission (“FEC”); Obtained guilty pleas from three cooperators; Handled the sentencing for Smukler at which he received 18 months in prison and a $75,000 fine; Argued on appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit which affirmed the convictions on seven of nine counts.
- Recognized by the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) “for demonstrated excellence in successfully prosecuting a major criminal case, United States v Kenneth Smukler, investigated by the FBI.”
- Led federal prosecution team, United States v. Chaka Fattah, Sr., et al; Indicted and convicted sitting U.S. congressman and four associates in a twenty-nine-count indictment alleging a wide-ranging racketeering conspiracy and related crimes including bribery, conspiracy to commit wire, honest services, and mail fraud, multiple counts of mail fraud, falsification of records, bank fraud, false statements to a financial institution, and money laundering; Obtained guilty pleas from two cooperators.
- Awarded the Assistant Attorney General's 2016 Criminal Division Award for Exceptional Service, the Division's highest award for employee performance (United States v. Chaka Fattah, Sr. et al).
- Member of federal prosecution team, United States v. Chaka Fattah, Jr.; Secured conviction of U.S. congressman’s son on 22 counts, including bank fraud; making false statements to banks to obtain loans; making false statements to banks and the Small Business Administration (SBA) to settle loans for less than what was owed; filing false federal income tax returns for tax years 2005, 2006 and 2008; failing to pay federal income tax; wire fraud; and theft from a program receiving federal funds; Fattah, Jr. received a five-year sentence.
- Recognized by the Director of the FBI “for demonstrated excellence in successfully prosecuting a major criminal case, United States v Chaka Fattah, Jr., investigated by the FBI.”
- Led federal prosecution team, United States v Amer Ahmad, et al; Secured convictions of Ohio’s former deputy treasurer and his co-conspirators for their roles in a bribery and money laundering scheme involving the Ohio Treasurer’s Office; Ahmad pleaded guilty to federal program bribery and conspiracy, fled to Pakistan, and received a fifteen-year sentence following successful extradition.
- Member of federal prosecution team, United States v. Danielczyk, et al; Secured multiple convictions, including lead defendant, William P. Danielczyk, Jr., for conspiring to illegally reimburse $186,600 in contributions to the Senate and Presidential campaign committees of a major candidate for federal office, and then obstructing the subsequent law enforcement investigation; Handled the sentencing for Danielczyk at which he received 28 months in prison and a $50,000 fine.
- Member of federal prosecution team in capital case, United States v. Gary Eye, et al.; Secured convictions and multiple life terms for Steven Sandstrom and Gary Eye arising out of a racially-motivated killing on March 9, 2005, in Kansas City, Missouri; Argued for the government in closing at guilt phase and rebuttal in penalty phase, responded to and litigated several government and defense motions, directed multiple government witnesses at trial, including main cooperator, and cross-examined defense witnesses at trial and penalty phase, including defense mitigation specialist.
- Awarded the Attorney General's 2009 Award for Distinguished Service, the Department's second-highest award for employee performance (United States v. Eye, et al.).
- Member of federal prosecution team in Civil Rights Era “cold case,” United States v. James Ford Seale; Seale, an ex-member of the Klu Klux Klan, was convicted in 2007 in Jackson, Mississippi, for the brutal kidnapping, torture, and murder of two African-American teens in May of 1964; Participated in grand jury investigation, drafted indictment and trial brief, responded to and litigated several defense motions, directed multiple government witnesses at trial, and cross-examined defense witnesses, including defense forensics expert.
- Awarded the Attorney General's 2008 Award for Exceptional Service, the Department's highest award for employee performance (United States v. Seale).
