White Collar

  • June 24, 2024

    Baldwin Awaits Ruling On Bid To Toss 'Rust' Shooting Case

    A New Mexico state judge is set to rule this week on Alec Baldwin's argument that his indictment on involuntary manslaughter charges over the "Rust" film shooting should be thrown out because forensic tests damaged the actor's gun, a key piece of evidence in the case.

  • June 24, 2024

    Justices End Irish Landowner's Fight Against $23M Clawback

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge by Irish businessman Sean Dunne and his ex-wife Gayle Killilea to a Chapter 7 trustee's roughly $23 million avoidance action win, leaving intact a Connecticut jury verdict and a Second Circuit rejection of the onetime couple's claims.

  • June 24, 2024

    Billionaire Drops Case Against IRS Over Tax Info Leak

    Billionaire hedge fund founder Ken Griffin dropped his case Monday seeking to hold the IRS accountable for the leak of his tax return information in a data breach that affected thousands of wealthy and powerful taxpayers, including former President Donald Trump.

  • June 24, 2024

    Doctor Left Text Trail Describing NBA Fraud Scheme, Jury Told

    Prosecutors told a Manhattan federal jury that a Seattle medical professional sent a series of text messages detailing a plan to submit fraudulent claims to an NBA healthcare plan to obtain payouts, kicking off a second trial over the alleged scheme.

  • June 24, 2024

    Colo. Justices Send Back 'Rare' Atty Conflict Criminal Case

    The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday found that an appeals court panel used an outdated analysis when reversing the sexual assault conviction of a man because his defense attorney was being prosecuted at the same time by the same district attorney's office, remanding the case for another look.

  • June 24, 2024

    Ex-Chicago Alderman Gets Two Years For Boosting Law Firm

    An Illinois federal judge on Monday sentenced former Chicago Alderman Ed Burke to two years in prison and fined him $2 million for using his official position to steer tax business to his personal law firm, closing what prosecutors called "another sordid chapter" in the city's history of public corruption.

  • June 24, 2024

    Mich. Justices Take Up Young Adults' Life Sentence Challenge

    Michigan's top court will weigh whether the state's mandatory life sentence for murder is unconstitutional when applied to young adults, after 19- and 20-year-olds argued that a 2022 precedent banning the punishment for 18-year-olds should extend to them.

  • June 24, 2024

    Fintech Exec Gets 45 Months For Crypto Market Manipulation

    A Florida federal judge on Monday sentenced the CEO of fintech company Hydrogen Technology Corp. to more than three years in prison for his role in a conspiracy to manipulate the market for Hydrogen's digital assets.

  • June 24, 2024

    Julie Chrisley To Be Resentenced, But Convictions Stand

    The Eleventh Circuit on Friday upheld the tax evasion and fraud convictions of former reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, but ordered a Georgia federal judge to resentence Julie Chrisley after finding that the judge failed to fully explore her discrete role in the $36 million scheme.

  • June 24, 2024

    Mich. High Court Denies Officers' Judge-Shopping Appeals

    A divided Michigan Supreme Court has rejected the appeals of three police officers facing charges related to a traffic-stop assault who complained that their cases should not have been handed to a new judge mid-prosecution.

  • June 24, 2024

    High Court Won't Take Up Michigan Tribal Tag Dispute

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a petition by a Native American man seeking to overturn a Michigan Supreme Court order that denied him the chance to appeal his traffic stop convictions stemming from a dispute over tribal-licensed tags.

  • June 24, 2024

    Trump Mar-A-Lago Case Is Unlawfully Funded, Fla. Judge Told

    An attorney defending Donald Trump against the federal government's accusation that he illegally retained classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House in 2021 told a Florida judge Monday the criminal indictment should be dismissed against the former president, saying that the case isn't lawfully funded.

  • June 24, 2024

    Blumenauer Predicts Cannabis Rescheduling Before Year-End

    U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., a longtime champion of cannabis reform in Congress who is retiring this year, told cannabis attorneys on Monday that he was optimistic marijuana would be moved to Schedule III under the federal Controlled Substances Act before the end of the year.

  • June 22, 2024

    Disciplinary Judge Hesitant To Oust Embattled Colo. DA

    A Colorado attorney disciplinary judge said Friday he was uncomfortable removing an elected local prosecutor facing various misconduct charges, telling the parties after closing arguments that voters' choices should carry some weight.

  • June 21, 2024

    Manhattan DA Seeks To Retain Trump Gag Order, Amid Threats

    The Manhattan District Attorney's Office urged a New York state judge Friday to leave in place most restrictions of the gag order preventing Donald Trump from speaking publicly about witnesses, jurors and others tied to his criminal trial, citing a barrage of threats from his supporters in recent months — including "actionable" death threats before and after the verdict.

  • June 21, 2024

    Crypto Vet With FTX Ties Launches Fintech Policy Think Tank

    Former congressional hopeful and cryptocurrency veteran Michelle Bond announced her formation of fintech policy think tank Digital Future, making a return to financial services policy after the recent sentencing of her partner, former FTX executive Ryan Salame, and FTX-linked donations to her 2022 campaign.

  • June 21, 2024

    Trump Says AG Can't Appoint Prosecutor In Mar-A-Lago Case

    Attorney General Merrick Garland did not have the statutory authority to promote an independent special counsel to prosecute former President Donald Trump over his allegedly illegal retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Trump's attorneys told a Florida federal judge Friday.

  • June 21, 2024

    Financial Advice Guru Says Timeshare Suit Must Be Arbitrated

    A famous financial advice guru and his company have urged a Washington federal court to pause a proposed timeshare exit fraud class action and send it into arbitration, arguing that several of the named plaintiffs signed related agreements that include arbitration clauses.

  • June 21, 2024

    Ex-Trump Aide Must Face Hunter Biden's Data Hack Suit

    A California federal judge has refused to toss Hunter Biden's lawsuit accusing a former Trump White House aide of obtaining and publishing emails and photos purportedly taken from his laptop, finding Biden sufficiently alleged the aide illegally accessed a "protected computer" defined under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. 

  • June 21, 2024

    Ripple Defeats Class But Not Howey Over Token Sales

    Crypto company Ripple Labs Inc. has escaped class claims that it violated federal and state law through unregistered sales of its digital token XRP, but the California federal judge who issued the ruling declined to go as far as declaring that the token was not a security under the so-called Howey Test.

  • June 21, 2024

    4 From Cybercrime Group Charged In $71M Hacking Scheme

    Four members of the international cybercrime group known as FIN9 have been charged for their roles in hacking companies' computer networks and stealing more than $71 million through nonpublic information, employee benefits and other funds, Philip R. Sellinger, an attorney for the District of New Jersey, has announced.

  • June 21, 2024

    Ayahuasca Church Is Not Tax-Exempt, DC Circ. Affirms

    An Iowa church that used a psychedelic drug in its rites was correctly denied tax-exempt status, the D.C. Circuit affirmed Friday, saying the church's main purpose is using a federally illegal drug for which it lacked approval for religious use.

  • June 21, 2024

    Girardi Wants To Block Evidence Of Ex-Clients' Injuries At Trial

    At the upcoming fraud trial of disgraced attorney Tom Girardi, his defense attorneys want to exclude any mention of the horrific injuries suffered by the clients he allegedly stole from, while prosecutors want to introduce evidence that he allegedly spent $25 million to fund the lavish lifestyle of his celebrity ex-wife. 

  • June 21, 2024

    Ontrak Founder Convicted In Novel Insider Trading Case

    A California federal jury found Ontrak founder and former CEO Terren Peizer guilty on Friday of three counts of insider trading, following a first-of-its-kind prosecution on allegations he dumped $20 million of shares in the healthcare company after discovering its biggest client was going to terminate their deal. 

  • June 21, 2024

    Ex-Chicago Alderman Burke Can't Delay Sentencing

    Former Chicago Alderman Ed Burke can't postpone his Monday sentencing on charges of racketeering, extortion and bribery to await a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the scope of federal bribery law, an Illinois federal judge ruled Friday, saying that decision will have "little or no impact" on Burke's fate.

Expert Analysis

  • Ensuring Nonpublic Info Stays Private Amid SEC Crackdown

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    Companies and individuals must take steps to ensure material nonpublic information remains confidential while working outside the office, as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission continues to take enforcement actions against those who trade on MNPI and don't comply with new off-channel communications rules in the remote work era, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • Opinion

    Seafarer Detention Under Ship Pollution Law Must Have Limits

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    The U.S. Coast Guard should reinstate limits on the number of days that foreign crew members may be forced to remain in the country while the U.S. Department of Justice investigates alleged violations of shipping pollution laws, in order to balance legitimate enforcement interests and seafarer welfare, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

  • Perspectives

    Justices' Forfeiture Ruling Resolves Nonexistent Split

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in McIntosh v. U.S., holding that a trial court’s failure to enter a preliminary criminal forfeiture order prior to sentencing doesn’t bar its entry later, is unusual in that it settles an issue on which the lower courts were not divided — but it may apply in certain forfeiture disputes, says Stefan Cassella at Asset Forfeiture Law.

  • Binance Ruling Spotlights Muddled Post-Morrison Landscape

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    The Second Circuit's recent decision in Williams v. Binance highlights the judiciary's struggle to apply the U.S. Supreme Court's Morrison v. National Australia Bank ruling to digital assets, and illustrates how Morrison's territorial limits on the federal securities laws have become convoluted, say Andrew Rhys Davies and Jessica Lewis at WilmerHale.

  • IRS Sings New Tune: Whistleblower Form Update Is Welcome

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    In a significant reform at the Internal Revenue Service's Whistleblower Office, the recently introduced revisions to the Form 211 whistleblower award application use new technology and a more intuitive approach to streamline the process of reporting allegations of tax fraud committed by wealthy individuals and companies, says Benjamin Calitri at Kohn Kohn.

  • Strategies For Challenging A Fla. Grand Jury Report's Release

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    A Florida grand jury’s recent report on potential wrongdoing related to COVID-19 vaccines should serve as a reminder to attorneys to review the myriad legal mechanisms available to challenge the lawfulness of a grand jury report’s publication and expunge the names of their clients, says Cary Aronovitz at Holland & Knight.

  • First 10b5-1 Insider Trading Case Raises Compliance Issues

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    The ongoing case against former Ontrak CEO Terren Peizer is the U.S. Department of Justice's first insider trading prosecution based primarily on the filing of 10b5-1 plans, and has important takeaways for attorneys reviewing corporate policies on the possession of material nonpublic information, say attorneys at Cadwalader.

  • Series

    Whitewater Kayaking Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Whether it's seeing clients and their issues from a new perspective, or staying nimble in a moment of intense challenge, the lessons learned from whitewater kayaking transcend the rapids of a river and prepare attorneys for the courtroom and beyond, says Matthew Kent at Alston & Bird.

  • 3 Lessons From Family Dollar's Record $41.7M Guilty Plea

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    Family Dollar's recent plea deal in connection with a rodent infestation at one of its distribution facilities — resulting in the largest ever monetary criminal penalty in a food safety case — offers key takeaways for those practicing in the interconnected fields of compliance, internal investigations and white collar defense, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • This Earth Day, Consider How Your Firm Can Go Greener

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    As Earth Day approaches, law firms and attorneys should consider adopting more sustainable practices to reduce their carbon footprint — from minimizing single-use plastics to purchasing carbon offsets for air travel — which ultimately can also reduce costs for clients, say M’Lynn Phillips and Lisa Walters at IMS Legal Strategies.

  • What FinCEN Proposed Customer ID Number Change Means

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    The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's recent request for comment on changing a requirement for banks to collect full Social Security numbers at account sign-up represents an important opportunity for banks to express their preferability, as communicating sensitive information online may carry fraud or cybersecurity risks, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Circumstantial Evidence Requires A Pointillist Approach

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    Because complex cases with sophisticated defendants are unlikely to reveal much, if any, direct evidence, attorneys must aggregate many pieces of circumstantial evidence into a cohesive narrative — much like the painting technique of pointillism, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Discord Stock Case Toss Means Little For Fraud Defendants

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    A Texas federal court’s recent dismissal of fraud charges related to a "pump and dump" scheme on Discord is an outlier after the U.S. Supreme Court scrapped the right-to-control theory of fraud last year, and ultimately won't deter the government from pursuing routine securities prosecutions, says William Johnston at Bird Marella.

  • Strategies For Navigating Compliance Monitorships

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    As independent compliance monitorships continue to be a favored tool of the government in resolving corporate enforcement matters, counsel should have a firm grasp on best practices for selecting a monitor, preparing the company and ensuring a productive relationship between the parties, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • At 'SEC Speaks,' A Focus On Rebuilding Trust Amid Criticism

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    At the Practising Law Institute's SEC Speaks conference last week, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission leadership highlighted efforts to rebuild and restore trust in the U.S. capital markets by addressing investor concerns through regulatory measures and enforcement actions, emphasizing the need for cooperation from market participants, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

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