Cory is a white collar defense attorney in the firm’s Chambers-ranked White Collar Practice Group, and a former federal and state prosecutor with extensive trial experience. He specializes in representing individuals and companies in the financial services sector in investigations, enforcement actions, and compliance related to financial laws.
Cory uses his experience as a first chair litigator in over 75 state and federal jury trials and hundreds of grand jury proceedings to advise his clients on a variety of actions, from subpoena responses to plea negotiations to trial proceedings related to alleged financial crimes, and violations of securities laws, anti-money-laundering (AML) laws, and regulations. He also has extensive expertise in advising clients on FCPA compliance and due diligence, as well as drafting and implementing internal AML and FCPA policies for clients looking to mitigate risk. In addition, Cory has a long history of representing broker-dealers before the SEC and DOJ, in both subpoena responses and enforcement proceedings and skillfully guides clients through such challenges with a deep understanding of potential civil, criminal, and reputational impacts. As a former prosecutor and head of AML for a global systemically important bank, Cory’s approach to legal challenges is holistic and draws on his unique experiences in the role of defense counsel, prosecutor, and in-house counsel in complex disputes.
Cory also works with clients on navigating the complex regulatory and legal issues surrounding the cannabis industry at both the state and federal level. He helps guide investors, startups, and individuals through this evolving legal landscape, including counseling them on risk assessment, compliance measures, and minimizing business disruption. He has extensive experience in advising clients and individuals in the cryptocurrency industry, including counselling them on complex legal issues related to criminal and civil disputes, government investigations, and regulatory compliance.
In addition to his robust white collar practice, Cory is an active member of the firm’s pro bono initiatives, where he works on a variety of different regional and national projects, including advising domestic violence shelters in understanding and responding to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions.
Prior to joining Mintz, Cory was a vice president and the regional head of the AML division for North America at a Boston-based global systemically important bank (G-SIB). His work encompassed supervising more than two dozen compliance professionals and providing oversight and guidance to the company’s North American business units on AML regulations, the Bank Secrecy Act, and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regulations. In addition, he negotiated and resolved matters before federal, state, and international regulatory bodies including FINRA, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Federal Reserve Bank.
Between 2010 and 2016, Cory served as an assistant US attorney for the District of Massachusetts, where he investigated and indicted one of the largest pyramid schemes ever prosecuted by the US Department of Justice involving investors in 240 countries and over $3 billion in losses. Earlier, he worked in the homicide and senior trial units of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office in Boston, handling all aspects of homicide and high-profile felony cases. In addition to his extensive trial court and grand jury work, Cory argued before the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts and succeeded in persuading the court to adopt the doctrine of forfeiture by wrongdoing. In 2008, Cory was the recipient of the Outstanding Superior Court Prosecutor Award from the Suffolk County DA’s Office.
In law school, Cory served as a notes and comments editor of the Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal and senior director of Fordham Student Sponsored Fellowship. He was also a two-time recipient of the fellowship and was granted the Archibald R. Murray Public Service Award.
Experience
- Represents two defendants charged with fraud in relation to the ongoing College Admissions prosecution.
- Represented CFO charged in $30+ million fraud scheme and secured disposition substantially more favorable than recommended by the Federal Guidelines. The sentencing judge remarked that he was “frankly surprised that [CFO’s] counsel was able to negotiate such a favorable agreement.”
- Represented former professional athlete as a witness in a DOJ investigation related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
- Represented numerous broker dealers in connection with various investigations and actions brought by the DOJ and SEC.
- Represented CFO indicted in a $25 million fraud.
viewpoints
The Boston Insider Trading Prosecutions: Case Architecture and Defense Themes
May 13, 2026 | Alert | By Eoin Beirne, Edmund P. Daley, Cory S. Flashner, Natashia Tidwell
Federal prosecutors in Boston and the SEC unveiled a coordinated takedown of an alleged global insider‑trading ring spanning multiple years, law firms, and “hub‑and‑spoke” tipping chains. As of May 6, 2026, authorities said 30 individuals have been charged.
FinCEN Eases Beneficial Ownership Verification Requirements: What Financial Institutions Need to Know
February 18, 2026 | Alert | By Cory S. Flashner
FinCEN’s February 2026 exceptive relief order eases beneficial ownership verification requirements under the 2016 CDD Rule, reducing compliance burdens for financial institutions while preserving core AML/CFT obligations.
The Murky Waters of Wash Trading Digital Assets – DOJ Charges 18 Individuals and Entities
October 15, 2024 | Blog | By Eoin Beirne, Cory S. Flashner, Edmund P. Daley
The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts recently unsealed what it described as the “first-ever criminal charges against financial services firms for market manipulation and ‘wash trading’ in the cryptocurrency industry.”
DOJ Confronts the Opportunities and Obstacles of AI
February 27, 2024 | Blog | By Cory S. Flashner, Bianca Bernardi
In remarks given at the University of Oxford on February 14, 2024, Deputy Attorney General (“DAG”) Lisa O. Monaco announced the Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) latest approach to artificial intelligence: naming the DOJ’s first Chief Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) Officer.
EnforceMintz — DOJ and OIG Guidance Emphasizes the Importance of a Robust and Dynamic Compliance Program
February 8, 2024 | Blog | By Cory S. Flashner, Samantha Kingsbury, Nick A. LaPalme
In 2023, the DOJ amplified compliance-related incentives for companies under criminal investigation (including health care companies), while the OIG has substantially revised and modernized previously issued compliance guidance and resources applicable to health care companies and providers.
Judge Rakoff puts the Ripple Party on Ice as the Crypto Community and SEC Ponder their Next Moves
August 7, 2023 | Blog | By Cory S. Flashner, David Adams, Edmund P. Daley, Patrick E. McDonough
Just barely two weeks ago, we wrote about the half-victory for Ripple Labs in its ongoing litigation with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), in which Judge Analisa Torres granted partial summary judgment in favor of Ripple on the issue of whether certain sales of Ripple’s XRP cryptocurrency tokens were “securities” under the federal securities laws. Some in the crypto industry interpreted her ruling to mean that secondary transactions in crypto assets on centralized and decentralized crypto exchanges were not transactions in “securities,” even though Judge Torres expressly declined to address the secondary trading issue. Fast forward to today, and a new ruling out of the SDNY against Terraform Labs casts further doubt on this interpretation.
News & Press
Mintz Advises Philips on SpectraWAVE Acquisition
December 18, 2025|
23 Mintz Attorneys Named to Boston Magazine’s “Top Lawyers” List
November 22, 2024|
Mass. Bar Split As Pre-Pandemic 12-Person Juries Return
January 12, 2024|
Twenty-Five Mintz Attorneys Named To Boston Magazine’s Top Lawyers List
November 21, 2023|
Attorneys Note Rise In Cryptocurrency Whistleblowers
March 3, 2023|
Twenty-Eight Mintz Attorneys Named To Boston Magazine’s Top Lawyers List
November 22, 2022|
SEC Tests Its Reach With Coinbase Insider Trading Case
July 25, 2022|
Anti-Money Laundering Risks in Real Estate Transactions
July 15, 2020|
Former Federal Prosecutor Cory Flashner Joins Mintz
June 3, 2019|
Events & Speaking
ACAMS Greater Boston Chapter March 2024 Event: Career Tracks in Financial Crime
Boston University Law School, Barristers Hall, Ground Floor, 765 Commonwealth Ave. Boston, 02115
2020 White-Collar Crime Conference
Boston Bar Association
Aloft Boston | Seaport District 401-403 D Street Boston, Massachusetts, 02210
Recognition & Awards
Chambers USA: Massachusetts – Litigation: White Collar Crime and Government Investigations (2023 – 2026)
Best Lawyers in America: Criminal Defense: White Collar (2021 – 2027)
Boston Magazine: Top Lawyers – Criminal Defense-White Collar (2021 – 2025)
Involvement
- Board Member, Healing Abuse Working for Change (HAWC) (2021)
- Board Member, Weston Dads Foundation (2016 - present)
- Vice President, Show-Me Wrestling Club
- Secretary, New England Chapter, Fordham Law Alumni Association (2008 - 2015)

