John R. Teakell Attorney

First Admitted: 1985, Oklahoma

Professional Webpage: https://www.teakelllaw.com/about/

Bar/Professional Activity:

Texas, 1990
Quoted in various magazines and news articles. Commentator on various television news.
Member, Association of Federal Defense Attorneys
U.S. District Court Eastern District of Oklahoma, 1985
Member, Tarrant County Bar Association
U.S. District Court Eastern District of Texas, 2002
U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida, 2000
Member, Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
Member, Tarrant County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas, 1990
Member, Dallas Bar Association
U.S. District Court Western District of Oklahoma, 1985
U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida, 2000
U.S. Court of Appeals 1st Circuit, 1998
Member, Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
Oklahoma, 1985
Member, American Bar Association
U.S. District Court Northern District of Oklahoma, 1985
Member, Association of Former SEC Attorneys
U.S. District Court District of Puerto Rico, 1997
U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit, 1991
Member, National Association Criminal Defense Lawyers

Verdicts/Settlements (Case Results):

No Prosecution, State of Texas v. JT, Denton County. Allegation of Fraudulent Use of Identifying Information, 2014
Dismissal, State of Texas v. DS, Dallas County. Client was indicted for Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity. After presentations to the District Attorney’s Office, prosecutors dismissed the case, 2015
Dismissal of Unlawful Carrying of a Weapon Indictment, Dallas County, Texas, re KB. State had alleged that Defendant/Client carried a weapon unlawfully in his vehicle, 2015
Dismissal, State of Texas v. JK, Hunt County. Money Laundering Indictment – Defendant/Client was in a car wherein hundreds of thousands of dollars in U.S. currency were found and seized. After presentations and discussions with the District Attorney’s Office about the lack of evidence of criminal activity associated with obtaining or using the money, and thus no criminal intent with the seized money, the District Attorney “outright dismissed” the case, 2015
Reduced Sentence/Time, ED-TX, Filing False Tax Return, re CE. Client was prosecuted in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas for a tax evasion conspiracy and obstructing the IRS in relation to her and her husband’s tax returns and related filings. Client was facing two (2) years or more pursuant to the recommendation of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, but after evidence presented before and at the sentencing hearing, the court sentenced the client to eight (8) months, 2014
Dismissal, State of Texas v. CE, Ellis County. Client was indicted for Theft of a Weapon, and pursuant to evidence presentations and negotiations, the case was dismissed, 2015
Dismissal, State of Texas v. JS, Brazoria County. Allegation of possession of a controlled substance. Challenged the probable cause for stopping and searching the defendant/client, 2014
No Referral/No Prosecution, CPS Investigation, Ellis County, TX. After presentations related to child neglect report, the matter was closed without referral to the District Attorney for criminal prosecution, 2015
No Prosecution – Federal Case, Eastern District of Texas, re JW and BW. Federal investigation of conspiracy to defraud the United States. Through presentations and negotiations obtained an immunity-from-prosecution agreement for family members concerning financial fraud investigation, 2014
Dismissal of Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity charge, Young County, TX. Client was indicted as part of a drug trafficking conspiracy in Texas state court, alleged to have sold to various persons. Dismissed by the District Attorney, 2015
Dismissal, State of Texas v. TB, Tarrant County. Charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance, after becoming a live case on the docket., 2014
Recommended S-Visa for Client in federal Immigration Fraud Case, Northern District of Texas, re RM. Pursuant to negotiations, the U.S. Attorney’s Office agreed to recommend a visa for Client that would facilitate no deportation or delaying deportation, rather than the certainty of deportation that usually follows a criminal case, 2015
Limited Prosecution/Lesser Charges – WD-TX, Filing False Tax Return. Def was a target of an alleged continuous federal contract fraud scheme. After presentations to the Dept. of Justice, the DOJ closed the investigation on contracts fraud and bribery, and charged the defendant with tax violations, 2014
Dismissal, State of Texas, Tarrant County. Possession of a Controlled Substance charge, when an illegal drug was found in a car with the defendant/client, 2015
Dismissal of Indictment, Dallas County, Texas, re DC, Theft $100,000 - $200,000. The State alleged theft regarding services and goods from a national company, when the Defendant/Client’s business failed to perform, causing losses to a supplier(s). District Attorney dismissed the case in 2015, 2015
Probation – Federal Case, Eastern District of Texas, Mail Fraud, U.S. v. S.M. Negotiated probation in spite of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines in this federal case alleging a mail fraud scheme based upon unauthorized use of monies., 2014
Dismissal, State of Texas v. $ and property in a Forfeiture Action, Collin County. State alleged that client and spouse committed fraud to obtain monies and other assets, 2015
Reduced Sentence -- Federal Case, Northern District of Texas, Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine, re A.G. Client’s recommended sentence pursuant to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines was 121 – 151 months. After objections, motions and arguments distinguishing this defendant from others, the court sentenced the client to the minimum allowed by federal law, 60 months, 2014
Dismissals, State of Texas v. SC, Ellis County. Client was arrested for credit card abuse, and indicted for two (2) cases of Fraudulent Possession or Use of Identifying Information. The cases were based upon allegations that the Client charged the complainant’s credit card without authorization for car rentals associated with Client’s business. Records obtained by the defense showed that the complainant’s card was mistakenly charged. After presentations to the District Attorney’s Office, the District Attorney outright dismissed the cases, 2015
Reduced Exposure/Sentence – Federal Case, Eastern District of Texas, Indictment for Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances, re SG. Client was facing approximately fifteen (15) years of literal incarceration pursuant to the application of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines on the quantities of controlled substances and the client’s activities. Through negotiations was able to obtain an agreement that limited Client’s exposure to 48 - 60 months, 2014
No Prosecution, Related to Federal Investigation for Immigration Fraud/Visa Scheme, Northern District of Texas, re SM. Client was aware of certain activities that occurred with persons who participated in a scheme to obtain monies from foreign persons who were looking for sponsors for a job and a Visa to enter and work in the United States. However, defense convinced the U.S. Attorney’s Office that client had no criminal intent, and thus, there was no Indictment alleging wrongdoing, 2015
No Prosecution – Federal Investigation re Mortgage Fraud, ED-TX, re JC. Allegations were fraudulent/false statements and misrepresentations in the purchase and re-sale of residential real estate, 2014
Dismissal of Indictment – Eastern District of Texas, U.S. v. MM, Federal Case alleging Obstruction of Justice, based upon allegations that the client tried to convince another person to change statements and reports submitted to law enforcement, 2015
Probation / Supervised Release – Federal Case – ED-PA, Counterfeit Goods, U.S. v. RG. Counterfeiting and selling what were represented as Martin guitars across the United States, 2014
Probation – Federal Case, Northern District of Texas re Counterfeit Goods, re KA. Defendant was facing a U.S. Sentencing Guidelines sentence of prison time, but after sentencing, the court imposed probation and no incarceration., 2014
No Prosecution / No Indictment, Eastern District of Texas, Federal Conspiracy to Traffic in Counterfeit Goods, re AV. Client was the target of a federal investigation regarding the sale of large amounts of counterfeited DVDs and videos, which were violations of criminal copyright infringement and counterfeit goods statutes. The U.S. Attorney’s Office closed case after presentations of evidence and other information, 2015
Probation – Federal Case, ND-TX, Mortgage Fraud, U.S. v. HO. Negotiated probation with the U.S. Attorney even though the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines normally provide for a period of imprisonment., 2014
Dismissal, Re MH, Dallas County. Plaintiff sued Client claiming civil fraud in business matters. Lawsuit dismissed after discussions with plaintiff and presentation of evidence that no fraud had occurred, 2015
No Forfeiture of Extremely Large Account – Northern District of Texas, No forfeiture action was taken against client’s funds totaling over $1.5MM dollars after allegations that the funds were profits of synthetic marijuana (“spice”) sales. Discussions with the U.S. Attorney’s Office about the alleged laundered monies versus the source of the funds led the U.S. Attorney’s Office to decline to pursue any forfeiture of the client’s monies, 2015
See Case Results in my websites, www.teakelllaw.com and www.txfederalcriminaldefense.com.
Sponsor of “S” Visa – Federal Case, ND-TX, Immigration Fraud, re RM. Client was prosecuted in federal court in the Northern District of Texas for a conspiracy regarding immigration and the promise of jobs. Negotiated a lesser charge and lowered U.S. Sentencing Guidelines recommendation range (quite possibly probation) as well as a sponsorship for an S-Visa, which will place the client into a more favorable category regarding deportation issues, 2014
No Prosecution, No Charges, U.S. v. EH, Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division. Client was under federal investigation for possession and distribution of illegal child images, and eventually charges were declined. Information presented by the defendant was that other persons had access to the Internet on the subject computer, 2015
No Charges/Declined, Dallas County, TX, re AR. Investigation into alleged Theft/Credit Card Abuse, but the detective agreed to decline prosecution after discussions about the evidence, 2014
No Referral/No Prosecution, CPS Investigation, Dallas County. Assault/indecency investigation closed after presentations, 2015
No Prosecution – Collin County, TX, re MG. Allegation of Assault with Deadly Weapon. Investigators agreed to not proceed with prosecution after discussions and a presentation, 2014
Lesser Sentence – Middle District of Tennessee, U.S. v. JC, Federal Case for Fraudulent Preparation of Tax Returns. Client was prosecuted for criminal tax violations based upon fraudulent tax returns that he and his company prepared for others. The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines recommendation for these activities would have been approximately 78 months or more, but the agreed sentence of 18 months was reached after negotiations and presentations to the U.S. Attorney, 2015
No Charges – Potential Theft/Embezzlement/Fraud case in Collin County, TX, re SE. Presentations to the victim company and law enforcement, and the company agreed to no formal criminal referral, 2014
No Charges – Possession of Controlled Substances and Possession of Controlled Substances with Intent to Deliver, Denton County, TX re MN. No charges pursued by the District Attorney’s Office after the Client had been arrested, 2015

Videos:

Attorney John Teakell discusses Fort Worth homicide investigation, Criminal Defense, 2012
Criminal defense attorney John R. Teakell: Grand jury turns up heat on murder witnesses, Criminal Defense, 2014
Attorney John Teakell Discusses Dallas Political Corruption Probe, Criminal Defense, White Collar, 2012
John Teakell discusses Kobe Bryant case, Criminal Defense, 2014
Attorney John Teakell Discusses FBI public corruption case, White Collar/criminal Defense, 2011
John Teakell discusses Casey Anthony trial, Criminal Defense, 2011

Representative Clients:

U.S. v. Jaime Rosado Rosario, et al., Puerto Rico, 1998 WL 737994, 1998217908
SEC v. Digital Lightwave, Inc., MD-FL, 196 F.R.D. 698, 2000526440
U.S. v. Jorge Alicea Serrano, et al., Puerto Rico
U.S. v. Ray Dell Devoll, ND-TX, 39 F. 3d 575, 1994235055
U.S. v. Hernan Perez Perez, Puerto Rico
SEC v. Medical Research Industries, Inc., SD-FL
U.S. v. Walter H. Cushman III, et al., ND-TX, 830 F. Supp. 960, 1993181083
U.S. v. Linda McCanless, ND-TX, 125 F. 3d 852, 1997191649
U.S. v. Acosta-Martinez, et al., Puerto Rico, 89 F. Supp. 2d 173, 2000075717
SEC v. Physicians Guardian, Inc., et al., MD-FL, 72 F. Supp. 2d 1342, 1999245821
U.S. v. Luis Gines Perez, et al., Puerto Rico, 214 F. Supp. 2d 205, 2002493792
SEC v. Internet Capital Holdings, Inc., et al., SD-FL
U.S. v. Norman Eads, et al., ND-TX, 106 F. 3d 397, 1997041548
U.S. v. Lorenzo Sigala, et al., ND-TX, 82 F. 3d 413, 1996089825
U.S. v. Eladio Santiago Sanchez, et al., Puerto Rico, 203 F. 3d 103, 2000053387
In re W.R. Grace Company, Inc. defendants, SEC, 812 F. 2d 1403, 1987021020
U.S. v. Edilberto Perez Manjarres, et al., Puerto Rico
U.S. v. Michael Satz, et al., ND-TX, 105 F. 3d 956, 1997041755
U.S. v. Ruben Caicedo Bustamante, et al., Puerto Rico
SEC v. Christopher Hanna, SD-FL
SEC v. Americash-Inc. com., Inc., et al., SD-FL

Honors/Awards:

Lawyers of Distinction – Top 10% of Lawyers in USA, 2016 - 2023
M & A Today Global Awards - Criminal Defense Firm of the Year, 2020 - 2023
Legal 100 - Lawyer International, 2021, 2022
Top 100 Lawyers - Top 100 Registry, 2020, 2021, and 2022
Judge – Southern Methodist University Law School Moot Court, Dallas, 10-1996
American Association for Justice Top 100 Trial Lawyers, 2007 - 2012
American Trial Lawyers Association, Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America, 2014
Named among the top one percent of attorneys in the United States, National Association of Distinguished Counsel
Highlighted in Forbes Magazine as the White Collar Defense Attorney for the Dallas/Fort Worth area, 2010 - 2014
Best Attorneys of America, 2015

Educational Background:

Oklahoma State University, B.S., 1979

Scholarly Lectures/Writings:

Mr. Teakell has published articles in the Texas Lawyer and Executive Legal Advisor
Seminar Speaker, “Aggressive Criminal Defense in Texas”, Houston, Texas, 2003
Instructor, Criminal Trial Advocacy Course, Attorney General’s Advocacy Institute, Washington, D.C., 1991 – 1997
Instructor, Fraud Courses, Legal Education Working Group – Department of Justice, 1997
Speaker, “Parallel Defenses in Criminal and Civil Cases”, Dallas Bar Association, Criminal Law Section Meeting, Dallas, Texas, 2004
Contributor, "A Cup of Coffee With 10 of the Top Criminal Defense Attorneys in the United States."

Other Outstanding Achievements:

Highlighted in Forbes Magazine as White Collar Defense Attorney in Dallas / Fort Worth Area
Highlighted in Fortune Magazine as White Collar Criminal Defense Attorney in Dallas, 2022

Firm News (Newsletters):

Has made appearances as a Defense counsel commentator for Court TV and local NBC affiliate Channel 5, KXAS-TV, Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas.
Has been quoted in Time Magazine, NBC Nightly News, Los Angeles Times, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and the Dallas Business Journal

Industry Groups:

Criminal Law
Federal Computer Crimes
Federal Criminal Law
Federal Drug Trafficking
Federal Firearms
Federal Fraud
Federal Securities Fraud
Federal White Collar
Security Clearance Hearings

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