Overview

Sam J. Louis is a former white collar and fraud section prosecutor with over 25 years of experience and leadership roles at the U.S. Department of Justice. His practice involves providing advice and counsel regarding healthcare regulatory issues, white collar criminal defense, corporate internal investigations, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and compliance with federal regulations that govern food and drug distribution.

Mr. Louis has extensive experience representing corporate entities, their executives, and employees in connection with grand jury investigations, criminal trials and hearings, regulatory investigation and enforcement proceedings, and federal criminal prosecutions. Throughout his career, he has handled complex cases involving healthcare fraud, insurance fraud, official corruption, financial institution fraud, and intellectual property crimes.

A former federal prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Texas, Mr. Louis also served as Former Deputy Criminal Chief of the Program Fraud Group for the U.S. Department of Justice. He was the first prosecutor to obtain the extradition and subsequent prosecution of a foreign national for intellectual property right crimes. He was responsible for the intake, case assignment and supervision of white collar prosecutions for bankruptcy fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, theft from federal programs, identity theft, tax evasion, and customs violations. These prosecutions were recognized by former U.S. Attorneys General Michael Mukasey and Eric Holder, and by the U.S. Congressional Subcommittee on Intellectual Property.

Mr. Louis has handled many high-profile investigations featured on CBS 60 Minutes, Dan Rather Reports, ABC’s 20/20, and has been quoted in The New York Times, Huffington Post, Modern Healthcare, The Scientist, and other international media organizations.

“The beauty of the practice of law is that it is constantly evolving and therefore you can effectuate change whether a newly minted lawyer or a seasoned veteran.”
— Sam J. Louis

Practice Areas

• White Collar Defense and Investigations
• Healthcare & Healthcare Litigation
• Healthcare Government Investigations and Audits
• Litigation and Dispute Resolution
• Intellectual Property
• Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) & Compliance
• Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
• Private Equity

Industries

• Healthcare & Life Sciences
• Financial Services

Representative Experience

Healthcare Litigation & Government Investigations

• Represented a physician charged in a $20 million healthcare, pharmaceutical fraud and money laundering scheme; case resolved with plea to misdemeanor theft and sentence of six months’ probation.
• Represented a physician in federal investigation by the DEA for money laundering, healthcare fraud and bribery; investigation closed with no charges and return of all seized money.
• Successfully represented clients under investigation by Texas HHSC Office of Inspector General for alleged submission of claims for medically unnecessary services with no sanctions imposed.
• Represented dentists who owned a dental practice under investigation for federal False Claims Act violation alleging submission of false claims of $600,000; investigation closed without any finding of liability.
• Represented owners of an adult daycare facility under investigation for fraudulently billing Medicaid.
• Represented a rehabilitation facility for children in audit conducted by contractor with Texas HHSC; audit terminated and originally denied claims processed and paid.
• Represented a physician regarding CMS and QIO allegations of violations of standard of care; resolved with no finding of standard of care violations.

Intellectual Property & International Enforcement

• As a federal prosecutor, served as the first U.S. attorney to obtain extradition and prosecution of a foreign national for intellectual property crimes — a landmark case involving master counterfeiter Kevin Xu, whose capture was facilitated when he traveled to Houston to purchase diamonds for his wife at the invitation of undercover investigators.
• Led the prosecution of one of the most significant international counterfeiting rings, a case featured at the Partnership for Safe Medicines’ Interchange 2013 conference and the 2017 “Risking Safety At All Costs” conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

Education

• J.D., cum laude — Texas Southern University, Thurgood Marshall School of Law
• B.B.A. — Lamar University

Bar Admissions & Court Admissions

• State Bar of Texas
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Honors & Awards

• The Best Lawyers in America — Criminal Defense: White-Collar, 2024, 2025, 2026; Health Care Law, 2026
• Barbara Jordan Community Impact Award, National Council of Negro Women Inc., Barbara Jordan Houston Section, 2026
• Chambers USA — America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations, 2025
• Texas Super Lawyers, 2023, 2024
• Texas Trailblazers Award, Texas Lawyer, 2019
• Top 100 Trial Lawyers

Memberships & Professional Activities

• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel, Appointee, 2025
• College of the State Bar of Texas, 1995
• Target Hunger, Board of Directors, 2016–2017, 2025
• Texas Bar Foundation, Fellow, 2017
• Lamar University College of Arts and Sciences, Advisory Board, 2021
• U.S. Department of Justice Evaluation and Review Team, 2000–2013
• Better Business Bureau, Consumer Protection Group, 2002–2013
• Earl Carl Institute for Legal and Social Policy, Board of Directors, 2018
• Altus Healthcare Systems, Policy Committee, 2016
• The Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM), Board of Directors, 2015
• National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), 2016
• National Trial Lawyers (NTL), 2015
• National Bar Association, Commercial Law Section
• Thurgood Marshall Law Review

Selected Publications

• Extradition: The U.S. Perspective — Global Investigations Review, May 1, 2025
• How to Respond When a Medicare Advantage Auditor Requests a Staff Interview — Part B News, December 19, 2023
• Health Care Fraud: A Continuing Concern — The State Bar of Texas Advanced Criminal Law Course, July 2022
• OIG Warns Healthcare Providers on Speaker Fees Paid by Pharmaceutical, Medical Device Companies — Holland & Knight Alert, November 23, 2020
• Free Relief Money or a Potential False Claim? — Holland & Knight Alert, April 30, 2020
• Enforcement Alert: Regulatory Agencies Investigating COVID-19 Testing, Treatment, Ancillary Services — Holland & Knight Alert, April 3, 2020

Selected Speaking Engagements

• Avoiding Pitfalls Which Trigger Recoupment and Fraud Investigations by HHS-OIG — 2025 Texas New Mexico Hospice & Palliative Care Organization Conference, February 20, 2025
• Closing Remarks — “Risking Safety At All Costs,” Partnership for Safe Medicines Conference, National Press Club, Washington, D.C., April 4, 2017
• How a Desire for Diamonds Brought a Master Counterfeiter to Justice — Partnership for Safe Medicines Interchange Conference, 2013

In the Media

• Featured on CBS 60 Minutes, ABC’s 20/20, and Dan Rather Reports
• Quoted in The New York Times, Huffington Post, Modern Healthcare, and The Scientist
• Featured in Holland & Knight’s “Profile in Black Excellence” series
• Spotlighted by the National Bar Association Commercial Law Section as a featured attorney, 2021