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White Collar
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July 29, 2024
Ex-Vitol Oil Trader Can't Unwind Conviction After Bribery Trial
A New York federal judge refused Friday to acquit former Vitol Oil Group trader Javier Aguilar or grant him a new trial following his February conviction on charges that he bribed Ecuadorian and Mexican officials to win $500 million in business deals for the global energy and commodities company.
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July 29, 2024
Meadows Seeks High Court's Help In Ga. Case Removal Bid
Continuing his long-running efforts to drag his Georgia election interference prosecution into federal court, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to intervene and stop state prosecutors from declaring "open season on federal officials."
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July 29, 2024
SEC OKs Award Of More Than $37M To Whistleblower
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has awarded more than $37 million to an anonymous whistleblower the agency credits for spurring a successful enforcement action despite retaliation from an unidentified employer.
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July 29, 2024
SEC Says Penny Stock CEO Lied About COVID-19 Deal
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday sued former penny stock company CEO Juan Campo for securities fraud, alleging he lied to investors about acquiring a Colombian cannabis company and about the company's development of a temperature screening device during the COVID-19 pandemic, among other things.
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July 29, 2024
Ariz. Man Avoids Jail In Fraud Involving 'Housewives' Star
A Manhattan federal judge on Monday allowed an Arizona businessman who helped operate large-scale telemarketing scams to avoid time behind bars, citing his cooperation in an investigation that ultimately saw "Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" star Jen Shah sentenced to prison.
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July 29, 2024
Ex-Volunteer Hit With $30M Judgment For Filming Minor
A former youth swim team volunteer currently serving 25 years in federal prison for creating and distributing child pornography must pay $30 million to a girl he purportedly photographed in his bathroom without her knowledge when she was underage, a Connecticut state judge has ruled.
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July 29, 2024
Hunter Biden Attys Say They Didn't Mislead Judge In Tax Case
Hunter Biden's attorneys told a Los Angeles federal judge that while several statements in their motion to dismiss tax charges against the president's son were worded "perhaps inartfully," they never intended to mislead the court in a way that would merit sanctions.
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July 29, 2024
NRA Avoids Compliance Monitor In NY AG Case
A Manhattan judge on Monday rejected the New York attorney general's request for a compliance monitor to oversee the National Rifle Association, saying such relief would "result in a long, awkward and potentially speech-chilling government involvement in a political organization."
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July 29, 2024
Mich. AG Drops Remaining Case Against Carhartt Heiress Atty
Prosecutors will not retry a Michigan attorney they claim stole from his wealthy client, the late Carhartt company heiress Gretchen Valade, and have agreed to toss similar embezzlement charges in a separate case.
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July 29, 2024
Ga. Prosecutors Fight DQ Bid Over Secret Meeting In YSL Trial
Georgia prosecutors said Friday it would be "egregious abuse" of the court's discretion to grant Atlanta rapper Young Thug's request to have them disqualified from the racketeering trial because of a secret meeting with the judge and a witness, arguing that this is an unwarranted request that seeks to delay the already longest trial in Peach State history.
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July 29, 2024
White Collar Update: 4 Developments To Watch
White-collar lawyers are on the lookout for U.S. Department of Justice actions targeting artificial intelligence "snake oil," aggressive pandemic-relief fraud prosecutions, and carrots for corporations and whistleblowers who expose misconduct. Here's a look at some key developments to watch in the second half of 2024.
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July 29, 2024
Teller Pens Deal With Wells Fargo In AML Whistleblower Case
Wells Fargo has reached a settlement in principle with a former teller who claimed she was fired after raising concerns about the bank's "streamlined" account opening process that allowed customers to open accounts if they'd failed anti-money laundering screenings previously.
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July 29, 2024
'Survivor' Winner Says He's Vulnerable In $3M Tax Battle
The winner of the first "Survivor" television season told a Rhode Island federal court Monday that the government was unfairly painting him as flouting nearly $3.3 million in federal tax liabilities stemming from his $1 million cash prize, saying he was "ill-equipped to battle prosecutors."
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July 29, 2024
Ex-Pharma Exec Seeks Leniency After SEC Contempt Plea
A former pharmaceutical executive is hoping to avoid jail after his use of an alias to circumvent a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ban on finance work landed him a criminal contempt conviction, while Boston federal prosecutors are seeking up to 10 months in prison.
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July 26, 2024
DOJ Whistleblower Pilot On Deck As Cos. Boost Compliance
Corporations are making their compliance programs more proactive amid an ongoing push from the Biden administration for firms to come forward with information as the U.S. Department of Justice prepares to roll out a pilot program to reward whistleblowers who alert prosecutors to significant corporate misconduct.
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July 26, 2024
Apple Commits To White House Guidelines For Responsible AI
Apple Inc. has signed onto the Biden administration's voluntary guidelines for "responsible" artificial intelligence innovation, joining the likes of Amazon.com Inc., Google LLC, Microsoft Corp. and a dozen other leading tech companies, the White House announced Friday.
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July 26, 2024
State Street Inks $7.5M Deal Over Russia Sanctions Violations
Financial services giant State Street has agreed to pay nearly $7.5 million to resolve apparent violations by its investment management solution subsidiary Charles River Systems Inc. of Obama-era sanctions targeting Russian actions against Ukraine, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced Friday.
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July 26, 2024
SEC Sues Banker And Ex-Prosecutor Alleging $1.6M Fraud
A Georgia banker fraudulently bilked approximately $1.6 million from unsuspecting investors for "furs and furniture" and other expenses while a former Florida prosecutor ignored several red flags when holding on to the investments, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission told a Georgia federal court.
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July 26, 2024
Mich. High Court Tossing Too Many Convictions, Justice Says
A Michigan Supreme Court justice criticized his colleagues Thursday for what he described as a "campaign" of unraveling convictions and undermining prosecutors, in an impassioned dissent from the court's decision to grant a new trial to a parent convicted of killing her infant daughter.
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July 26, 2024
FTX's Ryan Salame Asks To Delay Prison After Dog Attack
Former FTX executive Ryan Salame on Friday asked a New York federal judge to delay his prison surrender date because he was recently mauled by a German shepherd and must undergo "urgent and necessary medical treatment and surgery."
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July 26, 2024
Girardi Can't Show Ex-CFO's Spending Habits In Fraud Trial
Jurors in Tom Girardi's upcoming fraud trial won't hear details about the spending habits of Girardi Keese's former CFO, who's accused of a "side fraud" that bilked millions without Girardi's knowledge, after a California federal judge agreed with prosecutors Friday that the evidence appears more prejudicial than probative.
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July 26, 2024
3 Ex-Seton Hall Law Workers Cop To 13-Year Embezzlement
A former assistant dean and two other former employees of Seton Hall University School of Law pled guilty this week to defrauding their former employer of more than $1.3 million in a scheme spanning 13 years.
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July 26, 2024
Franklin Says DOJ, SEC Probing Western Asset Management
Western Asset Management, a global fixed-income manager, is facing parallel investigations from the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over some of its past trade allocations, its parent Franklin Resources Inc. said Friday.
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July 26, 2024
'Worthless' Insurance Scam Gets Telemarketing CEO 25 Years
An Illinois federal judge has sentenced the owner of a telemarketing company to 25 years in federal prison for scheming with another former executive to sell consumers health insurance plans with low coverage caps.
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July 26, 2024
RTX Earmarks $1.2B For Anticipated Deals With DOJ, SEC
RTX Corp., formerly known as Raytheon, said it has set aside more than $1.2 billion for anticipated deferred prosecution agreements and other deals with U.S. regulators stemming from investigations that include allegations of improper payments tied to contracts in the Middle East.
Expert Analysis
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Key Takeaways From High Court's Substitute Expert Decision
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Smith v. Arizona decision, holding that the confrontation clause generally bars prosecutors’ use of a substitute expert witness at trial, will have the most impact in narcotics and violent crime cases, but creative defense lawyers may find it useful in white collar cases, too, say Joshua Naftalis and Melissa Kelley at Pallas Partners.
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Opinion
Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem
The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.
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Proposed Customer ID Rule Could Cost Investment Advisers
A rule recently proposed by FinCEN and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to make financial advisers collect more customer information parallels an anti-money laundering and counterterrorism rule proposed this spring, but firms may face new compliance costs when implementing these screening programs, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.
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Perspectives
High Court Ruling Leaves Chance For Civil Forfeiture Reform
Though advocates for civil forfeiture reform did not prevail in Culley v. Marshall last month, concerns voiced by a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court justices potentially leave the door open to consider stricter limits in future cases, say attorneys at Dykema.
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How Cannabis Rescheduling May Affect Current Operators
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency's proposal to reschedule marijuana to Schedule III provides relief in the form of federal policy from the stigma and burdens of Schedule I, but commercial cannabis operations will remain unchanged until the federal-state cannabis policy gap is remedied by Congress, say Meital Manzuri and Alexis Lazzeri at Manzuri Law.
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Series
Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer
The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.
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Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule
Federal circuit courts that have addressed Rule 41(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are split as to whether attorney fees are included as part of the costs of a previously dismissed action, so practitioners aiming to recover or avoid fees should tailor arguments to the appropriate court, says Joseph Myles and Lionel Lavenue at Finnegan.
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In Biz Account Breaches, Look Beyond The Payment Platform
A business's legal path to recovering funds after bad actors access a payment platform account and engage in unauthorized transactions can lead into murky legal territory where liability is unclear, and pursuing the payment platform itself will be an uphill, if not insurmountable, struggle, say Edward Marshall and Morgan Harrison at Arnall Golden.
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Justices' 'Blind Mule' Ruling Won't Change Defense Strategy
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last week in Diaz v. U.S., holding that expert witnesses can testify broadly about the mental state of “most people” in a group, simply affirms the status quo for the majority of defendants, and is unlikely to change defense counsel’s strategy at trial, says Walter Gonçalves at the Arizona Federal Public Defender's Office.
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4 Steps To Repair Defense Credibility In Opening Statements
Given the continued rise of record-breaking verdicts, defense counsel need to consider fresh approaches to counteract the factors coloring juror attitudes — starting with a formula for rebuilding credibility at the very beginning of opening statements, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.
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Del. Bankruptcy Ruling Will Give D&O Insureds Nightmares
In Henrich v. XL Specialty Insurance, the Delaware Bankruptcy Court recently found that a never-served qui tam claim had been "brought" before a D&O policy's retroactive date, thereby eliminating coverage, and creating a nightmare scenario for directors and officers policyholders facing whistleblower claims, says David Klein at Pillsbury.
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Prejudicial Evidence Takeaways From Trump Hush Money Trial
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office's prosecution and conviction of former President Donald Trump on 34 felony counts provides a lesson on whether evidence may cause substantial unfair prejudice, or if its prejudicial potential is perfectly fair within the bounds of the law, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Lower Courts May Finally Be Getting The Memo After Ciminelli
A year after the U.S. Supreme Court again limited prosecutors' overbroad theories of fraud in Ciminelli v. U.S., early returns suggest that the message has at least partially landed with the lower courts, spotlighting lessons for defense counsel moving forward, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.
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After A Brief Hiccup, The 'Rocket Docket' Soars Back To No. 1
The Eastern District of Virginia’s precipitous 2022 fall from its storied rocket docket status appears to have been a temporary aberration, as recent statistics reveal that the court is once again back on top as the fastest federal civil trial court in the nation, says Robert Tata at Hunton.
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A Framework For Investigating Commercial Loan Fraud
As commercial loan transactions are increasingly subject to sophisticated fraud schemes, lenders must adopt dynamic strategies to detect, investigate and mitigate these schemes, say attorneys at Baker Donelson.