Introduction

Dulce is a shareholder in Fredrikson & Byron’s White Collar & Regulatory Defense and Litigation Groups and Chairs the Internal Investigations Group and the White Collar & Regulatory Defense Group. Her practice includes criminal and civil litigation in the areas of financial fraud, healthcare fraud, foreign corrupt practices, trade secrets theft, election fraud, illegal immigration, environmental crimes and False Claims Act defense.

Dulce has represented financial institutions, accounting firms, medical device companies, healthcare providers, academic institutions, construction companies, and other closely held and publicly owned businesses, as well as business owners, executives, politicians, compliance officers, lawyers, physicians, and other individuals. 

Education

• University of Minnesota Law School, J.D., 1998, magna cum laude
• Macalester College, B.A., Psychology, magna cum laude

Bar Admissions

• Minnesota, 1998
• U.S. Dist. Court for the Dist. of Minnesota, 2000
• Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals
• U.S. Dist. Court for the Central Dist. of Illinois, 2002
• U.S. Dist. Court for the Western Dist. of Wisconsin, 2006
• First Circuit Court of Appeals, 2009

Practice Areas

• Litigation
• White Collar & Regulatory Defense
• Corporate Governance & Investigations
• Health Care Fraud & Compliance
• Food, Drug & Medical Device Regulation
• Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Aging & Disability Providers
• Internal Investigations
• Appellate
• Foreign Corrupt Practices Act & Anti-Corruption
• False Claims Act Defense

Representative Experience

Criminal Proceedings

• Represented a nonprofit foundation executive in a six-week federal trial involving alleged participation in a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme.
• Represented a mortgage brokerage executive in a felony mortgage fraud prosecution.
• Represented a medical device company CEO in a seven-week health care fraud trial.
• Represented a home healthcare agency and its owner in a Medicaid fraud prosecution.
• Represented a candidate for Minnesota Senate in an election fraud prosecution.
• Represented a restaurant owner in a prosecution for alleged hiring of illegal aliens.
• Represented a landscape business in a prosecution for alleged labor law violations.
• Represented a biofuels business in a criminal EPA investigation.
• Represented a business executive on appeal in a federal income tax evasion prosecution.
• Represented a physician on appeal in a federal consumer products tampering prosecution.
• Assisted banks, healthcare providers, title companies, retail businesses and numerous other clients in responding to government investigations and Grand Jury subpoenas. 

Civil Investigations & False Claims Act Litigation

• Represented over 80 orthopedic and neurosurgeons in a qui tam False Claims Act case alleging receipt of illegal kickbacks and off-label marketing of a medical device.
• Represented a physicians group in a qui tam False Claims Act Medicare fraud case.
• Represented a general contractor in a False Claims Act investigation under the disadvantaged business enterprise regulations.
• Assisted numerous clients in responding to government civil investigative demands.

Administrative Proceedings

• Represented appraisers in proceedings before the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
• Represented physicians in proceedings before the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice.
• Represented physicians in Medicare exclusion and debarment proceedings.
• Represented healthcare providers in Medicare reimbursement Appeals.

Selected Publications & Presentations

• “Enforcing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Guidance through a Glass, Darkly,” co-authored with Lousene Hoppe, Bench & Bar of Minnesota, March 2013 edition
• “Waiting for Godot: DOJ Finally Issues Much-Anticipated FCPA Guidance,” co-authored with Lousene Hoppe, FredNEWS: Corporate & Securities, February 2013
• “Waiting for Godot: DOJ Finally Issues Much-Anticipated FCPA Guidance,” co-authored with Lousene Hoppe, FredALERT: White Collar & Regulatory Defense, January 2013
• Presenter, Fredrikson & Byron's Anti-Corruption Law Webinar, June 14, 2012
• “Scratching a Niche,” Twin Cities Business Magazine, February 2012
• Presenter, “Global Anti-bribery and Corruption Laws: A Guide to Mitigating Legal Risk”, London, England, November 30, 2011
• Presenter, “Global Anti-bribery and Corruption Laws: A Guide to Mitigating Legal Risk”, Minneapolis, MN, November 16, 2011
• Presenter, “Strategies to Prevent, Uncover and Respond to Workplace Fraud,” Twin Cities Institute of Internal Auditors Roundtable, October 21, 2011
• “Who is a Foreign Official? Recent FCPA Litigation Sheds New Light,” FredALERT: White Collar & Regulatory Defense, May 12, 2011
• “Individuals Face Greater Risks in FDA Cases,” co-authored with Robert Klepinski, FredALERT: Life Sciences, November 19, 2010
• “Preserving Electronic Information: Avoiding Pitfalls,” co-authored with Oliver Fuchsberger, Minnesota Lawyer, October 11, 2010
• Presenter, MNACCA’s Advanced Internal Investigation Lunch and Learn, October 5, 2010
• “Whistleblower Windfall,” FredALERT: Internal Investigations, August 2010
• “Conducting Internal Investigations at Medical Device Companies,” Elsevier Webinar, July 27, 2010
• Panelist, Advanced Internal Investigations Seminar, June 16, 2010
• “A Tale of Two Companies: A Guide to Preserving Electronic Information in A Crisis,” co-authored with Oliver Fuchsberger, FredALERT: Internal Investigations, March 4, 2010
• “Off-label Marketing: Why hospitals and physicians should care about the FDA laws you thought were just for manufacturers,” Health Law Webinar, October 14, 2009
• “What Are They Thinking? The SEC Enforcement Manual And How it Can Help You in an Investigation,” FredALERT: White Collar & Regulatory Defense, February 26, 2009
• “Changes in Federal Policy on Prosecuting Corporations,” FredNEWS: White Collar & Regulatory Defense, October 2008
• “Pursuing the Predators: Regulators’ Response to Mortgage Fraud,” Bench & Bar of Minnesota, September 2007
• “Criminal Law Practice Tips for Civil Lawyers: What to do When the Feds are at the Door,” Minnesota State Bar Association Civil Litigation Section, January 25, 2007
• “Where Local Customs & the Law Collide: Conducting Business in Developing Nations Under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,” co-authored with John W. Lundquist, Fredrikson & Byron’s White Collar & Regulatory Defense Focus Newsletter, September 2005
• “The Virtual Smoking Gun: The Role of Email in White Collar Cases,” Fredrikson & Byron’s White Collar & Regulatory Defense Focus Newsletter, January 2005
• “Statute Under Fire: Why Both Prosecutors And Defense Attorneys Are Challenging Minnesota’s Election Law,” co–authored with John W. Lundquist, Fredrikson & Byron’s White Collar & Regulatory Defense Focus Newsletter, July 2004
• “Transactions Involving the Government: What Cautious Companies Should Know About the Conspiracy Law,” Fredrikson & Byron’s White Collar & Regulatory Defense Focus Newsletter, November 2003
• “Expungement: ‘We Won the Case, Now How Can I Clear My Good Name?’” Fredrikson & Byron’s White Collar & Regulatory Defense Focus Newsletter, January 2003
• Note, “Judge, Jury and Executioner: INS Summary-Exclusion Power Under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996,” 82 Minn. L. Rev. 209, 1997

Professional Activities

• Federal Bar Association Minnesota Chapter, Executive Board Member
• American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section
• American Bar Association Business Law Section/White Collar Crime Committee
• Minnesota State Bar Association
• Hennepin County Bar Association
• Eighth Circuit Bar Association
• National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
• Minnesota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
• Fredrikson & Byron, P.A., Foundation Board of Directors, Member 

Judicial Clerkship

• Honorable John R. Tunheim, U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, 1998-2000

Honors & Distinctions

• Advocates for Human Rights Special Recognition Award, 2009
• Awarded the 2008 Elmer H. Wiblishauser Author’s Award from the Minnesota State Bar Association Publications Committee
• Order of the Coif
• Minnesota Law Review
• Phi Beta Kappa
• Named a “Super Lawyer,” Minnesota Super Lawyers (formerly Minnesota Law & Politics)

Community Involvement

• Loan Repayment Assistance Program Board Member
• Eighth Circuit History Committee, District of Minnesota, Treasurer