Securities Fraud Defense & Commodities Fraud Defense
Former DOJ Prosecutors. Nationwide Trial-Ready Defense for Executives, Traders, Fund Managers, and Investment Professionals Facing Federal Securities and Commodities Fraud Investigations, Allegations, and Charges.
Based in Washington, D.C., Armstrong & Bradylyons PLLC defends executives, traders, financial advisors, accountants, broker-dealers, hedge fund managers and principals, and investment professionals in federal securities fraud, commodities fraud, insider trading, and market manipulation investigations and cases nationwide.
The firm’s securities and commodities fraud defense practice is built on over 25 years of combined experience as federal prosecutors at the nation’s preeminent fraud units: DOJ’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA).
At DOJ, Scott Armstrong and Drew Bradylyons tried and supervised complex multi-million-dollar fraud cases in federal courts across the country. These federal jury trials involved high-profile Ponzi schemes that laundered hundreds of millions of dollars through financial institutions, leading market manipulation cases against senior traders at financial institutions for manipulation and fraud schemes, commodities fraud in precious metals futures, cryptocurrency fraud and manipulation involving spoof orders and wash trades, private-investment fraud, and insider trading involving corporate board members and executives.
As former Assistant Chief and senior supervisor at DOJ’s Fraud Section, Scott Armstrong has tried 16 complex cases in federal court, including high-profile, multi-week trials involving market manipulation, Ponzi schemes, and commodities fraud. Scott served as co-lead trial counsel for the nation’s leading market manipulation case against two senior traders at a financial institution for years of manipulative behavior in precious-metals futures. And he served as lead trial counsel in a two-week trial against two defendants convicted of misleading and defrauding private investors in a Ponzi scheme and laundering approximately $650 million through financial institutions. Scott has first-chair experience in fraud and manipulation cases across a range of financial products, including U.S. Treasuries, cryptocurrencies, futures, equities, and private investments.
As the Chief of EDVA’s Financial Crimes and Public Corruption Unit, Drew Bradylyons supervised and led a team of federal prosecutors investigating and charging complex investment frauds involving securities and commodities. Drew’s unit charged multiple Ponzi schemes involving tens of millions of dollars in losses, precious metals schemes, pump-and-dump schemes in the equities market, crypto investment fraud, and insider trading schemes. While at DOJ’s Fraud Section, Drew also prosecuted a first-of-its-kind commodities insider trading ring involving natural gas futures and investigated a wide range of insider trading, market manipulation, and other securities and commodities offenses. Drew regularly partnered with the SEC and CFTC on parallel enforcement matters.
The firm now uses that extensive trial experience and deep knowledge of the financial markets to defend individuals at every stage of a securities or commodities fraud case: from the first grand jury subpoena or regulatory inquiry, through federal indictment, and at trial.
Armstrong & Bradylyons PLLC defends individuals in the federal districts where DOJ and federal agencies most aggressively investigate and prosecute securities and commodities fraud, including the Southern District of New York (SDNY), the Eastern District of New York (EDNY), the District of Columbia (DDC), the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA), the Northern District of California (NDCA), the Southern District of Florida (SDFL), the Northern District of Illinois (NDIL), and federal courts across the country.
Trial-Ready Securities and Commodities Fraud Defense
Armstrong & Bradylyons PLLC defends every securities and commodities fraud case from the start as if it will go to trial. A trial-ready defense is the firm’s operating principle. That philosophy is grounded in trial experience forged in deeply contested cases in federal courts around the country.
Preparation begins at engagement. From the investigation stage forward, the firm dives into the complex factual record of any securities or commodities case. It develops the factual record, retains financial experts and forensic accountants where appropriate, identifies and prepares witnesses, and builds the case theory. All of this work builds towards a presentation to a jury if the case cannot be resolved on favorable terms and must go to trial.
Trial readiness directly affects outcomes at every stage. Securities and commodities fraud cases are factually and technically complex. They are won or lost based on how well an advocate can weave together a compelling narrative from disparate parts: complex trading data from exchanges and financial institutions, order flow analysis, market dynamics, chat logs and electronic communications, expert testimony on market structure and trading norms, financial records, and witness testimony. The technical complexity of a federal securities or commodities fraud case can easily overwhelm an inexperienced practitioner.
The firm’s attorneys have tried these exact issues before federal juries. Scott Armstrong tried multi-week cases involving market manipulation in precious metals futures, a Ponzi scheme that laundered hundreds of millions of dollars through financial institutions, and the first-ever cryptocurrency manipulation case under Title 15 involving over $300 million in spoof and wash trades. That is the level of trial experience the firm brings to every securities and commodities defense engagement.
The firm’s securities and commodities fraud defense practice is built on the principle that effective defense requires the credible ability to try the case. With 25 complex federal jury trials across the country, the firm’s trial record is not aspirational. It is a fact.
Armstrong & Bradylyons PLLC relishes the opportunity to go to trial to defend its clients. The firm’s willingness to go to trial and its hard-earned skills at trial provide significant leverage in dealing with federal prosecutors, regulators, and private litigants.
Our Approach to Securities and Commodities Fraud Defense
The firm’s securities and commodities fraud defense strategy is built on trial experience, command of complex trading data, and deep knowledge of the regulatory framework for the securities and commodities markets. These analytical tools are put to use at every phase of a case, from the initial federal investigation through trial.
The firm’s attorneys have prosecuted complex financial fraud cases at the highest levels of DOJ. That hard-earned trial experience—including Scott Armstrong’s role as lead trial counsel in multi-week, multi-million-dollar securities and commodities fraud cases—shapes every aspect of the firm’s defense practice in securities and commodities cases.
Order Flow and Market Data Review
Federal securities and commodities fraud prosecutions are built on trading data, order flow records, and market surveillance data from exchanges, prime brokers, and clearing firms. Federal prosecutors rely on data analysts and government experts to identify patterns of allegedly manipulative trading, reconstruct order sequences, and calculate gains and losses. The firm conducts detailed analysis of trading records, order books, execution data, and market conditions to challenge the government’s fraud and manipulation theories and identify weaknesses in the prosecution’s case. The firm’s attorneys have worked with complex trading data for years, both as federal prosecutors building cases and as defense counsel dismantling them.
Electronic Communications and Intent Evidence
Securities and commodities fraud cases frequently turn on the interpretation of chat logs, instant messages, emails, and recorded telephone calls. Federal prosecutors use these communications to establish fraudulent intent, knowledge, and agreement in fraud and manipulation cases. The firm reviews voluminous electronic communications to dismantle the government’s theory, build the defense case, and prove good faith or lack of fraudulent intent.
Securities and Commodities Regulatory Defense
Many federal securities and commodities fraud prosecutions depend on the government’s interpretation of SEC rules, CFTC regulations, FINRA requirements, and exchange rules that define permissible trading activity and disclosure obligations. These regulatory frameworks are complex, evolving, and often subject to reasonable interpretation. The firm challenges the government’s application of these rules and exploits regulatory ambiguity where the rules do not clearly prohibit the client’s conduct. Regulatory ambiguity is a powerful defense tool in negotiations with federal prosecutors and before a jury. The firm leverages it aggressively.
Loss Calculations and Sentencing Exposure
Federal sentencing in securities and commodities fraud cases is driven by loss calculations under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The government’s loss methodology can dramatically inflate a defendant’s sentencing exposure. The firm’s attorneys have extensive experience with the sentencing framework in complex financial fraud cases and use that experience to protect clients from inflated loss figures at every stage of a case.
Who We Defend in Securities and Commodities Fraud Cases
Securities and commodities fraud investigations and cases can ensnare a wide range of individuals: from the executives who lead publicly traded and private companies, to the traders, financial advisors, and fund managers who operate in the financial markets. Armstrong & Bradylyons PLLC defends these individuals in federal investigations, at trial, and in regulatory proceedings.
Defense of Corporate Executives and Officers
The firm defends corporate executives, officers, and directors in federal securities fraud, insider trading, and accounting fraud investigations and prosecutions. Executives are high-priority targets for DOJ and the SEC. Federal prosecutors target executives who allegedly made material misstatements or omissions in public filings, earnings calls, or investor presentations; traded on material nonpublic information; directed the falsification of financial records; or engaged in schemes to inflate stock prices or manipulate corporate earnings. The firm defends executives against these allegations. It does so by meeting the government on the facts and challenging the government’s evidence of knowledge and fraudulent intent.
Defense of Traders
The firm’s defense practice caters to defending professional traders in securities and commodities fraud and market manipulation investigations and prosecutions. Traders face federal charges when the government alleges spoofing, layering, wash trading, front-running, or other manipulative trading activity in the securities, futures, or commodities markets. Scott Armstrong served as co-lead trial counsel in the prosecution of two senior traders at a major financial institution for manipulation in the precious metals futures markets and as lead trial counsel in a market manipulation case involving over $300 million in spoof and wash trades. The firm brings that direct, high-profile trial experience to every market manipulation defense engagement.
Defense of Insiders in Insider Trading Investigations
The firm defends corporate insiders, tippers, tippees, and other individuals in federal insider trading investigations and prosecutions. Insider trading cases are investigated by DOJ, the SEC, and FINRA. These agencies build insider-trading cases by using sophisticated surveillance of trading activity around material corporate events, including mergers and acquisitions, earnings announcements, and regulatory decisions. The firm challenges the government’s evidence of material nonpublic information, personal benefit, and breach of fiduciary duty in insider trading cases. Scott Armstrong supervised insider trading investigations at DOJ’s Fraud Section involving corporate board members and executives. Drew Bradylyons also supervised insider trading investigations and prosecuted a first-of-its-kind commodities insider trading ring involving natural gas futures.
Defense of Financial Advisors and Broker-Dealers
The firm defends registered investment advisers and financial advisors in federal fraud investigations, SEC enforcement actions, and FINRA disciplinary proceedings. Financial advisors face charges when the government or regulators allege that they made unsuitable investment recommendations, churned client accounts, misappropriated client assets, engaged in unauthorized trading, or failed to disclose material conflicts of interest. Scott Armstrong led complex cases at DOJ involving the first-ever cherry-picking case against a Commodities Trading Advisor (CTA) involving cryptocurrency futures and a multi-million-dollar investment fraud case against a former registered broker at a financial institution. The firm defends these professionals against DOJ criminal charges, SEC civil enforcement, and FINRA proceedings.
Securities and Commodities Fraud Schemes We Defend
The firm’s securities and commodities defense practice spans the full range of fraud and manipulation schemes that DOJ, the SEC, the CFTC, and other federal agencies investigate and charge. The firm defends individuals in investigations and prosecutions involving the following areas:
Ponzi Schemes and Investment Fraud
The firm defends individuals in cases involving allegations of Ponzi schemes, pyramid schemes, and fraudulent investment platforms. These cases involve allegations that the defendants solicited investments under false pretenses and used new investor funds to pay returns to earlier investors, misrepresented fund performance, fabricated account statements, or misappropriated investor capital. Ponzi scheme cases are among the most aggressively prosecuted investment fraud cases and often involve significant alleged investor losses. Scott Armstrong served as lead trial counsel in a two-week Ponzi scheme trial involving approximately $650 million laundered through financial institutions. Drew Bradylyons supervised the prosecution of multiple Ponzi schemes at EDVA involving tens of millions of dollars in losses, including a precious metals Ponzi scheme that went to trial.
Market Manipulation: Spoofing, Layering, and Wash Trading
The firm defends traders in cases involving allegations of market manipulation in the securities and commodities markets, including spoofing and layering of orders, wash trading to create the illusion of market activity, painting the tape, matched orders, and cornering or squeezing a market. Market manipulation cases are prosecuted by DOJ under securities and commodities fraud statutes and by the SEC and CFTC in parallel civil enforcement actions. Scott Armstrong served as lead trial counsel in a manipulation case involving over $300 million in spoof and wash trades and as co-lead trial counsel against two senior traders at a major financial institution convicted of a years-long manipulation scheme in the precious metals futures markets. The firm brings that direct trial experience to defend traders and market participants against manipulation charges.
Insider Trading
The firm defends corporate insiders, tippers, tippees, and other individuals in cases involving allegations of trading on material nonpublic information obtained through a breach of fiduciary duty or other relationship of trust and confidence. Insider trading cases are investigated by DOJ, the SEC, and FINRA using trading surveillance, communications analysis, and pattern-of-life evidence. Scott Armstrong supervised insider trading investigations at DOJ’s Fraud Section involving corporate board members and executives. Drew Bradylyons prosecuted a first-of-its-kind commodities insider trading ring involving natural gas futures. The firm challenges the government’s evidence of material nonpublic information, personal benefit, and fraudulent intent.
Pump-and-Dump Schemes
The firm defends promoters, traders, and company insiders in cases involving allegations of pump-and-dump schemes in the equities and digital asset markets. These cases involve allegations that the defendants accumulated a position in a security, artificially inflated its price through false or misleading promotional statements, and then sold the position at inflated prices. Drew Bradylyons supervised the prosecution of pump-and-dump schemes in the equities market at EDVA. The firm challenges the government’s evidence of material misrepresentation, coordinated trading activity, and fraudulent intent.
Precious Metals and Commodities Fraud
The firm defends traders, brokers, and firms in cases involving allegations of fraud and manipulation in the precious metals and commodities markets. These cases involve allegations of fraudulent sales of physical gold, silver, and other precious metals; manipulation of precious metals futures contracts; deceptive pricing practices; and Ponzi schemes disguised as precious metals investments. Scott Armstrong served as co-lead trial counsel in the prosecution of two senior traders at a major financial institution for a years-long manipulation scheme in the precious metals futures markets. Drew Bradylyons supervised the investigation and trial of a precious metals Ponzi scheme. The firm’s direct experience with precious metals and commodities fraud cases provides the foundation for defending clients in this area.
Private Investment Fraud and Misappropriation
The firm defends fund managers, investment advisers, and fiduciaries in cases involving allegations of private investment fraud, including misrepresentation of fund performance, misappropriation of investor funds, cherry-picking profitable trades, front-running client orders, and concealment of investment losses. These cases are investigated by DOJ, the SEC, and state regulators and often involve parallel civil and criminal proceedings. Based on its high-profile trial experience in this area, the firm defends individuals against wire fraud, securities fraud, and investment adviser fraud charges arising from private investment activity.
Subpoena Response & Investigation Defense
A securities or commodities fraud case does not begin at indictment or charge from a federal regulator. It begins months or years earlier, when a federal agency opens an investigation and starts issuing subpoenas, requesting trading records, and identifying targets. Armstrong & Bradylyons PLLC defends executives, traders, financial advisors, and other individuals at this critical investigation stage: before charges are filed and before the government’s case is fully developed.
Retaining experienced defense counsel at the investigation stage is one of the most consequential decisions an individual can make in a securities or commodities fraud case. Early representation allows the firm to shape the trajectory of the investigation, protect the client’s rights, and position the case for the strongest possible outcome.
Armstrong & Bradylyons draws on its substantial former DOJ experience to guide its clients through complex securities and commodities fraud investigations. Scott Armstrong served as an Assistant Chief at DOJ’s Fraud Section, where he tried and supervised multi-million-dollar fraud and manipulation cases. Drew Bradylyons served as Chief of EDVA’s Financial Crimes and Public Corruption Unit, where he supervised securities and commodities fraud investigations and regularly partnered with the SEC and CFTC on parallel enforcement matters. Collectively, the firm’s attorneys have tried 25 complex federal jury trials. That firsthand knowledge of how federal prosecutors and agents develop securities and commodities fraud cases allows the firm to anticipate the government’s strategy and mount an effective defense from the outset.
Grand Jury Subpoena Defense
The firm defends individuals who receive grand jury subpoenas in securities and commodities fraud investigations. A federal grand jury subpoena—whether a subpoena ad testificandum compelling testimony or a subpoena duces tecum compelling the production of documents, trading records, or communications—is often the first indication that an individual is a subject or target of a federal investigation. Receiving a grand jury subpoena requires an immediate and strategic response.
The firm advises clients on the scope of the subpoena, asserts applicable privileges and objections, negotiates the terms of production or testimony with federal prosecutors, and—where appropriate—seeks to quash or limit the subpoena. The firm also advises clients on their Fifth Amendment rights and the implications of testifying before a grand jury, including the critical distinction between witness, subject, and target status.
SEC and CFTC Investigation Defense
The firm defends individuals who receive subpoenas and investigative demands from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in connection with securities fraud, commodities fraud, insider trading, and market manipulation investigations. These regulatory investigations frequently run in parallel with criminal investigations by DOJ. Such investigations may result in civil enforcement actions, consent orders, disgorgement, penalties, and industry bars, in addition to criminal referrals.
The firm responds to regulatory inquiries strategically: managing the scope of document production, protecting privileged and work-product materials, and advising clients on the implications of the regulatory investigation for any parallel criminal proceedings. The firm has an ever-present eye in dealing with civil regulators on the potential for criminal proceedings. The firm defends its clients in civil proceedings in a way that protects its clients’ position in any criminal proceedings.
Parallel Proceedings
Securities and commodities fraud investigations frequently generate parallel criminal, civil, and regulatory proceedings arising from the same set of facts. A single course of conduct may produce a criminal investigation by DOJ’s Fraud Section or a U.S. Attorney’s Office; an SEC civil enforcement investigation; a CFTC civil enforcement investigation; a FINRA disciplinary proceeding; state attorney general investigations; state securities regulator investigations; civil asset forfeiture actions; and private civil litigation by investors or counterparties.
The firm coordinates the defense across all of these proceedings, ensuring that actions taken in one forum do not compromise the client’s position in another. Managing parallel proceedings requires counsel who understand how evidence, admissions, and strategic decisions in one proceeding can be used against the client in others. The firm’s former federal prosecutors navigated these issues for years in complex financial fraud cases. The firm now uses that same experience to protect its clients across parallel investigations.
Representative Experience
Securities Fraud, Commodities Fraud & Market Manipulation Cases
The firm’s attorneys have represented individuals and entities in high-stakes securities and commodities fraud matters at every stage—from pre-indictment investigations through trial. The following matters are representative of the firm’s securities and commodities defense practice.
Federal Charges and Investigators
Securities and Commodities Fraud Defense
Federal Agencies That Investigate Securities and Commodities Fraud
Securities and commodities fraud investigations are conducted by multiple federal agencies. Each agency brings distinct statutory authority and investigative tools. The firm defends individuals in securities and commodities fraud investigations brought by the following agencies.
DOJ’s Fraud Section and Other Criminal Division Components. DOJ’s Criminal Division, primarily through the Fraud Section’s Market Integrity and Major Fraud Unit (now the Market, Government, and Consumer Fraud Unit), investigates and prosecutes complex securities fraud, commodities fraud, market manipulation, and insider trading cases. As a former Assistant Chief at DOJ’s Fraud Section, Scott Armstrong brings direct knowledge of how DOJ securities and commodities investigations and prosecutions are built, staffed, and pursued.
United States Attorney’s Offices (USAOs). Securities and commodities fraud cases are prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys in federal judicial districts across the country. The most active districts for securities and commodities fraud prosecutions include the Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of New York, the District of Columbia, the Northern District of California, and the Eastern District of Virginia. Drew Bradylyons served as Chief of EDVA’s Financial Crimes and Public Corruption Unit, one of the most active white-collar prosecution offices in the country.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC brings civil enforcement actions involving securities fraud, insider trading, market manipulation, offering fraud, financial reporting violations, and investment adviser fraud. SEC investigations frequently run in parallel with criminal investigations by DOJ. The SEC has the authority to obtain injunctions, disgorgement, civil penalties, industry bars, and officer-and-director bars. The firm defends individuals in SEC investigations and enforcement actions.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The CFTC brings civil enforcement actions involving fraud, manipulation, spoofing, wash trading, and false reporting in the commodity futures and derivatives markets. The CFTC has asserted jurisdiction over cryptocurrency markets as commodity markets. The firm defends individuals in CFTC investigations and enforcement actions.
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). FINRA regulates broker-dealers and registered representatives. FINRA conducts examinations, investigations, and disciplinary proceedings that can result in suspensions, industry bars, fines, and restitution. FINRA referrals frequently lead to SEC and DOJ investigations. The firm defends registered representatives and broker-dealers in FINRA proceedings.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The FBI investigates securities and commodities fraud as a component of its financial crimes mission. FBI agents are frequently assigned to securities fraud task forces and work closely with DOJ prosecutors and the SEC on complex fraud and insider trading cases.
State Regulators and Attorneys General. State securities regulators and state attorneys general pursue enforcement actions against individuals and firms for violations of state securities laws, including the sale of unregistered securities, investment adviser fraud, and market manipulation. State investigations may proceed in parallel with federal proceedings. The firm defends individuals in state regulatory proceedings arising from securities and commodities activity.
Federal Securities and Commodities Fraud Charges
The firm defends individuals against the full range of federal charges brought in securities and commodities fraud cases. These cases typically involve one or more of the following federal criminal statutes.
Securities Fraud: 15 U.S.C. § 78j(b) and SEC Rule 10b-5
Securities fraud under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act and SEC Rule 10b-5 targets individuals who make material misstatements or omissions in connection with the purchase or sale of securities, or who engage in any scheme or artifice to defraud in the securities markets. Criminal securities fraud charges carry penalties of up to 20 years’ imprisonment. The SEC brings parallel civil enforcement actions under the same provisions. Securities fraud is the cornerstone charge in most DOJ and SEC enforcement cases involving public company fraud, offering fraud, and market manipulation in the securities markets.
Commodities Fraud: 18 U.S.C. § 1348
Commodities fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1348 targets schemes to defraud in connection with any commodity for future delivery or any option on a commodity for future delivery. Criminal commodities fraud charges carry penalties of up to 25 years’ imprisonment. Federal prosecutors use this statute to charge a wide range of fraud conduct in the commodities markets, including Ponzi schemes involving commodity investments, precious metals fraud, and misrepresentation of trading performance.
Insider Trading: 15 U.S.C. §§ 78j(b) and 78ff
Insider trading is prosecuted under the securities fraud provisions of the Securities Exchange Act. Criminal insider trading charges target individuals who trade securities while in possession of material nonpublic information obtained through a breach of fiduciary duty, a relationship of trust and confidence, or misappropriation. Criminal penalties include up to 20 years’ imprisonment. The SEC brings parallel civil enforcement actions seeking disgorgement, penalties, and industry bars.
Market Manipulation: 15 U.S.C. § 78i(a)(2)
Market manipulation charges under Section 9(a)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act target individuals who effect transactions in securities to create actual or apparent active trading or to raise or depress the price of a security for the purpose of inducing the purchase or sale of such security by others. Market manipulation in the securities markets carries criminal penalties of up to 20 years’ imprisonment.
Spoofing: 7 U.S.C. § 9(a)(2)
Spoofing under the Commodity Exchange Act targets the practice of placing orders with the intent to cancel before execution in order to create a false impression of market demand and manipulate prices. Spoofing is a felony that carries penalties of up to 25 years’ imprisonment. The CFTC brings parallel civil enforcement actions. The firm brings its high-profile trial work in complex spoofing cases to its manipulation cases.
Wire Fraud: 18 U.S.C. § 1343
Wire fraud is frequently charged alongside securities and commodities fraud counts. The statute targets schemes to defraud that use interstate wire communications. Convictions carry penalties of up to 20 years’ imprisonment. Federal prosecutors use wire fraud as a broadly applicable charge in cases involving false representations to investors, Ponzi schemes, manipulative trading, and fraudulent investment solicitations.
Money Laundering: 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956 and 1957
Money laundering charges are frequently brought alongside securities and commodities fraud charges when the government alleges that the defendant conducted financial transactions involving the proceeds of the underlying fraud. Money laundering under § 1956 carries penalties of up to 20 years’ imprisonment. The firm defends individuals against money laundering charges arising from alleged securities and commodities fraud activity.
Additional Federal Charges
DOJ commonly brings additional federal charges alongside the primary securities and commodities fraud counts. The firm defends individuals against these related charges in federal prosecutions nationwide. These charges include conspiracy to commit securities fraud (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1349), conspiracy to commit wire fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1349), bank fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1344), mail fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1341), false statements (18 U.S.C. § 1001), obstruction of justice (18 U.S.C. § 1512), and conspiracy to defraud the United States (18 U.S.C. § 371). Each of these additional charges increases the sentencing exposure a defendant faces under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.