Chris Kaltsas is a litigator who works with the firm's litigation team. Before joining DWT, Chris spent seven years with the U.S. Department of Justice, handling significant cases and investigations involving asset forfeiture, cyber scams, cryptocurrency, and complex white-collar matters. He most recently served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the criminal division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California, where he was the office's digital assets investigations coordinator.
As a federal prosecutor, Chris tried a white-collar RICO case pertaining to the sale of hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of diverted pharmaceuticals, securing a successful jury verdict against both an individual and a corporate defendant. He also prosecuted a case stemming from one of the largest cryptocurrency seizures in U.S. history. He has experience working with the DOJ's Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, the SEC, the CFTC, and other federal agencies. Chris also has experience in multijurisdictional investigations resulting in the prosecution of individual actors, groups, and corporations for wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud, and associated conspiracies (including RICO); civil and criminal forfeiture; and a range of issues in the financial services space, including cryptocurrency matters, national security matters, and violations of the Bank Secrecy Act. He is a frequent speaker on these topics, previously acting as a subject matter expert during training for agencies that investigate financial and cybercrimes, including the FBI, the DEA, IRS – Criminal Investigation, and the U.S. Secret Service.
Practice Highlights
Cybercrime investigations
Financial investigations and asset recovery
Admitted to Practice
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California, 2025
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New York, 2016
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U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 2019
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U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit, 2020
Education
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J.D., William & Mary School of Law, 2015, summa cum laude
- Order of the Coif
- Notes Editor: William & Mary Law Review
- Chief Justice: William & Mary Moot Court Team
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B.A., Classical Civilization & the College of Letters, Wesleyan University, 2011
- High Honors
Languages
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Greek
Background
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- Assistant U.S. Attorney, Northern District of California, San Francisco, 2019-2024
- Trial Attorney, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., 2017-2019
- Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria, Va., 2018
- Law Clerk, Hon. Chief Judge Christopher C. Conner, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, Pa., 2016-2017
- Law Clerk, Hon. Mary Gibbons Whipple, New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division, Morristown, N.J., 2015-2016