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White Collar
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July 18, 2024
DaVita To Pay $34M In Medicare Kickback Whistleblower Suit
Dialysis company DaVita will pay more than $34 million to settle a Medicare fraud case over alleged kickbacks doctors received in exchange for patient referrals, after a whistleblower from the company's C-suite came forward, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado announced Thursday.
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July 18, 2024
Hunter Biden Wants Charges Tossed After Trump Docs Ruling
Hunter Biden on Thursday asked federal judges in Delaware and California to throw out his conviction on felony gun charges and to toss other charges of tax evasion, citing a Florida federal judge's order disqualifying the special prosecutor in Donald Trump's classified documents case.
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July 18, 2024
Bizlato Founder Avoids More Time For Illicit Crypto Deals
The founder of Bitzlato Ltd. on Thursday was spared further incarceration for using the cryptocurrency exchange to process what prosecutors say was over $700 million in criminal proceeds, the latest case among many where judges factor in the vile conditions at Brooklyn's notorious federal jail, the Metropolitan Detention Center, as a reason for leniency.
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July 18, 2024
4 Men Cop To $2M 'Instant Deposit' Robinhood Fraud
Four men have pled guilty in New York federal court to being involved in a scheme to steal millions of dollars from trading firm Robinhood by exploiting a program that gave them access to cash advances.
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July 18, 2024
Feds Collar Would-Be 'Smart Ring' CEO For Investor Fraud
Los Angeles federal prosecutors have charged a Florida woman with securities and wire fraud with allegations detailing a $2 million investment scheme involving a purported "smart ring" company.
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July 18, 2024
Menendez Appeal Could Make Hay From Bribery Case Law
Sen. Robert Menendez's planned "aggressive" appeal will almost certainly include broadsides against his novel foreign-agent conviction and attempt to capitalize on the U.S. Supreme Court's proven appetite for bribery cases, experts say.
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July 18, 2024
Ex-Cop With Illness Spared Prison In EBay Harassment Case
A federal judge on Thursday agreed to spare a former California police captain and eBay employee from prison for a stalking and harassment campaign against two Massachusetts journalists, citing the defendant's cancer diagnosis and blaming the ordeal on "a warped corporate culture."
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July 18, 2024
DOJ, Treasury Target Mexico-Based Human Smuggling Group
A Sierra Leone national and his wife are facing criminal charges and sanctions for their roles in an alleged human smuggling organization that brought thousands of migrants into the United States, federal prosecutors have announced.
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July 18, 2024
Las Vegas Developer Says SEC's EB-5 Fraud Suit Falls Short
A Las Vegas developer urged a Nevada federal judge to toss securities regulators' allegations she misappropriated $10 million raised by overseas investors hoping to come to the U.S. to pay down a loan for a project unconnected to their applications, arguing Wednesday the regulators fail to allege a wrongful state of mind.
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July 18, 2024
NJ Ex-Broker-Dealer Indicted In $3.4M Insider Trading Scheme
A former partner at a Garden State broker-dealer was charged in New Jersey federal court with engaging in an insider trading scheme that brought him $3.4 million in illicit trading profits, according to the U.S. attorney's office.
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July 18, 2024
Docs Get Same Hefty Opioid Sentences Despite Top Court Win
Two Alabama doctors accused of unlawfully prescribing patients fentanyl and other opioids failed to shave time off their lengthy prison sentences despite a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that raised the bar for such prosecutions.
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July 18, 2024
Cozen O'Connor Targets Penny Stock Co. CEO For Legal Fees
Cozen O'Connor is asking a Connecticut state court judge to affirm two Pennsylvania judgments against a penny stock company CEO who lost a federal enforcement action, alleging Bernard Findley and two of his companies owe nearly $750,000 in legal fees.
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July 18, 2024
Attorney, Businessman Acquitted Of Crash Report Scheme
A Michigan federal judge on Tuesday cited insufficient evidence and ordered the cancellation of jury convictions against a lawyer and a medical business owner in an alleged scheme to obtain unreleased police crash reports illegally and use the reports to solicit clients.
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July 18, 2024
Another Enphase Investor Suit Claims Execs Hid Slow Growth
Enphase Energy's top brass has been slapped with another shareholder complaint in California federal court, alleging they misrepresented the energy technology company's financial outlook by concealing a decrease in battery shipments and slower manufacturing outputs, which artificially inflated its stock price.
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July 18, 2024
Tax Court Affirms IRS Whistleblower Award Computation
The Internal Revenue Service's Whistleblower Office did not abuse its discretion when it set an award at 22% of collected proceeds even though other awards tied to related claims were set at 30%, the U.S. Tax Court said Thursday.
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July 18, 2024
Girardi Denied Bid To Delay Client Theft Trial To October
A California federal judge rejected disgraced lawyer Tom Girardi's motion to have his closely watched wire fraud trial moved to October from its current August start date, determining that he was unable to provide a genuine reason as to why proceedings should be pushed back two months.
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July 18, 2024
Ex-Pa. DA Suspended Over Alleged Prosecutorial Misconduct
The former district attorney of Bedford County, Pennsylvania, had her law license suspended Tuesday after multiple cases she oversaw during her time in office ended up being dismissed due to prosecutorial misconduct.
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July 18, 2024
NJ Law Firm Accused Of Botching Official Misconduct Case
A former sergeant in the Mercer County Sheriff's Office has launched a malpractice suit against a Passaic, New Jersey-based law firm, alleging that its attorneys caused him to lose thousands per month in disability benefits by mishandling his legal defense against misconduct charges.
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July 18, 2024
Ex-BigLaw Atty Gets Nearly 2 Years For Election Crimes
A former BigLaw attorney was sentenced to 21 months in prison Thursday after being convicted of campaign finance violations tied to a failed run for U.S. Congress, with a Boston federal judge citing the defendant's legal acumen and experience as a law clerk as evidence he "should have known" better.
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July 17, 2024
SEC Says Ex-CEO Of Trump-Tied SPAC Hid Merger Talks
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday accused the former CEO of Digital World Acquisition Corp. of falsely representing that the special purpose acquisition company had no potential merger targets when he was actually personally discussing a merger with former President Donald Trump's social media company.
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July 17, 2024
Off-Channel Comms Top Concern For Compliance Pros
Investment advisers' compliance officers have listed electronic communications surveillance as their hottest topic, beating out concerns about the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's marketing rule, according to a new survey of compliance professionals representing nearly 600 investment advisers.
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July 17, 2024
Special Counsel To Appeal Ax Of Trump Classified Docs Case
Special Counsel Jack Smith told a Florida federal court Wednesday that he was challenging U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon's order earlier this week tossing the classified documents criminal case against Donald Trump, according to a notice of appeal.
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July 17, 2024
SEC Awards $37 Million To Whistleblower
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday announced a $37 million award to a whistleblower who provided information that the commission did not previously know, which contributed to a successful enforcement action.
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July 17, 2024
Workers Claim Trucking, Visa Cos. Ran Labor Scam
Two African immigrants have accused a trucking company and an immigration services firm of running a yearslong enterprise to force workers from abroad to perform dangerous and unsafe work.
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July 17, 2024
Merrill Lynch Urges Arbitration Of Sweeping RICO Lawsuit
Merrill Lynch told a Texas federal judge Tuesday that a wealthy telecommunications entrepreneur who is accusing the bank of a sweeping money laundering fraud doesn't have the right to bring the case to court, as the entrepreneur agreed to arbitration when he parked his money with Merrill.
Expert Analysis
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Litigation Inspiration: Attys Can Be Heroic Like Olympians
Although litigation won’t earn anyone an Olympic medal in Paris this summer, it can be worthy of the same lasting honor if attorneys exercise focused restraint — seeking both their clients’ interests and those of the court — instead of merely pursuing every advantage short of sanctionable conduct, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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Lean Into The 'Great Restoration' To Retain Legal Talent
As the “great resignation,” in which employees voluntarily left their jobs in droves, has largely dissipated, legal employers should now work toward the idea of a “great restoration,” adopting strategies to effectively hire, onboard and retain top legal talent, says Molly McGrath at Hiring & Empowering Solutions.
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9th Circ. Ruling Shows Lies Must Go To Nature Of Bargain
The Ninth Circuit’s recent U.S. v. Milheiser decision, vacating six mail fraud convictions, clarifies that the key question in federal fraud cases is not whether lies were told, but what they were told about — thus requiring defense counsel to rethink their strategies, say Charles Kreindler and Krista Landis at Sheppard Mullin.
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How Cannabis Rescheduling May Alter Paraphernalia Imports
The Biden administration's recent proposal to loosen federal restrictions on marijuana use raises questions about how U.S. Customs and Border Protection enforcement policies may shift when it comes to enforcing a separate federal ban on marijuana accessory imports, says R. Kevin Williams at Clark Hill.
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Opinion
New Guidance On Guilty Plea Withdrawals Is Long Past Due
In light of the Sentencing Reform Act's 40th anniversary, adding a new section to the accompanying guidelines on the withdrawal of guilty pleas could remedy the lack of direction in this area and improve the regulation's effectiveness in promoting sentencing uniformity, say Mark H. Allenbaugh at SentencingStats.com and Alan Ellis at the Law Offices of Alan Ellis.
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Boeing Saga Underscores Need For Ethical Corporate Culture
In the wake of recent allegations about Boeing’s safety culture, and amid the U.S. Department of Justice’s new whistleblower incentives, business leaders should reinvigorate their emphasis on compliance by making clear that long-term profitability requires ethical business practices, says Maxwell Carr-Howard at Dentons.
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Key Takeaways From 2024 Accountants' Liability Conference
At the recent annual Accountants' Liability Conference, regulators provided important commentary on new Public Company Accounting Oversight Board rulemaking and standard-setting initiatives, and emphasized regulatory priorities ranging from the tone at the top to alternative practice structures, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.
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Why Jurors Balk At 'I Don't Recall' — And How To Respond
Jurors often react negatively to a witness who responds “I don’t remember” because they tend to hold erroneous beliefs about the nature of human memory, but attorneys can adopt a few strategies to mitigate the impact of these biases, say Steve Wood and Ava Hernández at Courtroom Sciences.
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Series
Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge​​​​​​​ at Robinson Bradshaw.
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10 Tips To Build Trust With Your Witness During Trial Prep
Preparing a witness for deposition or trial requires more than just legal skills — lawyers must also work to cultivate trust with the witness, using strategies ranging from wearing a hat when conducting mock cross-examination to offering them a ride to court before they testify, say Faye Paul Teller and Sara McDermott at Munger Tolles.
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A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence
The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.
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To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef
To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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8 Steps Companies Should Take After An Internal Investigation
Given the U.S. Department of Justice’s increasing focus on corporate compliance and remediation of misconduct, companies must follow through in several key ways after an internal investigation to ensure history does not repeat itself, say Jonathan Aronie and Joseph Jay at Sheppard Mullin.
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Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?
Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.
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NY Public Campaign Funding May Attract Scrutiny From Feds
The upcoming elections across New York this year will be the first under the state’s public campaign finance program — which may broaden federal prosecutors' purview to target state election fraud and corruption, says Jarrod Schaeffer at Abell Eskew.