White Collar

  • June 13, 2024

    A Chronology Of The Hunter Biden Investigation

    The story behind President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden's conviction on federal gun charges started with a gun purchase in 2018, was complicated by a laptop repair in 2019, and could bleed into an upcoming trial on federal tax charges in California in September.

  • June 13, 2024

    Rakoff Says Criminal Justice Act Attys Should Work Weekends

    Indigent defendants requiring free criminal legal advice should have access to conflict-free counsel even over the weekends, U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff in Manhattan said in a blistering Thursday opinion, citing a suboptimal sequence of events in a high-profile drug case.

  • June 13, 2024

    Health Co. Execs Charged In $100M Adderall Sales Scheme

    Two California digital healthcare company executives were charged in a first-of-its-kind case Thursday with scheming to sell Adderall through deceptive advertising, allegedly bringing in $100 million in illicit profits.

  • June 13, 2024

    Georgia DA Willis Moves To Ax Trump Appeal In DQ Fight

    A prosecutor from Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis' office wants a Georgia appellate court to nix an appeal that seeks to disqualify Willis from her election interference case against former President Donald Trump, claiming the appeal rests on flimsy evidence.

  • June 13, 2024

    Ga. Justices Pause Jail For YSL Atty For Contempt Appeal

    The Georgia Supreme Court said Wednesday that a defense lawyer for Atlanta rapper Young Thug doesn't have to head to jail Friday, ruling that he can appeal the criminal contempt charge lodged against him for refusing to divulge how he knew of a closed-door conversation between prosecutors, a witness and the judge presiding over the racketeering case.

  • June 13, 2024

    How 3 Firms Cleared 2 Ex-Autonomy Execs In HP Fraud Case

    A California federal jury's rejection last week of fraud charges against the founder and former finance vice president of British software company Autonomy validated an approach by the defendants' three law firms — Steptoe, Clifford Chance and Bird Marella — to form a "seamless" collaboration throughout the trial, from jury selection to closing arguments.

  • June 13, 2024

    Man Accused Of Posing As Immigration Atty Cops To Larceny

    A New York City man who was accused by city prosecutors of posing as an immigration attorney and fraudulently raking in legal fees pled guilty to a misdemeanor count of petit larceny and was sentenced to time served.

  • June 12, 2024

    Colo. DA's Probe Harms Justice System, Ex-Judge Says

    A former Colorado state judge told an attorney disciplinary panel Wednesday that a district attorney's push to interview the judge's ex-wife after he made adverse rulings for the prosecution in a high-profile murder case was prompted by a "baseless conspiracy theory" and harmful to judicial independence.

  • June 12, 2024

    Menendez Wanted Certain Case Scrutinized, US Atty Testifies

    New Jersey U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger took the stand Wednesday in the bribery trial against onetime friend Sen. Robert Menendez, telling a New York federal jury he had to rebuff the senator's request for a "careful" look at a case against one of the men alleged to have bribed Menendez.

  • June 12, 2024

    Hedge Fund Manager Cops To $3M Fraud Scheme

    A New York fund manager on Wednesday admitted to defrauding investors out of at least $3 million through his investment management firm, in a scheme that has been ongoing for the last three years.

  • June 12, 2024

    Lies At Heart Of Fraud Case Over COVID Test Kits, Jurors Told

    The retrial of a securities fraud case over a COVID test kit deal that never materialized will center on lies, according to opening statements delivered in New Jersey federal court Wednesday.

  • June 12, 2024

    Prosecutor Drops Extortion Case Against Fla. Securities Atty

    A Florida state prosecutor on Wednesday dropped a felony extortion charge against a securities litigation attorney who was accused of threatening to expose an accuser's criminal past if she didn't resign from their condominium board, saying an investigation revealed that there wouldn't be a reasonable likelihood of conviction.

  • June 12, 2024

    Ex-Rehab Biz Manager Gets Prison For Theft From Resident

    The former business manager of a Connecticut rehabilitation center will serve at least nine months in prison for stealing money from an elderly resident's bank account, state prosecutors said.

  • June 12, 2024

    'Tiger-Wolf' Trader Cops To Wire Fraud For $700K Scheme

    A 26-year-old Charlotte man on Wednesday pled guilty to federal prosecutors' claims that he defrauded over 100 would-be investors in his purported hedge fund, Tiger-Wolf Capital LLC, spending much of their money on his own lavish lifestyle.

  • June 12, 2024

    Ex-Navy Employee Pleads Guilty To Contract Bribery Scheme

    Former U.S. Navy civilian official James Soriano has pleaded guilty to accepting bribes from Navy contractors to help steer hundreds of millions of dollars in deals to the companies, after reaching a plea deal with prosecutors.

  • June 12, 2024

    4 Charged In $50M Email, Romance Fraud Schemes

    Four people were charged by Brooklyn federal prosecutors with participating in a series of fraudulent email and romance fraud schemes that resulted in $50 million in losses to the alleged victims.

  • June 12, 2024

    Judge Won't Trim $18M Shareholder Settlement Coverage Suit

    A Pennsylvania federal judge declined to toss certain bad faith allegations against an insurer accused of wrongfully denying coverage for an $18 million settlement between an asset management company and a group of shareholders, adopting a magistrate judge's recommendation that the company sufficiently alleged its claim of bad faith.

  • June 12, 2024

    NY AG, Firms Beat Cuomo Subpoenas In Sex Harassment Suit

    Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo can't force Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP and Vladeck Raskin & Clark PC to produce information about an investigation into sexual misconduct accusations that forced him to resign, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, finding the firms were acting under the state attorney general's authority.

  • June 12, 2024

    2 Men Get Prison For Plot To Sell Iranian Oil To China

    Two men convicted for their role in a scheme to sell Iranian oil to a Chinese company have been sentenced to nearly four years in prison each, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

  • June 12, 2024

    House Votes To Hold AG Garland In Contempt

    The House voted 216-207 on Wednesday to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt for not turning over audio recordings of the president and his ghostwriter speaking with special counsel Robert Hur for his investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents.

  • June 12, 2024

    Transit Insurer Seeks To Limit Loss From $60M No-Fault Scam

    A taxi and livery insurer told a Brooklyn federal judge Wednesday that it is pursuing settlement in its effort to recoup $3.2 million lost in a massive, $60 million no-fault scam led by a former clinic operator now headed for prison.

  • June 12, 2024

    St. Louis Atty Urges Acquittal After Tax Avoidance Conviction

    A Missouri attorney who was found guilty of participating in a $4 million tax avoidance scheme alongside her father and a North Carolina insurance agent is looking to wipe out the verdict, arguing there wasn't enough evidence to convict.

  • June 12, 2024

    Terraform To Settle With SEC For $4.5B After Fraud Trial

    Crypto firm Terraform Labs has agreed to a $4.47 billion settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after a Manhattan jury found the firm and its founder Do Kwon liable for fraud in April.

  • June 12, 2024

    Federal Jurist In Chicago Remembered As 'Favorite Judge'

    Senior U.S. District Judge Harry D. Leinenweber, who oversaw the criminal trials of R. Kelly and the "ComEd Four" during his four decades on the bench in Illinois, is remembered as a compassionate "favorite judge" whose tireless work ethic kept him active in the court until his death Tuesday.

  • June 12, 2024

    Sen. Dems Seek Criminal Penalties For PE Hospital 'Looters'

    A pair of Democratic senators are targeting private equity's role in the healthcare industry, introducing new legislation Tuesday that would give federal and state enforcers new tools to go after firms they say are "looting" hospital systems and other providers, including possibly jailing executives if patient deaths result.

Expert Analysis

  • Storytelling Strategies To Defuse Courtroom Conspiracies

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    Misinformation continues to proliferate in all sectors of society, including in the courtroom, as jurors try to fill in the gaps of incomplete trial narratives — underscoring the need for attorneys to tell a complete, consistent and credible story before and during trial, says David Metz at IMS Legal Strategies.

  • $32.4M Fine For Info Disclosure Is A Stark Warning For Banks

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    The New York State Department of Financial Services and the Federal Reserve's fining of a Chinese state-owned bank $32.4 million last month underscores the need for financial institutions to have policies and procedures in place to handle confidential supervisory information, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Lessons From Rare Post-Verdict Healthcare Fraud Acquittal

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    A Maryland federal court recently overturned a jury verdict that found a doctor guilty of healthcare fraud related to billing levels for COVID-19 tests, providing defense attorneys with potential strategies for obtaining acquittals in similar prosecutions, says attorney Andrew Feldman.

  • ChristianaCare Settlement Reveals FCA Pitfalls For Hospitals

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    ChristianaCare's False Claims Act settlement in December is the first one based on a hospital allegedly providing private physicians with free services in the form of hospital-employed clinicians and provides important compliance lessons as the government ramps up scrutiny of compensation arrangements, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • EDNY Ruling Charts 99 Problems In Rap Lyric Admissibility

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    A New York federal court’s recent ruling in U.S. v. Jordan powerfully captures courts’ increasing skepticism about the admissibility of rap lyrics as evidence in criminal trials, particularly at a time when artists face economic incentives to embrace fictional, hyperbolic narratives, say attorneys at Sher Tremonte.

  • 3 Principles For Minimizing The Risk Of A Nuclear Verdict

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    In one of the latest examples of so-called nuclear verdicts, a single plaintiff was awarded $2.25 billion in a jury trial against Monsanto — revealing the need for defense attorneys to prioritize trust, connection and simplicity when communicating with modern juries, say Jenny Hergenrother and Mia Falzarano at Alston & Bird.

  • Series

    Coaching High School Wrestling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Coaching my son’s high school wrestling team has been great fun, but it’s also demonstrated how a legal career can benefit from certain experiences, such as embracing the unknown, studying the rules and engaging with new people, says Richard Davis at Maynard Nexsen.

  • Freight Forwarders And Common Carriers: Know Your Cargo

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    Freight forwarders and other nonprincipal parties involved in global cargo movement should follow the guidance in the multi-agency know-your-cargo compliance note to avoid enforcement actions should they fail to spot evasive tactics used in supply chains to circumvent U.S. sanctions and export controls, say attorneys at Venable.

  • Takeaways From 9th Circ. Nix Of Ex-GOP Rep.'s Conviction

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    The Ninth Circuit recently reversed the conviction of former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb., for lying to the FBI, showing that the court will rein in aggressive attempts by the government to expand the reach of criminal prosecutions — and deepening a circuit split on an important venue issue, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • SG's Office Is Case Study To Help Close Legal Gender Gap

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    As women continue to be underrepresented in the upper echelons of the legal profession, law firms could learn from the example set by the Office of the Solicitor General, where culture and workplace policies have helped foster greater gender equality, say attorneys at Ocean Tomo.

  • A Closer Look At Novel Jury Instruction In Forex Rigging Case

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    After the recent commodities fraud conviction of a U.K.-based hedge fund executive in U.S. v. Phillips, post-trial briefing has focused on whether the New York federal court’s jury instruction incorrectly defined the requisite level of intent, which should inform defense counsel in future open market manipulation cases, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert.

  • Googling Prospective Jurors Is Usually A Fool's Errand

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    Though a Massachusetts federal court recently barred Google from Googling potential jurors in a patent infringement case, the company need not worry about missing evidence of bias, because internet research of jury pools usually doesn’t yield the most valuable information — voir dire and questionnaires do, says Sarah Murray at Trialcraft.

  • Skirting Anti-Kickback Causation Standard Amid Circuit Split

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    Amid the federal circuit court split over the causation standard applicable to False Claims Act cases involving Anti-Kickback Statute violations, which the First Circuit will soon consider in U.S. v. Regeneron, litigators aiming to circumvent the heightened standard should contemplate certain strategies, say Matthew Modafferi and Terence Park at Frier Levitt.

  • A Look Into How Jurors Reach High Damages Awards

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    In the wake of several large jury awards, Richard Gabriel and Emily Shaw at Decision Analysis shed light on challenges that jurors have in deciding them, the nonevidentiary and extra-legal methods they use to do so, and new research about the themes and jury characteristics of high-damages jurors.

  • What New Calif. Strike Force Means For White Collar Crimes

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    The recently announced Central District of California strike force targeting complex corporate and securities fraud — following the Northern District of California's model — combines experienced prosecutorial leadership and partnerships with federal agencies like the IRS and FBI, and could result in an uptick in the number of cases and speed of proceedings, say attorneys at MoFo.

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