Top Rated White Collar Crimes Attorney in Dallas, TX

Honors/Awards:

• Judge – Southern Methodist University Law School Moot Court, Dallas,10-1996
• American Association for Justice Top 100 Trial Lawyers, 2007 - 2012
• American Trial Lawyers Association, Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America, 2014
• Named among the top one percent of attorneys in the United States, National Association of Distinguished Counsel
• Highlighted in Forbes Magazine as the White Collar Defense Attorney for the Dallas/Fort Worth area, 2010 - 2014
• Best Attorneys of America, 2015

Bar/Professional Activity:

• Texas, 1990
• Member, Association of Federal Defense Attorneys
• U.S. District Court Eastern District of Oklahoma, 1985
• Member, Tarrant County Bar Association
• U.S. District Court Eastern District of Texas, 2002
• U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida, 2000
• Member, Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
• Member, Tarrant County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas, 1990
• Member, Dallas Bar Association
• U.S. District Court Western District of Oklahoma, 1985
• U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida, 2000
• U.S. Court of Appeals 1st Circuit, 1998
• Member, Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
• Oklahoma, 1985
• Member, American Bar Association
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Oklahoma, 1985
• Member, Association of Former SEC Attorneys
• U.S. District Court District of Puerto Rico, 1997
• U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit, 1991
• Member, National Association Criminal Defense Lawyers

Scholarly Lectures/Writings:

• Mr. Teakell has published articles in the Texas Lawyer and Executive Legal Advisor
• Seminar Speaker, “Aggressive Criminal Defense in Texas”, Houston, Texas, 2003
• Instructor, Criminal Trial Advocacy Course, Attorney General’s Advocacy Institute, Washington, D.C., 1991 – 1997
• Instructor, Fraud Courses, Legal Education Working Group – Department of Justice, 1997
• Speaker, “Parallel Defenses in Criminal and Civil Cases”, Dallas Bar Association, Criminal Law Section Meeting, Dallas, Texas, 2004
• Contributor, "A Cup of Coffee With 10 of the Top Criminal Defense Attorneys in the United States."

Verdicts/Settlements:

• No Prosecution, State of Texas v. JT, Denton County.  Allegation of Fraudulent Use of Identifying Information, 2014
• Dismissal, State of Texas v. DS, Dallas County.  Client was indicted for Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity. After presentations to the District Attorney’s Office, prosecutors dismissed the case, 2015
• Dismissal of Unlawful Carrying of a Weapon Indictment, Dallas County, Texas, re KB.  State had alleged that Defendant/Client carried a weapon unlawfully in his vehicle, 2015
• Dismissal, State of Texas v. JK, Hunt County.  Money Laundering Indictment – Defendant/Client was in a car wherein hundreds of thousands of dollars in U.S. currency were found and seized.  After presentations and discussions with the District Attorney’s Office about the lack of evidence of criminal activity associated with obtaining or using the money, and thus no criminal intent with the seized money, the District Attorney “outright dismissed” the case, 2015
• Reduced Sentence/Time, ED-TX, Filing False Tax Return, re CE.  Client was prosecuted in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas for a tax evasion conspiracy and obstructing the IRS in relation to her and her husband’s tax returns and related filings.  Client was facing two (2) years or more pursuant to the recommendation of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, but after evidence presented before and at the sentencing hearing, the court sentenced the client to eight (8) months., 2014
• Dismissal, State of Texas v. CE, Ellis County.  Client was indicted for Theft of a Weapon, and pursuant to evidence presentations and negotiations, the case was dismissed, 2015
• Dismissal, State of Texas v. JS, Brazoria County.  Allegation of possession of a controlled substance.  Challenged the probable cause for stopping and searching the defendant/client., 2014
• No Referral/No Prosecution, CPS Investigation, Ellis County, TX.  After presentations related to child neglect report, the matter was closed without referral to the District Attorney for criminal prosecution, 2015
• No Prosecution – Federal Case, Eastern District of Texas, re JW and BW.  Federal investigation of conspiracy to defraud the United States.  Through presentations and negotiations obtained an immunity-from-prosecution agreement for family members concerning financial fraud investigation., 2014
• Dismissal of Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity charge, Young County, TX.  Client was indicted as part of a drug trafficking conspiracy in Texas state court, alleged to have sold to various persons.  Dismissed by the District Attorney, 2015
• Dismissal, State of Texas v. TB, Tarrant County.  Charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance, after becoming a live case on the docket., 2014
• Recommended S-Visa for Client in federal Immigration Fraud Case, Northern District of Texas, re RM.  Pursuant to negotiations, the U.S. Attorney’s Office agreed to recommend a visa for Client that would facilitate no deportation or delaying deportation, rather than the certainty of deportation that usually follows a criminal case, 2015
• Limited Prosecution/Lesser Charges – WD-TX, Filing False Tax Return.  Def was a target of an alleged continuous federal contract fraud scheme.  After presentations to the Dept. of Justice, the DOJ closed the investigation on contracts fraud and bribery, and charged the defendant with tax violations., 2014
• Dismissal, State of Texas, Tarrant County.  Possession of a Controlled Substance charge, when an illegal drug was found in a car with the defendant/client, 2015
• Dismissal of Indictment, Dallas County, Texas, re DC, Theft $100,000 - $200,000.  The State alleged theft regarding services and goods from a national company, when the Defendant/Client’s business failed to perform, causing losses to a supplier(s).  District Attorney dismissed the case in 2015, 2015
• Probation – Federal Case, Eastern District of Texas, Mail Fraud, U.S. v. S.M.  Negotiated probation in spite of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines in this federal case alleging a mail fraud scheme based upon unauthorized use of monies., 2014
• Dismissal, State of Texas v. $ and property in a Forfeiture Action, Collin County.  State alleged that client and spouse committed fraud to obtain monies and other assets, 2015
• Reduced Sentence -- Federal Case, Northern District of Texas, Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine, re A.G.  Client’s recommended sentence pursuant to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines was 121 – 151 months.  After objections, motions and arguments distinguishing this defendant from others, the court sentenced the client to the minimum allowed by federal law, 60 months., 2014
• Dismissals, State of Texas v. SC, Ellis County.  Client was arrested for credit card abuse, and indicted for two (2) cases of Fraudulent Possession or Use of Identifying Information.  The cases were based upon allegations that the Client charged the complainant’s credit card without authorization for car rentals associated with Client’s business.  Records obtained by the defense showed that the complainant’s card was mistakenly charged. After presentations to the District Attorney’s Office, the District Attorney outright dismissed the cases, 2015
• Reduced Exposure/Sentence – Federal Case, Eastern District of Texas, Indictment for Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances, re SG.  Client was facing approximately fifteen (15) years of literal incarceration pursuant to the application of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines on the quantities of controlled substances and the client’s activities.  Through negotiations was able to obtain an agreement that limited Client’s exposure to 48 - 60 months., 2014
• No Prosecution, Related to Federal Investigation for Immigration Fraud/Visa Scheme, Northern District of Texas, re SM.  Client was aware of certain activities that occurred with persons who participated in a scheme to obtain monies from foreign persons who were looking for sponsors for a job and a Visa to enter and work in the United States.  However, defense convinced the U.S. Attorney’s Office that client had no criminal intent, and thus, there was no Indictment alleging wrongdoing, 2015
• No Prosecution – Federal Investigation re Mortgage Fraud, ED-TX, re JC.  Allegations were fraudulent/false statements and misrepresentations in the purchase and re-sale of residential real estate., 2014
• Dismissal of Indictment – Eastern District of Texas, U.S. v. MM, Federal Case alleging Obstruction of Justice, based upon allegations that the client tried to convince another person to change statements and reports submitted to law enforcement, 2015
• Probation / Supervised Release – Federal Case – ED-PA, Counterfeit Goods, U.S. v. RG.  Counterfeiting and selling what were represented as Martin guitars across the United States, 2014
• Probation – Federal Case, Northern District of Texas re Counterfeit Goods, re KA.  Defendant was facing a U.S. Sentencing Guidelines sentence of prison time, but after sentencing, the court imposed probation and no incarceration., 2014
• No Prosecution / No Indictment, Eastern District of Texas, Federal Conspiracy to Traffic in Counterfeit Goods, re AV.  Client was the target of a federal investigation regarding the sale of large amounts of counterfeited DVDs and videos, which were violations of criminal copyright infringement and counterfeit goods statutes.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office closed case after presentations of evidence and other information, 2015
• Probation – Federal Case, ND-TX, Mortgage Fraud, U.S. v. HO.  Negotiated probation with the U.S. Attorney even though the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines normally provide for a period of imprisonment., 2014
• Dismissal, Re MH, Dallas County.  Plaintiff sued Client claiming civil fraud in business matters. Lawsuit dismissed after discussions with plaintiff and presention of evidence that no fraud had occurred, 2015
• No Forfeiture of Extremely Large Account – Northern District of Texas, No forfeiture action was taken against client’s funds totaling over $1.5MM dollars after allegations that the funds were profits of synthetic marijuana (“spice”) sales.  Discussions with the U.S. Attorney’s Office about the alleged laundered monies versus the source of the funds led the U.S. Attorney’s Office to decline to pursue any forfeiture of the client’s monies, 2015
• See Case Results in my websites, www.teakelllaw.com and www.txfederalcriminaldefense.com.
• Sponsor of “S” Visa – Federal Case, ND-TX, Immigration Fraud, re RM.  Client was prosecuted in federal court in the Northern District of Texas for a conspiracy regarding immigration and the promise of jobs.  Negotiated a lesser charge and lowered U.S. Sentencing Guidelines recommendation range (quite possibly probation) as well as a sponsorship for an S-Visa, which will place the client into a more favorable category regarding deportation issues., 2014
• No Prosecution, No Charges, U.S. v. EH, Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division.  Client was under federal investigation for possession and distribution of illegal child images, and eventually charges were declined.  Information presented by the defendant was that other persons had access to the Internet on the subject computer, 2015
• No Charges/Declined, Dallas County, TX, re AR.  Investigation into alleged Theft/Credit Card Abuse, but the detective agreed to decline prosecution after discussions about the evidence., 2014
• No Referral/No Prosecution, CPS Investigation, Dallas County. Assault/indecency investigation closed after presentations, 2015
• No Prosecution – Collin County, TX, re MG.  Allegation of Assault with Deadly Weapon.  Investigators agreed to not proceed with prosecution after discussions and a presentation., 2014
• Lesser Sentence – Middle District of Tennessee, U.S. v. JC, Federal Case for Fraudulent Preparation of Tax Returns.  Client was prosecuted for criminal tax violations based upon fraudulent tax returns that he and his company prepared for others.  The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines recommendation for these activities would have been approximately 78 months or more, but the agreed sentence of 18 months was reached after negotiations and presentations to the U.S. Attorney, 2015
• No Charges – Potential Theft/Embezzlement/Fraud case in Collin County, TX, re SE.  Presentations to the victim company and law enforcement, and the company agreed to no formal criminal referral., 2014
• No Charges – Possession of Controlled Substances and Possession of Controlled Substances with Intent to Deliver, Denton County, TX re MN.  No charges pursued by the District Attorney’s Office after the Client had been arrested, 2015

Representative Clients:

• U.S. v. Jaime Rosado Rosario, et al., Puerto Rico, 1998 WL 737994, 1998217908
• SEC v. Digital Lightwave, Inc., MD-FL, 196 F.R.D. 698, 2000526440
• U.S. v. Jorge Alicea Serrano, et al., Puerto Rico
• U.S. v. Ray Dell Devoll, ND-TX, 39 F. 3d 575, 1994235055
• U.S. v. Hernan Perez Perez, Puerto Rico
• SEC v. Medical Research Industries, Inc., SD-FL
• U.S. v. Walter H. Cushman III, et al., ND-TX, 830 F. Supp. 960, 1993181083
• U.S. v. Linda McCanless, ND-TX, 125 F. 3d 852, 1997191649
• U.S. v. Acosta-Martinez, et al., Puerto Rico, 89 F. Supp. 2d 173, 2000075717
• SEC v. Physicians Guardian, Inc., et al., MD-FL, 72 F. Supp. 2d 1342, 1999245821
• U.S. v. Luis Gines Perez, et al., Puerto Rico, 214 F. Supp. 2d 205, 2002493792
• SEC v. Internet Capital Holdings, Inc., et al., SD-FL
• U.S. v. Norman Eads, et al., ND-TX, 106 F. 3d 397, 1997041548
• U.S. v. Lorenzo Sigala, et al., ND-TX, 82 F. 3d 413, 1996089825
• U.S. v. Eladio Santiago Sanchez, et al., Puerto Rico, 203 F. 3d 103, 2000053387
• In re W.R. Grace Company, Inc. defendants, SEC, 812 F. 2d 1403, 1987021020
• U.S. v. Edilberto Perez Manjarres, et al., Puerto Rico
• U.S. v. Michael Satz, et al., ND-TX, 105 F. 3d 956, 1997041755
• U.S. v. Ruben Caicedo Bustamante, et al., Puerto Rico
• SEC v. Christopher Hanna, SD-FL
• SEC v. Americash-Inc. com., Inc., et al., SD-FL

Videos:

• Attorney John Teakell discusses Fort Worth homicide investigation, Criminal Defense, 2012
• Criminal defense attorney John R. Teakell: Grand jury turns up heat on murder witnesses, Criminal Defense, 2014
• Attorney John Teakell Discusses Dallas Political Corruption Probe, Criminal Defense, White Collar, 2012
• John Teakell discusses Kobe Bryant case, Criminal Defense, 2014
• Attorney John Teakell Discusses FBI public corruption case, White Collar/criminal Defense, 2011
• John Teakell discusses Casey Anthony trial, Criminal Defense, 2011

Newsletters:

• Has made appearances as a Defense counsel commentator for Court TV and local NBC affiliate Channel 5, KXAS-TV, Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas.
• Has been quoted in Time Magazine, NBC Nightly News, Los Angeles Times, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and the Dallas Business Journal

Educational Background:

• Oklahoma State University, B.S., 1979