Sean C. Cenawood

Sean C. Cenawood is a Partner and the former Chief of the Civil Frauds Unit in the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. He is a member of Dentons' Litigation, White Collar and Government Investigations, and Health Care practices. His primary practice area is White Collar Crime.

He focuses on government and internal investigations, as well as complex civil litigation. He has handled dozens of major investigations and litigations involving hospitals, pharmaceutical manufacturers, physicians, importers, medical device manufacturers, sports stadiums, recipients of federal stimulus monies and mortgage brokers, as well as a variety of other enforcement actions brought by the government.

He is well versed in the government's anti-fraud efforts, having regularly directed the investigative activities of law enforcement agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, the National Science Foundation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and various other agencies' offices of inspector general. He has also coordinated investigations with the New York State Attorney General, various states' Medicaid fraud control units, the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and President Obama's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.

His recognition includes being listed in Best Lawyers in America, Health Care Law, 2020–2027; receiving the Attorney General's Award, the highest honour conferred by the United States Department of Justice; the Henry L. Stimson Award, given by the Bar Association of the City of New York to outstanding Assistant US Attorneys in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York; the New York Federal Executive Board Award for excellence in public service; and recognition as a "New York Super Lawyer – Criminal Defense: White Collar" (2014).

He has co-authored numerous Dentons publications on False Claims Act and healthcare enforcement topics, including "The Enforcement Maelstrom Has Arrived: DOJ's New Fraud Division Ups the Ante for FCA Stakeholders" (August 2026), "Filed-Rate Doctrine Bars FCA Claims Concerning ACA Premium Rates" (August 2026) and "The Government's AKS End Run: How DOJ Is Dodging 'But For' Causation in FCA Kickback Cases" (August 2025).

Prior to joining Dentons, he served 13 years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York, including supervisory tenures as Affirmative Civil Enforcement Coordinator, Health Care Fraud Coordinator, Senior Litigation Counsel, and Chief of the Immigration Unit. His last position with the government was as Chief of the Civil Frauds Unit, where he oversaw investigations of large-scale and sophisticated financial frauds. During the two and a half years in which he had responsibility for supervising the entire affirmative civil enforcement practice of the US Attorney's Office, he oversaw the recovery of close to $400 million.

During his government service, he tried almost two dozen cases, all but one of which ended in a government verdict or resolution on terms favourable to the government, and argued numerous appeals before the United States Court of Appeals. He was lead or co-lead counsel in high-profile cases such as the ground-breaking housing settlement of whistleblower allegations that Westchester County falsely certified to the government that it had acted to "affirmatively further fair housing," the civil rights investigation that prompted the owners of the new Yankee Stadium to create one of the most accessible sporting venues in the nation for persons with disabilities, and the litigation that resulted in the owners and operators of Madison Square Garden agreeing to undertake extensive renovations to achieve similar accessibility.