Renato Mariotti

Renato Mariotti is an American attorney, legal commentator, and former federal prosecutor, known for his work in prosecuting white-collar crimes and his role in the first successful criminal conviction for financial spoofing. Mariotti is a partner at Paul Hastings LLP.
== Early Life and Education ==
Renato Mariotti was born in Chicago, Illinois, to working-class parents. He attended Naperville Central High School, graduating in 1994. Mariotti pursued higher education at the University of Chicago, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in political science in 1998. He then attended Yale Law School, obtaining his Juris Doctor degree in 2001.
== Legal Career ==
=== Early Career ===
After completing law school, Mariotti clerked for Judge Patrick E. Higginbotham of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from August 2001 to September 2002. He then joined the law firm Heller, Ehrman, White & McAuliffe LLP, where he practiced antitrust and securities litigation from October 2002 to May 2007. During this time, he was part of the trial team in the In re Visa Check/MasterMoney Antitrust Litigation, the largest civil antitrust class action in U.S. history at the time, and worked on several other prominent litigation matters.
=== Assistant U.S. Attorney ===
In June 2007, Mariotti became an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Illinois. He was assigned to the Securities and Commodities Fraud Section, where he prosecuted various white-collar crimes, including commodities and securities fraud, health care fraud, mortgage fraud, and tax evasion. 
During his tenure, he prosecuted various white-collar crimes, including commodities and securities fraud, health care fraud, mortgage fraud, and tax evasion. Notably, he prosecuted the Bogdanov crime family and convicted the "Second Hand Bandit," Jose Banks, both of which were featured in episodes of CNBC's American Greed. He also handled cases such as United States v. Laurance Freed and United States v. Henry Smilie.
Notably, he prosecuted the case United States v. Coscia, which was the first federal prosecution of a high-frequency trader for order entry and the first prosecution nationwide under the anti-spoofing provision of the Dodd-Frank Act. 
=== Spoofing Case ===
Mariotti gained significant recognition for leading the prosecution in the case of United States v. Coscia. It was the nation's first federal prosecution of a high-frequency trader for order entry and the first prosecution nationwide under the anti-spoofing provision of the Dodd-Frank Act. This case was the first criminal conviction of a high-frequency trader for financial spoofing, a fraudulent practice where traders place large orders they intend to cancel to manipulate market prices. The conviction of Michael Coscia was upheld by the U.S. Appeals Court, solidifying the case's impact on financial market regulations. 
== Political Involvement ==
In 2017, Mariotti announced his candidacy for Illinois Attorney General as a Democrat, aiming to succeed Lisa Madigan. His campaign focused on economic justice and combating wage theft. Despite his efforts, Mariotti finished seventh in the Democratic primary election held on March 20, 2018.
=== Private Practice ===
Mariotti joined Thompson Coburn LLP in June 2016, where he worked until August 2022. During his tenure, he tried and won the case United States v. Jitesh Thakkar, the first-ever criminal case charging a non-trader with a form of market manipulation. He also tried and won multiple complex civil trials and arbitrations. He has also successfully defended the constitutionality of the spoofing and commodity fraud statutes. 
In August 2022, Mariotti became a partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, where he focused on securities litigation, internal investigations, and white-collar criminal defense until June 2024. 
In July 2024, he joined Paul Hastings as a partner, representing a diverse group of clients in complex high-stakes litigation, including private equity and hedge fund litigation, financial market manipulation, and cyber theft. He also represents clients in investigations and enforcement actions by the SEC, CFTC, and DOJ.
=== Media and Public Engagement ===
Mariotti served as a legal analyst for CNN from May 2018 to May 2020. He is a frequent legal commentator on networks such as MSNBC, CNN, and CBS News, and his insights have been featured in major publications like The New York Times, Time, The Washington Post, Newsweek, and Politico. 
=== Political Involvement ===
In 2017, Mariotti announced his candidacy for Illinois Attorney General as a Democrat, aiming to succeed Lisa Madigan. His campaign focused on economic justice and combating wage theft. Despite his efforts, Mariotti finished seventh in the Democratic primary election held on March 20, 2018.
He also ran in the 11th Congressional District for State Central Committeeman for the Democratic Party in the 2022 primary election and lost to Peter Janko by 77 votes.
==Video==
Mariotti sat for an interview with John Lothian News for a special report about spoofing in 2020.
== John Lothian News Articles ==
A “Computer Guy From Naperville”: Closing Arguments in US v Thakkar
Closing arguments in the trial US v Thakkar took place Monday in a long morning for the jury, lasting about three hours. After the charge of conspiracy to spoof was dismissed by Judge Gettleman last week, Jitesh Thakkar still faces two charges of aiding and abetting the commission of a crime, for two separate occasions, February 25 and March 8, 2013.   
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Defense rests in a “thin” case against Jitesh Thakkar
In a move that surprised the courtroom, the defense in the trial of U.S. v Jitesh Thakkar rested its case shortly before 1:00 p.m. on Thursday afternoon. Thakkar’s attorney, Renato Mariotti, had called no witnesses in his defense.
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Data Day in the case of U.S. v. Jitesh Thakkar
In an abbreviated third trial day, the U.S. Department of Justice rested its case against Jitesh Thakkar and Edge Financial Technologies. Thakkar is on trial for allegedly facilitating the criminally fraudulent spoofing trading of Navinder Sarao, who pleaded guilty to two criminal counts related to his spoofing of E-mini S&P futures in the first half of this decade.  
Read More
US v Thakkar: “MasterChief” Day
The second day in US v Jitesh Thakkar and Edge Financial Technology began Tuesday morning with defense attorney Renato Mariotti’s cross examination of Navinder Sarao, the prosecution’s headline witness. Sarao, a cooperating witness, is awaiting sentencing for convictions on two criminal charges in a separate case, which could include up to 30 years jail time. The government is waiting to see how cooperative (effective?) Sarao turns out to be as a supporting player on Team USA and will condition his sentencing recommendations on his cooperation. Finishing up a few hours of cross examination, Mariotti struggled a bit to flesh out Sarao’s role as the mastermind. Sarao, for his part, struggled not to show impatience with the tedium of these proceedings that are so important for him and his prospects for freedom. Thakkar, the defendant, took notes and looked on.
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US v. Jitesh Thakkar: An Exercise in Justice
April 1, 2019 was the first day in the criminal trial U.S. v Thakkar, in which the government charges that Jitesh Thakkar aided and abetted spoofing in a manipulative and deceptive scheme carried out by another person. It is a serious allegation and everyone is taking it seriously. There are four prosecuting and three defending attorneys. If things run as scheduled, yesterday was just the first of a half-dozen or so days of testimony and arguments as the Federal Government endeavors to right the wrongs allegedly perpetrated by Jitesh Thakkar, president of Edge Financial Technologies, a software development firm that programs applications for the trading industry.
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== References ==	
Category:Lawyers
Category:Former Assistant United States Attorneys
Category:Former United States Attorneys
Category:Illinois Democrats
Category:American Legal Commentators
Category:Yale Law School Alumni
Category:University of Chicago Alumni
Category:Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP - Former Partners 
Category:Thompson Coburn LLP - Former Partners