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White Collar
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August 28, 2024
Calif. Bankruptcy Firm Ran Criminal Enterprise, Judge Says
A California bankruptcy judge ruled Tuesday that the defunct Orange County debt relief law firm Litigation Practice Group operated a "criminal enterprise" and possibly a Ponzi scheme, a finding that representatives for the firm's court-appointed bankruptcy trustee say they will use to claw money back from investors.
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August 28, 2024
Atlanta's Ex-CFO Gets 3 Years For 'Triple-Dipping' In Coffers
Atlanta's former chief financial officer became the latest city hall official to head to prison on corruption charges Tuesday, after getting hit with a three-year prison sentence for what prosecutors called a "triple-dipping" scheme into city coffers to pay for swanky vacations and illegal firearms.
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August 28, 2024
Conn. Dental Practices Settle False Claims Case For $1.7M
Three dental practices in Connecticut and their owners have paid a $1.7 million settlement after federal and state authorities accused them of using an illegal patient recruiting tactic and paying kickbacks that ripped off Medicaid.
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August 28, 2024
Pa. Ex-Cop Faces Feb. Trial On Trimmed Jan. 6 Charges
A D.C. federal judge set a February date for Joseph Fischer's Jan. 6 Capitol attack trial, clearing the way for the former Pennsylvania cop to be tried by prosecutors after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the obstruction of Congress charge in his case.
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August 28, 2024
AI Software Co. Must Face SEC's $108M Pyramid Scheme Suit
A Florida federal judge has refused to toss a suit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against the owners of a multilevel marketing company, accusing them of running a fraudulent and unregistered securities offering that raised roughly $108 million from claims that they are using artificial intelligence to develop software, saying the SEC has sufficiently pleaded the existence of a scheme, among other things.
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August 28, 2024
Tenn. High Court Says Pot Smell A Factor In Probable Cause
Tennessee's highest court has ruled that notwithstanding the federal legalization of hemp, which smells like marijuana, a drug-sniffing police dog's signal that cannabis odor is present can still be a factor in giving law enforcement probable cause for a vehicle search.
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August 27, 2024
Exec To Pay SEC $190K Over Macquarie Insider Trading Claim
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission says a New York man who used inside information he learned as a Macquarie Group investor relations executive to profit from a then-pending deal to sell its airport services business to KKR & Co. has agreed to pay nearly $190,000 to settle the agency's claims that he violated securities laws.
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August 27, 2024
'Big Baby' Asks To Wrap Documentary Before Going To Prison
Former Boston Celtics forward Glen "Big Baby" Davis asked a Manhattan federal judge Tuesday to delay the start of his 40-month prison sentence for his role in a scheme to submit fraudulent invoices to an NBA healthcare plan in order to finish filming a documentary about his life.
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August 27, 2024
Navy Shipbuilder Pleads Guilty To Accounting Fraud
A shipbuilder that contracts with the U.S. Navy pled guilty Tuesday to accounting fraud as part of a settlement to resolve criminal and civil investigations.
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August 27, 2024
Boston Cop's Family Sues Girlfriend, Bars For Wrongful Death
The family of John "J.J." O'Keefe, the Boston police officer allegedly killed by his girlfriend Karen Read, filed a wrongful death suit against her and two local bars where the couple were seen before his death.
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August 27, 2024
Rescheduling Pot Unlikely To Fix Banking Issues, Report Says
A pending proposal to loosen federal restrictions on marijuana is unlikely, on its own, to make it easier for state-regulated cannabis businesses to access financial services available to other industries, according to a recent report published by Capitol Hill's policy research arm.
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August 27, 2024
NY Fines Nordea Bank $35M In Panama Papers-Linked Action
New York's Department of Financial Services announced Tuesday that Nordea Bank Abp will pay $35 million to settle allegations of "significant" anti-money laundering compliance failures, including helping customers set up offshore accounts for tax-sheltered companies tied to the Panama Papers.
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August 27, 2024
New Jersey Man Gets 3 Years In Prison For Forex Fraud
A New Jersey man deemed a "modern day snake oil salesman" by Philadelphia's top federal prosecutor has been sentenced to just over three years in prison for defrauding hundreds of investors out of more than $500,000.
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August 27, 2024
Admiral Seeks Bribery Trial Separate From Contractors
A retired U.S. Navy admiral accused of accepting bribes from two contractors is pushing a Washington, D.C., federal court to sever his trial from theirs, saying the pair appeared poised to pin any alleged misconduct on him.
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August 27, 2024
DC Grand Jury Returns New Trump Indictment In Jan. 6 Case
A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday returned a superseding indictment accusing Donald Trump of conspiring to subvert the results of the 2020 election, maintaining the same four criminal counts contained in the original indictment after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that former presidents possess immunity from prosecution related to official acts.
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August 27, 2024
Return Of Venezuela Sanctions Reignites Criminal Probes
Criminal investigations into Venezuela-related sanctions violations appear to be ramping back up since the U.S. government reimposed crushing trade penalties on the South American country's oil and gas sectors in response to an allegedly sham presidential election, according to experts.
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August 27, 2024
Disbarred Atty Tom Girardi Convicted Of Defrauding Clients
A California federal jury on Tuesday convicted disbarred attorney Tom Girardi on all four counts of wire fraud, finding that the former titan of the plaintiffs bar misappropriated $15 million of his clients' settlement funds.
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August 27, 2024
Biz Owner Gets 22 Months For Keeping $2.5M In Payroll Tax
A man who ran construction companies was sentenced to nearly two years in prison and ordered to pay about $2.5 million in restitution to the federal government after admitting he didn't pay employment taxes, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia said Tuesday.
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August 27, 2024
Ex-Trooper Asks To Delay Prison In OT Scam Amid Appeal
A former Massachusetts state trooper asked to stay his five-year prison sentence for stealing overtime pay, lying on his taxes and cheating to get student aid for his son — a request prosecutors said was "yet another attempt to delay justice in this case."
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August 27, 2024
US Arrests Hungarian Suspected Of Sending Radios To Russia
The U.S. Department of Justice announced criminal charges against a Hungarian national suspected to have run a multinational procurement network designed to help Russia obtain U.S. military-grade communications technology.
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August 26, 2024
Feds Say Trump Docs Dismissal Contradicts 'Long Tradition'
Special counsel Jack Smith on Monday lodged the government's opening brief in its Eleventh Circuit appeal of the dismissal of the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump, arguing that the lower court's finding is contrary to "precedent and history" and the "long tradition of special-counsel appointments by the attorney general."
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August 26, 2024
SEC Inks $946K Settlement In Unregistered Broker Case
A trust and its co-owners have agreed to pay the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission civil penalties totaling $946,000 to resolve allegations they operated as unregistered broker-dealers when helping to facilitate more than $1.2 billion in securities transactions by penny stock issuers.
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August 26, 2024
Businessmen Say Feds' Ky. Tower Seizure Suit Can't Proceed
Two Miami businessmen have objected to a federal magistrate judge's recommendation opposing their attempt to toss litigation by the U.S. government as it looks to seize about $9.1 million from the sale of a Kentucky office tower, saying the United States can't prove its case.
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August 26, 2024
Girardi Lied 'Over And Over,' Jury Told As Fraud Trial Wraps
A federal prosecutor told a California federal jury during closing arguments in Tom Girardi's criminal fraud trial Monday that the now-disbarred attorney lied to his clients "over and over and over again" in order to misappropriate millions of their settlement money as part of a yearslong Ponzi scheme.
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August 26, 2024
SEC Fines Sound Point $1.8M Over Nonpublic Info Oversight
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Monday that private fund adviser Sound Point Capital Management LP will pay $1.8 million to settle charges that it failed to prevent the misuse of nonpublic information in certain collateralized loan trades.
Expert Analysis
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Crypto Gatekeepers May Be The Next Front Of Enforcement
Lawyers and other professionals who advise cryptocurrency companies should beware regulators' increasing focus on gatekeeper accountability, and should take several measures to fulfill their ethical and legal obligations, including implementing a robust vetting mechanism when representing crypto clients, say Temidayo Aganga-Williams and Xinchen Li at Selendy Gay.
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Implementing Proposed AML Rules May Take More Guidance
Two recent rules proposed by financial regulators would modernize requirements for programs aimed at countering money laundering and terrorist financing by centering more robust risk assessments, but financial institutions may need more specific guidance before they could confidently comply, say Meghann Donahue and Nikhil Gore at Covington.
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Series
Playing Golf Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Golf can positively affect your personal and professional life well beyond the final putt, and it’s helped enrich my legal practice by improving my ability to build lasting relationships, study and apply the rules, face adversity with grace, and maintain my mental and physical well-being, says Adam Kelly at Venable.
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2 High Court Rulings Boost Protections Against Gov't Reprisal
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Gonzalez v. Trevino and Chiaverini v. City of Napoleon significantly strengthen legal protections against retaliatory arrests and malicious prosecution, and establish clear precedents that promote accountability in law enforcement, say Corey Stoughton and Amanda Miner at Selendy Gay.
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Law Firms Should Move From Reactive To Proactive Marketing
Most law firm marketing and business development teams operate in silos, leading to an ad hoc, reactive approach, but shifting to a culture of proactive planning — beginning with comprehensive campaigns — can help firms effectively execute their broader business strategy, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.
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From Muppet Heads To OJ's Glove: How To Use Props At Trial
Demonstrative graphics have become so commonplace in the courtroom that jurors may start to find them boring, but attorneys can keep jurors engaged and improve their recall by effectively using physical props at trial, says Clint Townson at Townson Consulting.
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Opinion
The Big Issues A BigLaw Associates' Union Could Address
A BigLaw associates’ union could address a number of issues that have the potential to meaningfully improve working conditions, diversity and attorney well-being — from restructured billable hour requirements to origination credit allocation, return-to-office mandates and more, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.
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Opinion
It's Time For A BigLaw Associates' Union
As BigLaw faces a steady stream of criticism about its employment policies and practices, an associates union could effect real change — and it could start with law students organizing around opposition to recent recruiting trends, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.
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Why DOJ's Whistleblower Program May Have Limited Impact
The U.S. Department of Justice’s new whistleblower pilot program aims to incentivize individuals to report corporate misconduct, but the program's effectiveness may be undercut by its differences from other federal agencies’ whistleblower programs and its interplay with other DOJ policies, say attorneys at Milbank.
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How Justices Upended The Administrative Procedure Act
In its recent Loper Bright, Corner Post and Jarkesy decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court fundamentally changed the Administrative Procedure Act in ways that undermine Congress and the executive branch, shift power to the judiciary, curtail public and business input, and create great uncertainty, say Alene Taber and Beth Hummer at Hanson Bridgett.
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Parsing FY 2024 DOJ Criminal Healthcare Fraud Enforcement
While the U.S. Department of Justice's Criminal Division's strike force on healthcare fraud enforcement action shows an impressive doubling of criminal indictments, a closer look at the data offers important clues about underlying trends, including the comparably modest, accompanying increase in associated intended loss, say Roderick Thomas and Kathleen Cooperstein at Wiley.
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FTC Drives Crackdown On Connected Cars' Data Privacy Risk
After the Federal Trade Commission's warning to automakers about data privacy, which continues to emerge as a national concern, automakers must carefully examine their data collection, use and retention practices, say Catherine Castaldo and Michael Rubayo at Reed Smith.
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Jarkesy May Thwart Consumer Agencies' Civil Penalty Power
The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy not only implicates future SEC administrative adjudications, but those of other agencies that operate similarly — and may stymie regulators' efforts to levy civil monetary penalties in a range of consumer protection enforcement actions, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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Lessons From Recent SEC Cyber Enforcement Actions
The recent guidance by the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance is helpful to any company facing a cybersecurity threat, but just as instructive are the warnings raised by the SEC's recent enforcement actions against SolarWinds, R.R. Donnelley and Intercontinental Exchange, say attorneys at O'Melveny.
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Trump's Best Hush Money Appeal Options Still Likely To Fail
The two strongest potential arguments former President Donald Trump could raise in appealing his New York hush money conviction seem promising at first, but precedent strongly suggests they will still ultimately fail — though, of course, Trump's unique position could lead to surprising results, says former New York Supreme Court Justice Ethan Greenberg, now at Anderson Kill.