CVS Adds Top Washington Lawyers to Fight RICO Lawsuit Filed by Shekarchi

CVS Adds Top Washington Lawyers to Fight RICO Lawsuit Filed by Shekarchi

As a result of a civil RICO lawsuit filed by Joseph Shekarchi as a private attorney against CVS, the RI-based healthcare giant has loaded up with legal talent to fight the lawsuit.

Shekarchi is currently the Speaker of the Rhode Island House, although he is expected to step down from his leadership role this week to submit his application for the vacancy on the Rhode Island Supreme Court.

CVS is being represented by Washington, D.C.- based Williams & Connolly LLP (W&C).

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The firm is known for high-profile lawyers and even higher-profile cases.

W&C has represented everyone from President Bill Clinton in his fight against impeachment to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell in a case against the U.S. Department of Justice.

Over the years, the firm defended Enron; John Hinckley, the man who shot President Ronald Reagan; and the firm represented Elizabeth Holmes in her Theranos criminal trial.

The firm has some Rhode Island ties, as the late PawSox President Larry Lucchino was once a partner. Lucchino led the PawSox move to Worcester. And, Don Carlson, who ran for Rhode Island's first congressional district in 2023, was an associate at the firm in the early 1990s.

 

Civil RICO Case

In March, Shekarchi sued CVS Health Corporation on behalf of a national union, alleging that the company, one of the state’s largest employers, perpetrated fraud and “operated a RICO enterprise” in connection with prescription benefit management (PBM) contracts.

Shekarchi is part of a legal team that has filed a juggernaut lawsuit against CVS, and he is acting as a private attorney and not in his role as the Speaker. The lawsuit was filed in the federal district court in Rhode Island.

“Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations” is referenced 20 times in the 77-page class action complaint filed on Wednesday by the “Roofers’ Unions Welfare Trust Fund” in the United States District Court of Rhode Island, of which Shekarchi is the local counsel on behalf of national firms in Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC.

 

W&C Team

In 2025, Vault.com ranked W&C as the #1 firm for White Collar Defense and Internal Investigation in the United States, and the #2 law firm in Washington, DC.

Four attorneys from W&C who have entered to represent CVS are Craig Singer, Enu Mainigi, Benjamin Hazelwood, and Kennen Poteat.

Maingi has represented CVS in numerous high-profile cases, including “Enu won a directed verdict against the Texas AG after a several-week trial where the state alleged Medicaid fraud against CVS under the Texas equivalent of the False Claims Act.”

She is listed on almost every list of best litigators in America.

Hinckley, Allen & Snyder is CVS' local counsel in the case.