Position: Senior Partner

Fighting corporate fraud and corruption and pushing the boundaries of everything he encounters is not only the driving force behind Chris Hoyer’s law practice, it’s the way he lives his life. After a long and colorful career as a federal and state prosecutor, Chris co-founded James, Hoyer, Newcomer, Smiljanich & Yanchunis where he could study the limits of human nature and fight for what’s right in society.

Chris’ career has taken him from the Florida courtrooms to the Hollywood movie screens. From 1975-1980, Chris was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Tampa, Florida, where he specialized in trying cases of fraud and corruption. Following that, Chris served as a trial attorney for the U.S. Justice Department Strike Force on Organized Crime. The movie “Donnie Brasco,” starring Johnny Depp, was made based on an undercover operation he ran with the FBI. Besides the mob cases, Chris worked alongside Al Scudieri, veteran FBI agent and current James Hoyer investigator, and prosecuted massive nationwide Ponzi schemes, corrupt banks, oil price fixing and political corruption (once arresting three of the five Hillsborough County Commissioners).  Chris later became campaign manager for Bill James, a good friend and fellow prosecutor who was running for the State Attorney’s Office. After a successful campaign, James tapped Chris to serve as his Chief Assistant in 1985. They both served eight years in that office, transforming it from worst to first in the state of Florida. 

In 1993, Chris and his wife, Judy, also a career prosecutor, joined with good friends John Newcomer and Bill James and founded James, Hoyer & Newcomer in Tampa, Florida in 1993. Since its inception, the firm has been actively engaged in complex fraud litigation on behalf of defrauded consumers, whistleblowers and governments needing assistance. To supplement his passion for fighting against corporate greed and giving voice to the “little guy,” Hoyer created the Consumer Warning Network (www.consumerwarningnetwork.com ), a website dedicated to exposing consumer issues via the internet.

Chris received his law degree from the University of Florida (J.D., with honors 1973) where he served as executive editor of the law review. Before he began his career as a prosecutor, he served two years as a law clerk to U.S. District Judge Ben Krentzman. He has served as chairman of the Hillsborough County Criminal Justice Committee and the Hillsborough County Justice Information Steering Committee. Chris also served as Vice Chairman of the Trial Lawyers Section of the Hillsborough County Bar Association and chairman of the Grievance Committee of the Florida Bar. 

Chris was born and raised in Metuchen, New Jersey. These days, he and Judy divide their time between Tampa and North Carolina, where they own a working farm. They have three grown children, one of whom is an associate with the James Hoyer firm. Chris spends his free time taking photographs, a lifelong pursuit. His award winning works have been displayed in galleries, office buildings and museums throughout Florida. See www.ChrisHoyerArt.com.

If that were not enough, Chris also designs computer systems, pioneering one of the country’s first paperless office management systems, and currently implementing a state of the art knowledge management system for the James Hoyer office.

I Discovered Fraud - What Should I Do?