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White Collar
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July 25, 2024
Feds Unseal Indictment Against Fla. IT Worker in Spying Case
The U.S. Department of Justice has unsealed an indictment charging a Chinese-born American citizen with conspiring to act as an agent of the People's Republic of China, saying the PRC used the Florida information technology worker as a "cooperative contact" to support its intelligence goals.
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July 25, 2024
11th Circ. Asked To Toss Execs' Dinar Fraud Convictions
Three executives of an Atlanta-based dinar exchange convicted of fraud after an advertising partner hyped the Iraqi currency by claiming its price could soar urged the Eleventh Circuit to toss their convictions Thursday, arguing jurors should have been told the difference between fraud and deceit.
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July 25, 2024
Defense Teams' Solidarity Key In Hawaii DA's Acquittal
California federal prosecutors' bribery case against a prosecutor, a businessman and an outside counsel collapsed after no defendant turned state's evidence and one even testified for the defense, showing the value of presenting a unified front, the winning lawyers said.
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July 25, 2024
'AntiVaxMomma' Gets Jail Time, Despite Duress Claim
A Manhattan judge sentenced a woman to at least 1½ years in jail Thursday for selling fake COVID-19 immunization credentials under the Instagram handle "AntiVaxMomma," rejecting the defendant's claim that she didn't have enough time to weigh a plea offer before admitting her guilt.
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July 25, 2024
Shkreli Says He Has Right To Use Wu-Tang Clan Album Copies
Martin Shkreli pushed back on a crypto project's bid to force him to hand over copies of the one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album he once owned, saying his original purchase agreement of the album entitled him to make the copies and the album's current crypto owner hasn't shown how Shkreli's duplicates irreparably harm the value of the original.
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July 25, 2024
4th Man Gets Jail In NYC Public Housing Anti-Bribery Sweep
A Manhattan federal judge on Thursday sentenced a former New York City public housing superintendent to 19 months in prison for accepting $95,000 in bribes, bringing to four the number of people sentenced to time behind bars in the 70-defendant anti-corruption sweep.
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July 25, 2024
DA Says Trump Immunity Ruling Doesn't Affect NY Convictions
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told a New York judge Thursday that the U.S. Supreme Court's presidential immunity ruling has no bearing on Donald Trump's conviction in his hush-money case since the charges relate to unofficial acts.
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July 25, 2024
Dems' Bill Looks To Prevent Collusion With OPEC
A pair of Democrats in the House and Senate on environmental committees introduced a bill Wednesday to punish fossil fuel companies that collude with OPEC to increase prices.
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July 25, 2024
Hedge Fund Manager Ordered To Disgorge $67M In Profits
A hedge fund manager who copped to running a $100 million securities fraud scheme has been ordered by a New Jersey federal court to pay back the $67 million in profits she earned through misleading 40 investors about the fund's performance.
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July 25, 2024
The 5 Biggest Mass. Top Court Rulings Of 2024 So Far
It was an eventful first half of 2024 for Massachusetts' top appellate panel, which issued a landmark sentencing ruling, weighed in on time limits in civil cases and addressed whether an attorney falling asleep mid-trial is grounds for a successful appeal.
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July 25, 2024
Ex-Pharma Exec's Counsel Accused Of Reading Stolen Emails
A New Jersey pharmaceutical startup wants to disqualify the "tainted" attorneys of a former executive who was allegedly caught spying on the CEO, claiming the attorneys should have immediately shielded their eyes when they realized their client was using stolen, privileged emails to carry out an "attempted shakedown."
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July 25, 2024
3rd Circ. Says Service Flub Sinks SEC's Ponzi Scheme Win
The Third Circuit on Wednesday vacated a $500,000 default judgment against a Swiss resident accused of operating a $1.4 million Ponzi scheme, finding email service used by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was improper under the Hague Service Convention.
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July 25, 2024
Nevada Man Accused Of Threatening To Kill Judges
A Las Vegas man who allegedly sent threats to kill and assault federal and state officials in New York, Montana, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. – including federal judges – has pled not guilty to a 22-count indictment unsealed this week in Nevada federal court.
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July 25, 2024
11th Circ. Sets Briefing Schedule In Mar-A-Lago Docs Appeal
Briefing in special counsel Jack Smith's appeal of the dismissal of the classified documents criminal case against former President Donald Trump will run through mid-October, according to a scheduling notice from the Eleventh Circuit on Thursday.
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July 24, 2024
Boeing, DOJ Finalize 737 Max Plea Deal
The Boeing Co. has finalized its agreement to plead guilty to conspiring to defraud safety regulators about the 737 Max 8's development, avoiding a criminal trial over a pair of deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019, according to a U.S. Department of Justice court filing Wednesday evening.
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July 24, 2024
Canadian Woman Gets 2 Years For Russian Export Scheme
A New York federal judge on Wednesday sentenced a Canadian woman to two years in prison for laundering funds in connection to the export of sensitive technology to Russia in violation of U.S. sanctions, and she accused the defendant of lying about her culpability during her sentencing hearing.
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July 24, 2024
PE Firm Ran $37M Ponzi-Like Cannabis Scheme, SEC Says
A California private equity fund ran a Ponzi-like scheme, using much of $37 million raised from investors to pay other shareholders instead of putting the money into cannabis companies, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission told a California federal court this week.
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July 24, 2024
Atty Who Put Settlement In Spouse's Account Loses Appeal
A Texas appellate court ruled Wednesday against an attorney seeking to overturn a ruling from a trial court barring him from practicing law for 18 months, saying the man clearly breached his ethical obligations by moving settlement funds through his spouse's personal bank account.
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July 24, 2024
NC Man Gets Prison, $4.4M Fine For Stealing From Customers
A North Carolina businessman who admitted to stealing customers' bank and credit account information and spending their funds at casinos has been ordered to serve almost three years in prison and to pay a penalty of more than $4.4 million, prosecutors announced this week.
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July 24, 2024
Lab Owner Gets 1 Year In Prison In Medicare Bribe Case
A Florida lab owner who accepted millions in kickbacks for referring Medicare beneficiaries for unneeded genetic tests has been sentenced to a year in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy.
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July 24, 2024
22% Of FINRA Member Firms Join Remote Inspection Program
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority said Wednesday that 741 firms have opted to participate in a new pilot program for remote inspections of broker-dealers, representing a 22% share of the regulator's member firms.
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July 24, 2024
Ex-US Army Worker Gets 15 Years For $109M Fraud Scheme
A former U.S. Army civilian employee will spend 15 years in prison for stealing nearly $109 million from a grant program meant for military dependents and their families to buy a fleet of luxury vehicles, jewelry and houses, federal prosecutors announced.
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July 24, 2024
Pawnshop Co. Says Military Law Doesn't Back CFPB's Suit
National pawnshop company FirstCash says the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should drop certain claims in a suit accusing it of subjecting military families to predatory lending, arguing that the bureau has admitted it has no authority to bring certain claims under the law undergirding the allegations.
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July 24, 2024
Watchdog Clears DOJ In 'Unusual' Roger Stone Sentencing
The Justice Department did not bow to political pressure to push for a more lenient sentence for former President Donald Trump's longtime adviser Roger Stone, but the way in which the department handled the sentencing was "highly unusual" and the result of a U.S. attorney's poor leadership, according to a watchdog report released Wednesday.
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July 24, 2024
Ex-Atlanta Official Asks 11th Circ. To Toss Bribery Conviction
A former Atlanta city commissioner sentenced to 4½ years in prison for taking bribes from a local contractor in exchange for steering millions of dollars to the contractor's company told the Eleventh Circuit Wednesday that her conviction must be reversed given the U.S. Supreme Court's recent holding in Snyder v. U.S.
Expert Analysis
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Perspectives
Justices' Forfeiture Ruling Resolves Nonexistent Split
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in McIntosh v. U.S., holding that a trial court’s failure to enter a preliminary criminal forfeiture order prior to sentencing doesn’t bar its entry later, is unusual in that it settles an issue on which the lower courts were not divided — but it may apply in certain forfeiture disputes, says Stefan Cassella at Asset Forfeiture Law.
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Binance Ruling Spotlights Muddled Post-Morrison Landscape
The Second Circuit's recent decision in Williams v. Binance highlights the judiciary's struggle to apply the U.S. Supreme Court's Morrison v. National Australia Bank ruling to digital assets, and illustrates how Morrison's territorial limits on the federal securities laws have become convoluted, say Andrew Rhys Davies and Jessica Lewis at WilmerHale.
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IRS Sings New Tune: Whistleblower Form Update Is Welcome
In a significant reform at the Internal Revenue Service's Whistleblower Office, the recently introduced revisions to the Form 211 whistleblower award application use new technology and a more intuitive approach to streamline the process of reporting allegations of tax fraud committed by wealthy individuals and companies, says Benjamin Calitri at Kohn Kohn.
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Strategies For Challenging A Fla. Grand Jury Report's Release
A Florida grand jury’s recent report on potential wrongdoing related to COVID-19 vaccines should serve as a reminder to attorneys to review the myriad legal mechanisms available to challenge the lawfulness of a grand jury report’s publication and expunge the names of their clients, says Cary Aronovitz at Holland & Knight.
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First 10b5-1 Insider Trading Case Raises Compliance Issues
The ongoing case against former Ontrak CEO Terren Peizer is the U.S. Department of Justice's first insider trading prosecution based primarily on the filing of 10b5-1 plans, and has important takeaways for attorneys reviewing corporate policies on the possession of material nonpublic information, say attorneys at Cadwalader.
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Series
Whitewater Kayaking Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Whether it's seeing clients and their issues from a new perspective, or staying nimble in a moment of intense challenge, the lessons learned from whitewater kayaking transcend the rapids of a river and prepare attorneys for the courtroom and beyond, says Matthew Kent at Alston & Bird.
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3 Lessons From Family Dollar's Record $41.7M Guilty Plea
Family Dollar's recent plea deal in connection with a rodent infestation at one of its distribution facilities — resulting in the largest ever monetary criminal penalty in a food safety case — offers key takeaways for those practicing in the interconnected fields of compliance, internal investigations and white collar defense, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
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This Earth Day, Consider How Your Firm Can Go Greener
As Earth Day approaches, law firms and attorneys should consider adopting more sustainable practices to reduce their carbon footprint — from minimizing single-use plastics to purchasing carbon offsets for air travel — which ultimately can also reduce costs for clients, say M’Lynn Phillips and Lisa Walters at IMS Legal Strategies.
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What FinCEN Proposed Customer ID Number Change Means
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's recent request for comment on changing a requirement for banks to collect full Social Security numbers at account sign-up represents an important opportunity for banks to express their preferability, as communicating sensitive information online may carry fraud or cybersecurity risks, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Circumstantial Evidence Requires A Pointillist Approach
Because complex cases with sophisticated defendants are unlikely to reveal much, if any, direct evidence, attorneys must aggregate many pieces of circumstantial evidence into a cohesive narrative — much like the painting technique of pointillism, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Discord Stock Case Toss Means Little For Fraud Defendants
A Texas federal court’s recent dismissal of fraud charges related to a "pump and dump" scheme on Discord is an outlier after the U.S. Supreme Court scrapped the right-to-control theory of fraud last year, and ultimately won't deter the government from pursuing routine securities prosecutions, says William Johnston at Bird Marella.
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Strategies For Navigating Compliance Monitorships
As independent compliance monitorships continue to be a favored tool of the government in resolving corporate enforcement matters, counsel should have a firm grasp on best practices for selecting a monitor, preparing the company and ensuring a productive relationship between the parties, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
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At 'SEC Speaks,' A Focus On Rebuilding Trust Amid Criticism
At the Practising Law Institute's SEC Speaks conference last week, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission leadership highlighted efforts to rebuild and restore trust in the U.S. capital markets by addressing investor concerns through regulatory measures and enforcement actions, emphasizing the need for cooperation from market participants, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.
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Series
NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1
The first quarter of 2024 saw a number of notable legal and regulatory developments that will significantly affect New York's financial services industry, including the New York Department of Financial Services' finalized novel guidance directing banks to continuously monitor the character and fitness of key personnel, say Brian Montgomery and Nathan Lewko at Pillsbury.
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Weisselberg's Perjury At Trial Spotlights Atty Ethics Issues
Former Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg’s recent guilty plea for perjury in the New York attorney general's civil fraud trial should serve as a reminder to attorneys of their ethical duties when they know a client has lied or plans to lie in court, and the potential penalties for not fulfilling those obligations, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.