I understand the desire to publicly defend your biz partners, especially if they're your friends. So if you trust your friends enough to put your name and business on the line for them, then I guess ignore my advice. IAMAL, so what do I know? :)
AND
I do trust my partners enough to my name and business on the line for them. They are innocent.
See the OJ Simpson case for a nice example of the two.
Your friends may be 'innocent' according to the letter of the law - when all is said and done. But meanwhile they look guilty as hell in the eyes of the general public of maybe not scamming half a billions worth of dollars but still a significant amount out of the pockets of hardworking people and corporations.
It may be 'legal' but it certainly isn't 'right', and by associating yourself so strongly with these people you are not helping yourself or hashrocket.
Your lawyer has no stake in your public image but you do, your interests are not aligned and I think you've been given some bad advice.
Definitely. As a matter of fact, courts in the United States don't even claim to determine innocence; rather they determine guilt. You're either "guilty" or "not guilty" beyond a reasonable doubt of a crime.