O’Melveny Worldwide

Sid Mody boasts an extensive background as a former federal prosecutor and adept trial attorney, having presided over numerous jury trials throughout his career. 

Leveraging his prosecutorial experience in cases pertaining to cryptocurrency, cyber intrusions, ransomware, and computer fraud, Sid adeptly represents clients in a wide spectrum of white-collar matters encompassing criminal, internal, and regulatory investigations. He offers global clientele strategic guidance in mitigating sophisticated threats to their enterprises, aiding in the formulation of compliance frameworks, conducting assessments, and navigating governmental inquiries and enforcement measures.

Sid joined O’Melveny from the National Security, Cybercrime and Money Laundering Division of the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, where he served as the office’s Lead Cyber Hacking and Intellectual Property Attorney, the Digital Currency Crimes Coordinator, and the sole National Security Cyber Specialist. Sid also held the title of Senior Litigation Counsel, overseeing the district’s entire Litigation Technology Unit.

A first-chair trial lawyer with a specialty in complex white collar and computer fraud cases. Sid began his career as an Assistant District Attorney with the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office, where he was a key member of the White Collar Crimes Unit and prosecuted complex fraud cases, including the office’s Intellectual Property Crime and Computer Crimes matters.

Sid offers indispensable counsel to clients grappling with national security risks and sophisticated data breach challenges, assisting in risk assessments, incident response planning, compliance with breach notification protocols, and managing government inquiries and enforcement actions. Furthermore, he extends guidance to cryptocurrency and fintech entities on various risk mitigation strategies and enforcement issues, encompassing areas such as money laundering, tax fraud, and token offerings.

A respected authority in the realms of Data Privacy and Cryptocurrency Investigations, Sid frequently addresses audiences worldwide, tapping into his expertise to advise clients effectively.

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In Private Practice

Cybersecurity and Data Privacy

  • Advising an Energy corporation on dealing with cybersecurity regulation
  • Advised a Private Equity Investment company on an email phishing scheme
  • Advised a Cryptocurrency company on multiple ransomware attacks
  • Advised a corporate client on a M&A transaction revolving around a cybersecurity breach
  • Counseled a major semiconductor company through a data breach and worked with the company to inform state and federal regulators of the data breach
  • Counseled a major circuit board producer though a major data breach dealing with thousands of individuals personal identifying information being disclose
  • Counseled a major advertising company dealing with the discloser of thousands of PII data
  • Serve as breach counsel for a corporate client and work directly with their CSIRT team
  • Advising a corporate client to rewrite their privacy policy 
  • Representing a large Social Media company in litigation dealing with Privacy issues
  • Advised a large Social Media company on Privacy Compliance issues

White Collar and Corporate Investigations

  • Represented a CISO in an SEC investigation dealing with a cyber incident
  • Representing a corporate client in regard to a corporate investigation involving potential FCA claims
  • Represented a corporate client in regard to an investigation in the United States based on employee embezzlement 
  • Representing a client dealing with a criminal DOJ investigation involving bank fraud
  • Advising multiple corporate clients dealing with DOJ, SEC, and CFTC subpoenas
  • Represented corporate board members dealing with parallel DOJ and SEC fraud investigation
  • Advised a logistics company on a Department of Labor Investigation
  • Represented a corporate client dealing with an internal investigation of employee data theft
  • Representing a corporate client dealing with a federal and state regulatory investigation on the distribution of certain products in the United States.

Fintech

  • Advised a large video game developer on anti-money laundering policies dealing with in-game currency
  • Advised a Blockchain technology company on anti-money laundering policies 
  • Advising multiple cryptocurrency platforms on law enforcement inquiries
  • Advising a cryptocurrency client dealing with US regulatory scrutiny 

In Government

While at the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, Sid prosecuted the following defendants:

  • A CEO and Inventor of a cryptocurrency altcoin, who bilked investors out of millions. Making it one of first initial-coin offering cases charged in the country;
  • A group who created more than 20 fraudulent cryptocurrency investing platforms and defrauded investors out of more than US$70 million;
  • An individual who launched multiple international DDoS cyberattacks on media, bloggers, and legal-news aggregation websites, including Leagle.com;
  • The founders of a cryptocurrency company, who raised US$24 million from more than 13,000 investors. Being the first charged crypto case in the country on Tax Evasion; 
  • A home security technician, who hacked into more than 200 customers’ accounts to gain live access to their home video feeds;
  • A group of six people, who hacked into airline miles accounts, stealing millions of miles, and using those miles to purchase tickets they sold to unsuspecting passengers;
  • Two individuals who used an illegally obtained point-of-sale device to load millions of dollars of fraudulent store credits onto gift cards over nearly two years;
  • Founder of an online website, which was the leading source of online advertisements for prostitution and sex trafficking, which generated more than US$21 million in profit;
  • An individual who operated an illegal cash-to-cryptocurrency conversion scheme;
  • An individual who sold fentanyl over the dark web in exchange for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies; 
  • An individual who sold cocaine and black tar heroin over the dark web (the case was charged under Operation DisrupTor, a coordinated international effort to disrupt opioid trafficking on the dark web); and
  • Eight members of the MS-13 international criminal gang on charges of racketeering conspiracy, attempted murder in aid of racketeering, assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, and use, carry, and possession of a firearm during a violent crime.

Admissions

Bar Admissions

  • Texas

Court Admissions

  • Northern District of Texas
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Education

  • Texas Tech School of Law, J.D.
  • Texas Tech Rawls College of Business, M.B.A. 
  • Texas A&M University, B.B.A.

Professional Activities

Speaker

  • "The US Government's View of the Cryptocurrency Landscape," DC Blockchain Summit 2023 (March 21, 2023)
  • "Privacy Law Trends Federal and State in 2023," IAPP Virtual Round Tables (March 16, 2023)
  • “Ransomware Security Panel - How We Survived and Hunted Them!,” November 2022 Association of Business Technology Professionals of DFW Chapter Meeting (November 8, 2022)
  • "The Inevitable Cybersecurity Intrusion: Where Does Your Client’s Data Actually End Up," Texas General Counsel Forum's 24th Annual Conference (November 3, 2022)
  • “Growing Cybersecurity Issues Facing Companies and In House Counsel,” Southern Methodist University’s 30th Annual Corporate Counsel Symposium (October 28, 2022)
  • Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (technology) Conference (October 24, 2022)
  • "A Matter of Cybersecurity: Attack Trends, Forecasts & Red-Hot Topics for C-Leaders & In-House Counsel," Experian and O'Melveny Webinar (October 19, 2022)

Publications

  • “Cybersecurity Challenges and the False Claims Act: Insights from the SuperValu Decision,” ABA White Collar Crime Committee Newsletter (July 2023)
  • "Evaluating and Containing Cyber and Data Privacy Risks in Corporate Transactions," The M&A Journal (April 2023)

Corporate & Government Experience

  • Assistant United States Attorney, United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas 
  • Assistant District Attorney, Tarrant County District Attorney's Office