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White Collar
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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.
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July 24, 2024
Ex-AT&T Exec Wants Madigan Bribery Charges Dropped
A former AT&T executive who's accused of scheming to illegally influence former Illinois House speaker Michael Madigan's policy decisions argued that the U.S. Supreme Court's recent bribery ruling warrants chopping a conspiracy and bribery charge from his case.
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July 24, 2024
Digital Info Not Covered By Smuggling Law, Ky. Court Holds
A Kentucky federal judge has ruled that digital information isn't covered by the federal smuggling statute and dismissed a charge against a magnetics manufacturer and two executives accused of emailing magnet schematics to Chinese companies.
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July 24, 2024
Nonprofit Sues Former CFO Over Alleged $40M Embezzlement
The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy on Wednesday sued its former CFO William Anthony Smith and his wife, mother and sister over their purported involvement in a scheme to steal almost $40 million from the nonprofit, claiming they used the money to fund a lavish lifestyle and buy plane tickets for professional athletes.
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July 24, 2024
Ex-McElroy Deutsch Exec Says Ch. 11 Doesn't Pause Claims
A former McElroy Deutsch executive told a New Jersey state court that just because her husband — former McElroy Deutsch chief financial officer John Dunlea — has filed for bankruptcy does not mean she needs to pause her claims against the firm for discrimination and retaliation.
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July 24, 2024
Ex-Pharma Exec Gets Jail For Insider Trading On Kodak Loan
A Manhattan federal judge sentenced a former pharmaceutical executive from South Carolina to three months in prison Wednesday for taking over $500,000 of illegal trading profit based on his advance knowledge that Kodak would get a massive pandemic-era government loan.
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July 24, 2024
Ozy Media Ends Trade Secrets Suit After Ex-CEO's Conviction
News startup Ozy Media has dropped its trade secrets theft suit against Buzzfeed, its former editor-in-chief Ben Smith and the media company he co-founded, Semafor Inc., about a week after Ozy and its former CEO were convicted of lying to banks and investors to secure tens of millions of dollars to fund the multimedia business.
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July 24, 2024
Former AUSA Joins Venable's White Collar Team In Chicago
Venable LLP announced that a longtime former assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois joined the firm's investigations and white collar practice as a Chicago-based partner.
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July 24, 2024
Priest Loses Fee Bid After 'Split Baby' SEC Verdict
A Greek Orthodox priest and hedge fund founder who largely beat a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission suit is not entitled to recoup $1.7 million in legal fees because the commission was justified in bringing the case, a Boston federal judge ruled Tuesday.
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July 24, 2024
Hemp Cos. Get Stay Of DEA Subpoenas Seeking Records
A Texas federal judge on Wednesday stayed enforcement of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration subpoenas seeking financial and other records from a group of hemp and vape sellers, who had argued earlier this week that the subpoenas were overbroad and unlinked to any federal investigation.
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July 24, 2024
Ex-Ohio Zoo CEO Pleads Guilty Just Before $2.3M Theft Trial
The former chief executive officer of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium pled guilty to 15 felonies just two weeks before he was to face an Ohio jury on charges he participated in a scheme to take $2.3 million in public funds from the organization, state Attorney General Dave Yost announced.
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July 23, 2024
Rudy Giuliani Says MyPillow CEO Covered His RNC Travel
Rudy Giuliani clarified Tuesday that his travel to and from the Republican National Convention was covered by MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell's conservative media outlet FrankSpeech, according to a filing in New York federal bankruptcy court.
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July 23, 2024
'Not Doing Enough': Banks Grilled Over Zelle Fraud, Scams
Senate Democrats on Tuesday confronted bank executives over a new staff report that found three of the nation's largest banks have declined to reimburse customers in recent years for close to $900 million in payments reported as fraudulent or scam-related that were sent on Zelle, the largest U.S. peer-to-peer payment platform.
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July 23, 2024
Cooperator In Cannabis Bank Fraud Case Dodges Prison
A U.K. national who testified against two businessmen accused of fooling banks into processing federally illicit transactions worth $150 million for California cannabis delivery company Eaze Technologies Inc. on Tuesday was spared from serving any time in prison.
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July 23, 2024
Cannabis Industry Stakeholders Weigh In On Rescheduling
As the period for public comment on the Biden administration's proposal to reclassify marijuana came to a close Monday, anti-legalization activists, marijuana industry advocates and state cannabis regulators each submitted their thoughts on the potential policy shift.
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July 23, 2024
Kickback Risk Remains For Gene Therapy Fertility Programs
Federal health officials this week declined to relieve two companies of potential liability under the Anti-Kickback Statute concerning their fertility support programs for patients receiving gene therapies.
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July 23, 2024
Ex-Allied World Exec To Change Plea In $1.5M Fraud Case
Allied World National Insurance's former executive, who pled not guilty to wire fraud charges earlier this year stemming from a $1 million embezzlement scheme, will change his plea next week in Connecticut federal court, according to a minute entry order entered Tuesday.
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July 23, 2024
Prosecutor Turned Witness: 'Rust' Case Shows Rare Dilemma
The botched "Rust" trial of Alec Baldwin and Donald Trump's election interference case in Georgia have offered scarce examples of prosecutors taking the stand, demonstrating how ethics scandals can snowball and make government attorneys choose between protecting themselves or their cases.
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July 23, 2024
Indonesian National Admits To $23M Ponzi Scheme
An Indonesian national pled guilty in New York federal court on Tuesday to conspiring to defraud a group of investors out of $23 million through a Ponzi scheme, ultimately spending the money on luxury goods and real estate.
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July 23, 2024
2nd Circ. Backs Project Veritas Search Tied To Stolen Diary
The Second Circuit on Tuesday upheld a district court's rejection of claims of journalistic privilege by Project Veritas' founder and two others at the activist group as they sought to shield documents seized under search warrants in connection with the stolen diary of President Joe Biden's daughter Ashley Biden.
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July 23, 2024
Bros. Want New Trial For Concrete Price-Fixing Convictions
Two brothers convicted earlier this month of involvement in a ready-made concrete bid-rigging and price-fixing scheme asked a Georgia federal judge Monday for another shot at trial, arguing that repeated testimony about purported law-breaking tipped the scales in favor of federal prosecutors.
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July 23, 2024
Tax Foreclosure Kickback Suit Too Late, Mich. County Says
A Wayne County, Michigan, treasurer has argued in Michigan federal court that a putative class action accusing the county and other parties of engaging in a tax foreclosure and kickbacks scheme is time-barred.
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July 23, 2024
Feds Urge 6th Circ. To Affirm Pharma Owner's Fraud Sentence
The Sixth Circuit should affirm a district court's fraud convictions, nearly five-year sentence and $7 million restitution order against an Ohio pharmaceutical salesman who underreported his income to reduce his tax liability in a multimillion-dollar scheme involving bogus insurance billings, the federal government said.
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July 23, 2024
SEC Names New Acting Head Of Exams
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has announced that the deputy director of its examinations division will serve as the unit's new acting director, as the previous director takes a leave of absence to focus on his health.
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July 23, 2024
Bannon To Face Border Wall Trial After Release From Prison
Steve Bannon's New York trial on charges that he stole donor money earmarked for a wall along the southern U.S. border will begin on Dec. 9, a month and a half after the former Donald Trump adviser is released from prison on a separate contempt of Congress conviction.
Expert Analysis
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Complying With Enforcers' Ephemeral Messaging Guidance
Given federal antitrust enforcers’ recently issued guidance on ephemeral messaging applications, organizations must take a proactive approach to preserving short-lived communications — or risk criminal obstruction charges and civil discovery sanctions, say attorneys at Manatt.
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New FinCEN Guide Provides Useful BOI Context For Banks
Financial institutions should review a new Financial Crimes Enforcement Network compliance guide for helpful details about how the agency's beneficial ownership information database should be used, though questions remain about the access rule and whether it will truly streamline bank borrowers' Corporate Transparency Act due diligence, says George Singer at Holland & Hart.
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How Firms Can Ensure Associate Gender Parity Lasts
Among associates, women now outnumber men for the first time, but progress toward gender equality at the top of the legal profession remains glacially slow, and firms must implement time-tested solutions to ensure associates’ gender parity lasts throughout their careers, say Kelly Culhane and Nicole Joseph at Culhane Meadows.
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How Echoing Techniques Can Derail Witnesses At Deposition
Before depositions, defense attorneys must prepare witnesses to recognize covert echoing techniques that may be used by opposing counsel to lower their defenses and elicit sensitive information — potentially leading to nuclear settlements and verdicts, say Bill Kanasky and Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.
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Opinion
OFAC Should Loosen Restrictions On Arbitration Services
The Office of Foreign Assets Control regulations should be amended so that U.S. persons can provide arbitration services to sanctioned parties — this would help align OFAC policy with broader U.S. arbitration policy, promote efficiency, and effectively address related geopolitical and regulatory challenges, says Javier Coronado Diaz at Diaz Reus.
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7 Common Myths About Lateral Partner Moves
As lateral recruiting remains a key factor for law firm growth, partners considering a lateral move should be aware of a few commonly held myths — some of which contain a kernel of truth, and some of which are flat out wrong, says Dave Maurer at Major Lindsey.
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Series
Cheering In The NFL Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Balancing my time between a BigLaw career and my role as an NFL cheerleader has taught me that pursuing your passions outside of work is not a distraction, but rather an opportunity to harness important skills that can positively affect how you approach work and view success in your career, says Rachel Schuster at Sheppard Mullin.
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Perspectives
Compassionate Release Grants Needed Now More Than Ever
After the U.S. Sentencing Commission's recent expansion of the criteria for determining compassionate release eligibility, courts should grant such motions more frequently in light of the inherently dangerous conditions presented by increasingly understaffed and overpopulated federal prisons, say Alan Ellis and Mark Allenbaugh at the Law Offices of Alan Ellis.
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Communication Is Key As CFPB Updates Appeals Process
Though a recently updated Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule expands financial institutions' abilities to appeal supervisory decisions, creating strong relationships and open communication channels with CFPB examiners may help resolve disputes faster than the more cumbersome formal process, says Jason McElroy at Saul Ewing.
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Unpacking The New Russia Sanctions And Export Controls
Although geographically broad new prohibitions the U.S., U.K. and EU issued last week are somewhat underwhelming in their efforts to target third-country facilitators of Russia sanctions evasion, companies with exposure to noncompliant jurisdictions should pay close attention to their potential impacts, say attorneys at Shearman.
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Mitigating Whistleblower Risks After High Court UBS Ruling
While it is always good practice for companies to periodically review whistleblower trainings, policies and procedures, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent whistleblower-friendly ruling in Murray v. UBS Securities helps demonstrate their importance in reducing litigation risk, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.
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Perspectives
Justices' Double Jeopardy Ruling Preserves Acquittal Sanctity
The U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous decision last week in McElrath v. Georgia, barring the state from retrying a man acquitted of murder after a so-called repugnant verdict, is significant in the tangled web of double jeopardy jurisprudence for its brief and unequivocal protection of an acquittal’s finality, says Lissa Griffin at Pace Law School.
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Steps For Companies New To Sanctions Compliance
Businesses newly required to implement compliance programs due to the increased breadth of mandatory sanctions and export controls, including 500 additional Russia sanctions announced last Friday, should closely follow the guidance issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control and other regulators, say Jennifer Schubert and Megan Church at MoloLamken.
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Bank Secrecy Act Lessons For Casinos After DOJ Settlements
The U.S. Department of Justice's recent settlements with the MGM Grand and Cosmopolitan casinos, resolving an investigation into alleged violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, signal a shift in the DOJ's enforcement focus and provide insight into potential pitfalls in anti-money laundering compliance programs, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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High Court Forfeiture Case Again Pits Text Against Purpose
In oral arguments Tuesday in McIntosh v. U.S., the U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether a federal court can impose asset forfeiture on a defendant even if it doesn’t comply with timing rules, which may affect the broader interpretation of procedural deadlines — and tees up the latest battle between textualism and purposivism, say Anden Chow and Christian Bale at MoloLamken.