White Collar

  • February 14, 2025

    'New Facts' Improper In Penny Stock Action, 2nd Circ. Told

    A Connecticut federal judge violated controlling case law and the constitutional rights of a penny stock CEO when imposing a judgment in a U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission enforcement action, defense counsel told the Second Circuit, arguing that the SEC admitted post-trial that it could not find any victims of the allegedly false public statements at issue.

  • February 14, 2025

    Fla. Crypto Operator Gets 2 Years In Prison For Wire Fraud

    A Florida federal judge sentenced a U.S. Air Force veteran and software developer to more than two years in prison on a wire fraud charge for soliciting more than $1 million from investors to pay for a cryptocurrency offering but using the funds to fuel a gambling addiction.

  • February 14, 2025

    1st Circ. Chides SEC, Judge In Atty Stock Scheme Case

    A split First Circuit has found that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was trying to hedge its bets before it asked the panel to reverse a partial dismissal of an enforcement action against a former Connecticut attorney that the agency had itself requested, but also that a Massachusetts district judge had made a series of errors that warrant kicking the SEC's cases back to the lower court.

  • February 14, 2025

    Ohio Aircraft Parts Co., Workers Indicted Over Russia Exports

    An Ohio-based arm of a Russian aircraft parts supplier has been indicted along with three of its employees for allegedly dodging trade restrictions on exporting parts to Russia and Russian airlines without proper permission and licenses from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

  • February 14, 2025

    Adams Case Careens Toward 'Messy' Hearing, Experts Say

    The Manhattan federal judge overseeing the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams is unlikely to rubber stamp a request from the U.S. Department of Justice to toss the case and may instead hold a hearing on the matter, which could get "messy" and "embarrassing," experts say.

  • February 14, 2025

    Adams Case Fiasco 'Unparalleled' In Modern US History

    The mass resignation of federal prosecutors refusing to obey a Trump administration directive to drop corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams is "unprecedented," "crazy" and "very troubling," according to law professors and former prosecutors.

  • February 14, 2025

    Off The Bench: Trans EO, Cards Arbitration, NASCAR Revs Up

    In this week's Off The Bench, litigation begins over President Donald Trump's executive order banning transgender individuals from competing in women's sports, a former Arizona Cardinals executive's defamation suit against the team is shuffled to arbitration, and NASCAR asks an appeals panel to reverse wins handed to two teams in their antitrust suit.

  • February 14, 2025

    Boston Reemerges As Immigration 'Obstruction' Battleground

    Recent comments by newly installed Boston U.S. Attorney Leah Foley in which she declined to rule out bringing obstruction of justice charges against those who actively thwart immigration enforcement raises the specter of another high-profile case like the controversial prosecution of a state judge during the first Trump administration, experts say.

  • February 14, 2025

    Rewarding Ex-Atty For Killing Wife Is Unjust, Ga. Court Told

    The administrator of the estate of the wife of a former BigLaw attorney urged a Georgia state court to block the husband's bid to designate the settlement proceeds of a wrongful death suit, arguing that it "does not seem just to reward" him after he "did, in fact, shoot and kill his wife."

  • February 14, 2025

    DOJ Files Motion To Drop Adams Case After Prosecutors Exit

    The U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion to dismiss the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, following a flood of resignations by government lawyers who defied a top DOJ official's orders to drop the charges for political reasons.

  • February 14, 2025

    Ex-JPMorgan Atty Pleads Guilty To NYC Housing Fraud

    A one-time Bronx, New York, prosecutor and former JPMorgan Chase & Co. assistant general counsel pled guilty along with two relatives to a scheme to fraudulently obtain affordable housing units and benefits, state investigators announced Friday.

  • February 14, 2025

    Financial Services Atty Leaves MoFo For White & Case In NY

    White & Case LLP announced it has expanded its global debt finance practice, financial services regulatory practice and global financial institutions industry group with a former Morrison Foerster LLP partner.

  • February 14, 2025

    Sotomayor Won't Relieve Crypto Maven From Witness ID Rule

    U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor denied a bid from the founder of cryptocurrency service Tornado Cash to overturn a Manhattan federal judge's order to disclose whom he might call as an expert witness at his upcoming trial on money-laundering and sanctions-dodging charges.

  • February 14, 2025

    Judge Leaves Curbs On DOGE Treasury Access After Hearing

    A Manhattan federal judge left in place temporary curbs on sweeping powers handed by President Donald Trump to Elon Musk's government-slashing U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization, after 19 states challenged the organization's access to U.S. Treasury payment systems.

  • February 13, 2025

    2 Men Cop To Crypto Mining Fraud Conspiracy, Forfeit $400M

    A pair of Estonians have pled guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and agreed to forfeit assets worth $400 million in connection with Washington state federal prosecutors' claims that they ran a $577 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, the government said Thursday.

  • February 13, 2025

    SEC Nets $38M In Judgments Over Cannabis Fraud Claims

    A purported marijuana cultivation company and associated entities are on the hook for judgments worth nearly $38 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission claims over an alleged Ponzi-like scheme soliciting would-be investors in "nonexistent" grow facilities.

  • February 13, 2025

    Eric Adams Donor Accused Of Stealing COVID Housing Funds

    A New York City hotel owner with ties to Mayor Eric Adams was among three individuals accused of scheming to steal tens of millions of dollars from a program intended to get certain incarcerated individuals out of detention centers during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.

  • February 13, 2025

    Fake Hedge Funder Pleads Out To $5M AI Trading Scam

    The head of Tadrus Capital on Thursday admitted lying to investors who collectively spent more than $5 million investing in his supposedly artificial intelligence-powered hedge fund, which he claimed would pay out guaranteed double-digit returns.

  • February 13, 2025

    Exec Cops To Conspiring To Overbill Gov't In Station Project

    A former executive for a masonry contractor involved in the multimillion-dollar restoration of Philadelphia's historic 30th Street Station has admitted to a scheme that involved bribing an Amtrak employee to overcharge the federal government $2 million for the project, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia said Thursday.

  • February 13, 2025

    Madigan Verdict Caps Stunning Fall For Powerful Chicago Pol

    Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan's conviction Wednesday on bribery and wire fraud charges marked a stunning fall from grace for a man who was the longest-serving legislative leader in the country and who wielded considerable influence in the state and the city of Chicago for decades.

  • February 13, 2025

    Judge In SEC Case Asks If Fugitive Trader Really Died

    A Connecticut federal judge on Thursday directed the receiver managing the distribution of clawed-back funds diverted in a fraud by fugitive trader Iftikar Ahmed to look into claims that Ahmed has died and report to the court on their veracity.

  • February 13, 2025

    Wash. Justices Say Cops At Jan. 6 Riot Can't Stay Incognito

    The Washington State Supreme Court on Thursday said four Seattle police officers who attended the Jan. 6 "Stop the Steal" mayhem in D.C. can't litigate their privacy claims under John Doe pseudonyms as the justices rejected their claim that their identities should be shielded under the state's public records law.

  • February 13, 2025

    Boeing, DOJ Want More Time To Rework 737 Max Plea Deal

    The U.S. Department of Justice and The Boeing Co. told a Texas federal judge on Thursday that they need another month to rework a plea agreement in the American aerospace giant's 737 Max criminal conspiracy case, saying new senior DOJ officials are still being briefed on a potential new deal.

  • February 13, 2025

    Mental Health Group Says Ga. Analyst Lied About Work

    Cheerful Therapy LLC filed suit against Georgia-based Anelyst Accounting LLC and Nicholas Hawkins in federal court, alleging they solicited it to pay for the creation of a mental health group practice with the intent of secretly transferring the group to a new limited liability company in which Cheerful had no rights or interest.

  • February 13, 2025

    SafeMoon CEO's Trial Not Delayed By Crypto Policy Shifts

    A Brooklyn federal judge has declined to delay the late March start to a trial for the CEO of bankrupt cryptocurrency asset company SafeMoon LLC despite the executive's arguments that recent crypto policy shifts could cut the securities fraud charge from the counts against him.

Expert Analysis

  • An Update On Legal Issues In The Drone Market

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    Marialuisa Gallozzi and Alex Slawson at Covington examine recent developments in the legal issues surrounding the growing drone market, including possible First Amendment protections, Fourth Amendment surveillance, and litigation involving criminal and civil penalties, evidentiary pursuits, and insurance.

  • Next Steps For FCA Defendants After Fla. Qui Tam Ruling

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    Because a Florida federal court's recent decision in Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates could eventually prove to be a watershed event for False Claims Act suits, defendants should consider potential next steps to ensure that their litigation benefits from the court's reasoning and further developments, says Scott Gallisdorfer at Bass Berry.

  • Smith's New Trump Indictment Is Case Study In Superseding

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    Special counsel Jack Smith’s recently revised Jan. 6 charges against former President Donald Trump provide lessons for prosecutors on how to effectively draft superseding indictments in order to buttress or streamline their case, as necessary, says Jessica Roth at Cardozo Law School.

  • Use The Right Kind Of Feedback To Help Gen Z Attorneys

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    Generation Z associates bring unique perspectives and expectations to the workplace, so it’s imperative that supervising attorneys adapt their feedback approach in order to help young lawyers learn and grow — which is good for law firms, too, says Rachael Bosch at Fringe Professional Development.

  • Opinion

    Congress Can And Must Enact A Supreme Court Ethics Code

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    As public confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court dips to historic lows following reports raising conflict of interest concerns, Congress must exercise its constitutional power to enact a mandatory and enforceable code of ethics for the high court, says Muhammad Faridi, president of the New York City Bar Association.

  • What To Make Of Dueling Corporate Transparency Act Rulings

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    Although challenges to the Corporate Transparency Act abound — as highlighted by recent federal court decisions from Alabama and Oregon taking opposite positions on its constitutionality — the act is still law, so companies should comply with their filing requirements or face the potential consequences, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Justice Lebovits On Gilbert And Sullivan

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    Characters in the 19th century comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan break the rules of good lawyering by shamelessly throwing responsible critical thought to the wind, providing hilarious lessons for lawyers and judges on how to avoid a surfeit of traps and tribulations, say acting New York Supreme Court Justice Gerald Lebovits and law student Tara Scown.

  • To Report Or Not To Report Others' Export Control Violations

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    A recent Bureau of Industry and Security enforcement policy change grants cooperation credit to those that report violations of the Export Administration Regulations committed by others, but the benefits of doing so must be weighed against significant drawbacks, including the costs of preparing and submitting a report, says Megan Lew at Cravath.

  • With Esmark Case, SEC Returns Focus To Tender Offer Rules

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent enforcement action against Esmark in connection with its failed bid to acquire U.S. Steel indicates the SEC's renewed attention under Rule 14e‑8 of the Exchange Act on offerors' financial resources as a measure of the veracity of their tender offer communications, say attorneys at MoFo.

  • Fla. Ruling May Undermine FCA Whistleblowers' Authority

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    A Florida federal court's decision in Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates last month will deprive relators of their ability to bring suits under the False Claims Act, limiting their capability to expose and rectify wrongdoings and potentially affecting billions in FCA recoveries, say Matthew Nielsen and Lily Johnson at Bracewell.

  • What's Inside Feds' Latest Bank Merger Review Proposals

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    Recent bank merger proposals from a trio of federal agencies highlight the need for banks looking to grow through acquisition to consider several key issues much earlier in the planning process than has historically been necessary, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape

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    Over the past year, several state bar associations, as well as the American Bar Association, have released guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, all of which share overarching themes and some nuanced differences, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law Group.

  • How BIS' Rule Seeks To Encourage More Voluntary Disclosure

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    Updated incentives, penalties and enforcement resources in the Bureau of Industry and Security's recently published final rule revising the Export Administration Regulations should help companies decide how to implement export control compliance programs and whether to disclose possible violations, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • 11th Circ. Kickback Ruling May Widen Hearsay Exception

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    In a $400 million fraud case, U.S. v. Holland, the Eleventh Circuit recently held that a conspiracy need not have an unlawful object to introduce co-conspirator statements under federal evidence rules, potentially broadening the application of the so-called co-conspirator hearsay exception, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • 8 Childhood Lessons That Can Help You Be A Better Attorney

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    A new school year is underway, marking a fitting time for attorneys to reflect on some fundamental life lessons from early childhood that offer a framework for problems that no legal textbook can solve, say Chris Gismondi and Chris Campbell at DLA Piper.

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