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White Collar
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September 27, 2024
Corporate Raider Accused Of Shirking $180M SEC Judgment
Corporate takeover specialist Paul A. Bilzerian, accused of ducking a more than $180 million judgment owed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for decades, was indicted alongside his longtime accountant and his cannabis company on Thursday, California federal prosecutors said Friday.
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September 27, 2024
New Orleans Inspector Indicted For Bribing Top City Official
A New Orleans resident and his home inspection company were indicted in Louisiana federal court Friday on charges that he operated a yearslong scheme of taking bribes to let unlicensed electricians work on hundreds of homes and bribing top city officials to look the other way.
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September 27, 2024
SEC Drops Case Against Marcum CPA After High Court Ruling
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission quietly dropped an in-house proceeding Friday against a Marcum LLP accountant whose case was called into question by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that curtailed the agency's use of its administrative courts.
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September 27, 2024
FCC Chief Quotes Taylor Swift In Tough Stance On Deepfakes
Federal Communications Commission chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel vowed during a speech Friday to take a strong position on enforcing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act against AI-generated robocalls and noted the FCC is considering new AI election-related disclosure regulations, quoting pop singer Taylor Swift who said, "The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth."
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September 27, 2024
Constitution Permits Blocked Anti-Laundering Law, Panel Told
The U.S. government urged the Eleventh Circuit on Friday to reinstate the Corporate Transparency Act passed in 2021, arguing that the anti-money laundering law is within Congress' powers to regulate economic activity and necessary to have businesses report beneficial ownership to combat crimes like tax evasion and terrorist financing.
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September 27, 2024
UK Man Indicted On $4M 'Hack-To-Trade' Scheme
New Jersey federal prosecutors announced Friday that a U.K. man has been arrested and is awaiting extradition on charges of hacking into the email accounts of several corporate executives in order to steal nonpublic information that he used to turn a profit of almost $4 million.
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September 27, 2024
Mango Markets Crypto Cos. Ink $700K Deal Over SEC Claims
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Friday that the business entities behind decentralized cryptocurrency exchange Mango Markets agreed to a nearly $700,000 settlement to resolve alleged registration violations, which the regulator brought after the marketplace was bilked of more than $100 million.
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September 27, 2024
Musk Skirts Sanctions In Missed Twitter Deposition, For Now
A California federal judge on Friday declined to sanction Elon Musk, for now, after he skipped a deposition over his $44 billion Twitter takeover, allowing the parties to resolve the issue and advising them to wait to see if he appears for the deposition that's been rescheduled for this coming Friday.
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September 27, 2024
Crash Victim's Estate Awarded $10M From No-Show Driver
A Michigan state judge awarded the estate of a Michigan woman a $10 million default judgment Friday in its wrongful death suit against the alleged drunken driver who crashed into her head-on while going the wrong way down a one-way street.
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September 27, 2024
Feds Subpoena NYC Mayor's Top Aide, DA Seizes Phone
A senior aide and confidante of New York City Mayor Eric Adams had her phone and records seized by state prosecutors and was separately subpoenaed by federal agents on Friday, the same day Adams was arraigned on federal corruption charges.
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September 27, 2024
Feds Say Crypto 'Godfather' Bribed Cops, Dodged Taxes
California federal prosecutors have accused a cryptocurrency startup founder nicknamed "The Godfather" of extortion, robbery and failing to pay taxes on fraudulent income that he allegedly used for personal luxuries including a Bel Air mansion rental and cosmetic surgery to make his legs longer.
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September 27, 2024
Head Of 'High-End Brothel' Network In Mass., Va. Pleads Guilty
A Cambridge, Massachusetts, woman admitted Friday to running a sophisticated network of brothels in greater Boston and northern Virginia that prosecutors have said was patronized by lawyers, politicians, corporate officials and others.
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September 27, 2024
'Varsity Blues' Suit Flips The Script On 'Victim' USC
The University of Southern California could be forced to reveal unseemly details of its admissions process if it can't beat or settle a $75 million suit filed by a private equity executive who blames the school for his being ensnared in the "Varsity Blues" college admissions scandal, experts told Law360.
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September 27, 2024
IRS Plans Transition Rules In Basis-Shifting Regs, Atty Says
The IRS plans to include transition rules in forthcoming proposed regulations that aim to clamp down on abusive tax avoidance practices through complex partnership transactions known as basis shifting, an agency attorney said Friday.
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September 27, 2024
Off The Bench: College Sports Dominates Legal Landscape
In this week's Off The Bench, the NCAA and the athletes in the big name, image and likeness settlement try to redo the terms to satisfy the overseeing judge, Reggie Bush says his image has been exploited by his alma mater and the NCAA for years, and the Pac-12 claims that it's being strong-armed by a rival conference for coaxing away its teams.
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September 27, 2024
Ex-Mass. State Sen. Says Conviction By All-White Jury Unfair
A former Massachusetts state senator has said his conviction on pandemic unemployment aid and tax fraud charges should be thrown out in part because the jury was all white.
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September 27, 2024
Honigman Not Conflicted Out Of $40M Detroit Embezzling Suit
A Michigan state judge said Friday that the law firm that investigated suspected fraud at the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy can also represent the organization in its civil suit against its former chief financial officer, who is accused of embezzling $40 million.
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September 27, 2024
Ex-Partners Blast Lin Wood's Constitutional Fight Over Fees
Former law partners of retired Georgia attorney L. Lin Wood said Wood can't escape being on the hook for their attorney fees after he was hit with a $3.75 million defamation verdict, saying that Wood's argument calling the fees unconstitutional flies in the face of 150 years of the state's case law.
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September 27, 2024
NJ Atty Reprimanded For Keeping Client In Dark On Fee Hike
The New Jersey Supreme Court has reprimanded a criminal defense attorney for failing to provide a client with a retainer or any bills for over four years until notifying the client that, due to an unannounced rate change, the client owed over $170,000.
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September 27, 2024
Cooley Accused Of Hiding Fraud From Startup Investors
A former board member of a dry-cleaning delivery startup has alleged in New Jersey federal court that Cooley LLP and its attorneys deliberately kept investors in the dark about fraud claims against the startup's chief executive.
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September 27, 2024
Feds Charge 3 Iranians In Trump Campaign Hack
The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday unsealed an indictment accusing three Iranian citizens of hacking Donald Trump's presidential campaign as part of a "wide-ranging" cyber scheme that sought to sow distrust in U.S. elections.
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September 27, 2024
NY Man Convicted In Father-Son Crypto Caper
A Long Island man was convicted by a Manhattan federal jury of conspiring with his son to scam investors out of millions by claiming to invest their cryptocurrency and instead pocketing the funds.
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September 27, 2024
TelexFree Victims Say Payment Processor Lost Key Emails
Victims of the multibillion-dollar TelexFree Ponzi scheme said a payment processor's loss of critical emails and other files related to the ploy amounts to a "blatant coverup" to hide evidence that would have otherwise bolstered their case against the company.
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September 27, 2024
Adams Pleads Not Guilty As Atty Mocks Charges
New York City Mayor Eric Adams pled not guilty to federal corruption charges Friday in a packed courtroom in Lower Manhattan, with his attorney deriding the indictment outside the courthouse as not "a real case" and vowing to file a motion to dismiss.
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September 26, 2024
SEC Fines Cassava $40M Over Alzheimer's Treatment Claims
Neuroscience-focused biopharmaceutical company Cassava Sciences Inc. and two of its former executives agreed to pay over $40 million to resolve U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission claims related to allegedly misleading statements about clinical trial results for a potential Alzheimer's disease therapeutic, the regulator announced on Thursday.
Expert Analysis
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Unpacking Executive Privilege, Contempt In Recent Cases
The U.S. House of Representatives’ recent move to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress is the latest example in a growing trend of executive privilege disputes, and serves as a warning to private citizens and corporate leaders who are in communication with the president, says Kristina Moore at Womble Bond.
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Bankruptcy Trustees Need More FinCEN Guidance
Recent FinCEN consent orders in two North Carolina bankruptcy cases show that additional guidance is necessary for most types of fiduciaries overseeing bankruptcy estates or other insolvency vehicles, say Brian Shaw and David Doyle at Cozen O’Connor.
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Jarkesy Ruling May Redefine Jury Role In Patent Fraud
Regardless of whether the U.S. Supreme Court’s Jarkesy ruling implicates the direction of inequitable conduct, which requires showing that the patentee made material statements or omissions to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the decision has created opportunities for defendants to argue more substantively for jury trials than ever before, say attorneys at Cadwalader.
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3 Leadership Practices For A More Supportive Firm Culture
Traditional leadership styles frequently amplify the inherent pressures of legal work, but a few simple, time-neutral strategies can strengthen the skills and confidence of employees and foster a more collaborative culture, while supporting individual growth and contribution to organizational goals, says Benjamin Grimes at BKG Leadership.
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The OIG Report: DOJ's Own Whistleblower Program Has Holes
A recent Office of the Inspector General memo found that the U.S. Department of Justice’s whistleblower program failed to protect federal employees whose security clearances were allegedly suspended in retaliation — a serious cause for concern that could have a potential chilling effect on would-be whistleblowers, says Diana Shaw at Wiley.
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Attorneys Can Benefit From Reverse-Engineering Their Cases
Trial advocacy programs often teach lawyers to loosely track the progression of a lawsuit during preparation — case analysis, then direct examination, then cross-examination, openings and closings — but reverse-engineering cases by working backward from opening and closing statements can streamline the process and also improve case strategy, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Hyperlinked Documents
Recent rulings show that counsel should engage in early discussions with clients regarding the potential of hyperlinked documents in electronically stored information, which will allow for more deliberate negotiation of any agreements regarding the scope of discovery, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Enron Law Is Still Threat To Execs After Justices' Jan. 6 Ruling
While the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Fischer v. U.S. decision is a setback for prosecutors’ obstruction charges against Jan. 6 defendants, it also represents a strong endorsement of the post-Enron Sarbanes-Oxley Act’s original purpose, serving as a corporate compliance reminder for executives, say Michael Peregrine and Ashley Hoff at McDermott.
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Loper Bright Limits Federal Agencies' Ability To Alter Course
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to dismantle Chevron deference also effectively overrules its 2005 decision in National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X, greatly diminishing agencies' ability to change regulatory course from one administration to the next, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.
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What Cos. Should Note In DOJ's New Whistleblower Pilot
After the U.S. Department of Justice unveiled a new whistleblower pilot program last week — continuing its efforts to incentivize individual reporting of misconduct — companies should review the eligibility criteria, update their compliance programs and consider the risks and benefits of making their own self-disclosures, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Series
After Chevron: New Lines Of Attack For FCA Defense Bar
Loper Bright has given defense counsel new avenues to overcome the False Claims Act elements of falsity and scienter, as any FCA claim based upon ambiguous statutory terms can no longer stand solely on agency regulations to establish the statute's meaning, which is itself necessary to satisfy the FCA's basic requirements, says Elisha Kobre at Bradley Arant.
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Autonomy Execs' Acquittal Highlights Good Faith Instruction
The recent acquittal of two former Autonomy executives demonstrates that a good faith jury instruction can be the cornerstone of an effective defense strategy in white collar criminal cases, in part because the concept of good faith is a human experience every juror can relate to, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.
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Series
Teaching Scuba Diving Makes Me A Better Lawyer
As a master scuba instructor, I’ve learned how to prepare for the unexpected, overcome fears and practice patience, and each of these skills – among the many others I’ve developed – has profoundly enhanced my work as a lawyer, says Ron Raether at Troutman Pepper.
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3 Ways To Lower Insider Trading Risk After First 10b5-1 Case
In light of the U.S. Department of Justice's insider trading prosecution against the former CEO of Ontrack based on alleged abuse of a Rule 10b5-1 safe harbor plan — designed to allow executives to sell their companies' securities without liability — companies and individuals should take steps to avoid enacting similar plans in bad faith, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act
As the Voting Rights Act reaches its 59th anniversary Tuesday, it must urgently be reinforced against recent efforts to dismantle voter protections, and lawyers can pitch in immediately by volunteering and taking on pro bono work to directly help safeguard the right to vote, says Anna Chu at We The Action.