Part trial lawyer, part dealmaker, part fixer. Jason Goldman is a tried-and-true litigator who represents individuals being criminally prosecuted by the government and those with extraordinary stakes at risk in civil disputes. For individuals facing existential legal threats, he offers elite, selective representation designed to protect the client’s future and reputation.

A former prosecutor, Mr. Goldman has built his practice on discretion, meticulous preparation, and a deep understanding that the courtroom is only one arena in which the story must be told. His philosophy is simple: control the narrative, control the outcome. Every detail, from public perception to procedural posture to evidentiary battles, is curated to strengthen his client’s long-term position.

Mr. Goldman began his career as a Brooklyn prosecutor, rising through the ranks by trying the most serious felony offenses, and has since tried more than 25 cases to verdict. He is admitted in New York and New Jersey, in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, and pro hac vice throughout the country.

Federal Criminal Defense in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York

Federal cases are not state cases with higher stakes. They are a different system, with different rules, different timelines, and a conviction rate that reflects how long the government prepares before anyone is charged. By the time an indictment is unsealed in the Southern District or the Eastern District of New York, prosecutors have often spent a year or more building the record. The defense that matters most frequently begins before that point.

Mr. Goldman represents clients at every stage of a federal case: pre-indictment investigations, proffer sessions, arraignment and detention hearings, motion practice, trial, sentencing, and appeal. He appears in the federal courthouses at 500 Pearl Street in Manhattan, Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn, White Plains, and Central Islip.

Federal Wire Fraud and Financial Crimes

Wire fraud is the government’s most flexible charging tool. Almost any transaction that crosses a state line by phone, email, or bank transfer can support a count under 18 U.S.C. 1343, and prosecutors routinely stack it with conspiracy under 1349 and money laundering counts that multiply the exposure. The fight is usually about two things: whether the government can prove intent to defraud rather than a business decision that went badly, and how loss is calculated once it does. Loss drives the guidelines range more than almost any other factor, and the distance between the government’s number and a defensible one is measured in years.

Mr. Goldman handles wire fraud, bank fraud, securities fraud, healthcare fraud, mortgage and real estate fraud, cryptocurrency and digital asset fraud, business email compromise, PPP and pandemic relief fraud, tax fraud, computer intrusion and extortion, and honest services fraud.

Federal Conspiracy and Drug Conspiracy

A federal conspiracy charge does not require that the plan succeeded, that drugs were ever seized, or that the client met most of the people named in the indictment. Under 21 U.S.C. 846, an agreement is enough, and drug quantity attributed as relevant conduct can drive a sentence far past what the client’s own conduct would suggest. These cases turn on wiretap suppression, the reliability of cooperating witnesses, the buyer-seller distinction, withdrawal, and whether the government has proven one conspiracy or several.

RICO, Enterprise Cases, and Multi-Defendant Indictments

Racketeering and enterprise prosecutions sweep in defendants whose alleged roles vary enormously, then try them together. Severance, conflict analysis, and the fight over predicate acts are decided early and shape everything that follows.

Grand Jury Subpoenas, Target Letters, and Federal Investigations

A grand jury subpoena or a target letter is not a charge. It is an opportunity, and it closes quickly. Whether someone is a witness, a subject, or a target changes the entire strategy, and that designation is not always what the government first says it is. Mr. Goldman represents clients responding to subpoenas ad testificandum and duces tecum, negotiating immunity and proffer agreements, moving to quash, and making declination presentations before charges are filed. He handles investigations by the FBI, DOJ, DEA, IRS Criminal Investigation, HSI, the SEC and FINRA, and the New York Attorney General.

Federal Sentencing, Guidelines, and Appeals

Most federal cases are resolved by plea, which means sentencing is the case. The guidelines calculation, the presentence report, role adjustments, acceptance of responsibility, safety valve eligibility, prior felony enhancements, and the 3553(a) argument are where outcomes are determined. Mr. Goldman prepares sentencing mitigation as thoroughly as he prepares for trial, and has repeatedly secured sentences below the guidelines range in federal fraud and narcotics cases. He also handles direct appeals to the Second Circuit, 2255 motions, Rule 35 and compassionate release motions, Amendment 821 reductions, and pardon and commutation petitions.

New York State Felony Defense

Homicide, Murder, and Manslaughter

Homicide cases are tried, not negotiated, more often than any other category of case. They are built on forensic evidence, eyewitness identification, cell site data, and statements taken in the hours after an arrest, and each of those is contestable. Mr. Goldman defends murder in the first and second degree, felony murder, depraved indifference murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and vehicular manslaughter, along with the justification and extreme emotional disturbance defenses that can reshape them. His work on New York’s most closely watched self-defense homicide of the last decade produced a dismissal at the grand jury stage.

Rape, Sexual Assault, and Sex Offenses

Sex offense allegations carry consequences that survive the case itself: registration under SORA, employment and licensing collapse, immigration exposure, and a presumption of guilt that attaches the moment a charge becomes public. These cases frequently rest on a single account with no corroborating physical evidence, which makes credibility, timeline, digital communications, and forensic findings the entire battlefield, particularly where an allegation surfaces years after the events described. Mr. Goldman defends rape, criminal sexual act, sexual abuse, predatory sexual assault, and forcible touching, and handles SORA risk level hearings and Title IX and school disciplinary proceedings.

Domestic Violence, Assault, and Orders of Protection

Domestic violence arrests in New York move fast and are difficult to unwind. An order of protection can remove someone from their home and away from their children at arraignment, before any evidence has been tested, and a criminal contempt charge for violating it can be more serious than the underlying allegation. Mr. Goldman defends assault in the first, second, and third degree, gang assault, strangulation, menacing, criminal contempt, stalking, and coercion.

Mr. Goldman is often lauded for his poise and toughness within the courtroom. Outside of it, he leans on his charisma and moxie to defend clients strategically in the media when appropriate, while also keeping them out of the limelight during sensitive investigations. To that end, he is considered a trusted strategic advisor to high-profile clients through both a public facing, crisis communications capacity and with private, behind the scenes consulting.

When necessary, Mr. Goldman taps into his trusted network of public relations experts, reform advocates, and political influencers to achieve seemingly improbable results. At his core, Mr. Goldman relates to juries and is often brought on to try cases to verdict.

Noteworthy Results

Mr. Goldman’s work has been covered by the Associated Press, CNN, NBC New York, the New York Post, New York Magazine, Business Insider, Gothamist, and the Chicago Sun-Times.

• Manslaughter and weapons charges dismissed in the J train subway self-defense stabbing. The grand jury declined to indict and the client walked out without prosecution weeks after his arrest.
• Murder charges dismissed, with the client now pursuing a $25 million wrongful conviction claim against the City of New York.
• Appeal won and judgment reversed for a New York business owner wrongfully convicted of rape.
• Below-guidelines sentence for a client charged in a multi-million dollar federal wire fraud scheme.
• Below-guidelines, minimum sentence for a former NFL player facing federal drug charges.
• Below-guidelines sentence for a client arrested on international federal drug trafficking charges.
• Bail granted over the government’s objection for an Olympic figure skater charged with multi-million dollar fraud.
• Dismissal for a recording artist charged with attempted murder.
• Misdemeanor, non-jail resolution for a client charged in a Staten Island attempted murder case.
• Misdemeanor, non-jail resolution for a client charged with felony armed assault.
• Community service resolution for a client charged in a Madison Square Garden assault.
• Sentence below the maximum for Rashaun Weaver, over the government’s request.
• Defense of a physician on manslaughter charges connected to his wife’s death.
• Defense of an actor charged with sexual abuse, criminal sexual act, assault, and strangulation in Brooklyn.
• Defense of a client charged with defrauding professional sports leagues in a multi-million dollar computer crimes and extortion scheme.
• Representation of a former NHL player on charges arising from a New York City road-rage incident.
• Counsel to the Bodega and Small Business Association in connection with the Jose Alba investigation.

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different and depends on its own facts.

Wrongful Conviction and Post-Conviction Relief

A conviction is not always final. CPL 440.10 motions, newly discovered evidence, DNA testing, Brady violations, prosecutorial misconduct, ineffective assistance claims, and Conviction Integrity Unit applications can reopen cases that appeared closed for years. Mr. Goldman has won an appeal that reversed a judgment against a New York business owner wrongfully convicted of rape, and represents a client pursuing a $25 million wrongful conviction claim after his murder charges were dismissed.

Representation for Survivors of Sexual Assault

Mr. Goldman also represents survivors, a practice kept entirely separate from his defense work. The New York City Gender Motivated Violence Act lookback window reopened in 2026, allowing survivors to bring claims that were previously time-barred, including claims against institutions and claims dismissed under the earlier window. These filings have a deadline. He also handles Adult Survivors Act and Child Victims Act matters, institutional abuse claims, and representation of victims during a criminal prosecution.

Credentials and Recognition

• Former Brooklyn prosecutor; more than 25 cases tried to verdict
• New York Super Lawyers Rising Star
• Admitted in New York and New Jersey, and in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York; pro hac vice admission throughout the country
• J.D., Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law; B.A., University of Georgia
• New York City Bar Association, Criminal Courts Committee
• National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
• New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
• New York Criminal Bar Association and Kings County Criminal Bar Association

In the News

Mr. Goldman appears regularly on national news outlets and is cited in national print media on questions of self-defense, subway crime, sex offense prosecutions, and federal sentencing. He was profiled by PARK Magazine as “The Lifeline of Criminal Defense,” has appeared on Fox 5 New York, PIX11, NBC New York, and WABC Radio, and has been featured on the Not Another True Crime podcast.

Where Mr. Goldman Practices

Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island, along with Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Dutchess, and Putnam counties. Federal representation throughout the Southern, Eastern, Northern, and Western Districts of New York and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, and pro hac vice admission nationwide.

Speak With Mr. Goldman

The Law Offices of Jason Goldman, 275 Madison Avenue, 35th Floor, New York, NY 10016. Call 212-466-6617. Consultations are confidential. If you have received a target letter, a grand jury subpoena, or a call from an agent, the most valuable window in your case is open right now and it is short.