White Collar

  • January 22, 2025

    Madigan Used ComEd As 'Personal Piggy Bank,' Jurors Told

    Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and his devoted surrogate Michael McClain conspired to enhance and preserve Madigan's power and line his pockets, both by steering business to the ex-speaker's law firm and rewarding his political allies with do-nothing jobs, prosecutors told an Illinois federal jury during closing arguments Wednesday.

  • January 22, 2025

    Toy Co. Not Covered In Unpaid Judgment Suit, Judge Says

    A Berkshire Hathaway insurer has no duty to defend a toy company accused of using legal proceedings to evade payment of an $8.5 million default judgment for false advertising, a Minnesota federal court ruled, finding that abuse of process claims are not covered under the policy.

  • January 22, 2025

    Billionaire Debtor's Daughter Loses Appeal Over Jet Sale

    The daughter of bankrupt billionaire Miles Guo on Tuesday lost her appeal of a Connecticut bankruptcy judge's ruling that the $10 million she reaped from the sale of a private jet is the property of her father's estate because he was the beneficial owner of the plan.

  • January 22, 2025

    Dubai-Based Exchange Fined $9.2M To End Bank Fraud Probe

    A Dubai, United Arab Emirates-based financial services company has agreed to pay $9.2 million to U.S. prosecutors over a U.K. subsidiary's false claims that it was in compliance with anti-money laundering laws, avoiding criminal charges.

  • January 22, 2025

    Seven Charged In $600 Million COVID Tax Credit Scheme

    Seven people have been accused of trying to defraud the federal government of more than $600 million by filing more than 8,000 false tax returns in what the U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday called "the nation's largest COVID-19 tax credit scheme."

  • January 22, 2025

    Justices Skeptical Of 'Moment Of Threat' Rule In Use Of Force

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared inclined to reject a legal doctrine under which courts looking at a police officer's use of deadly force only need to consider the officer's perception of danger at the precise moment force was used.

  • January 22, 2025

    Sotomayor Halts 2nd Circ. Ruling In Landmark Graft Case

    U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor halted a decision from the Second Circuit on Wednesday that would have set up a second trial against four men whose convictions were overturned in a landmark 2023 high court ruling in which the justices narrowed certain types of public corruption cases.

  • January 22, 2025

    Feds Trim Spine-Implant Kickback Case Ahead Of Trial

    A Massachusetts federal judge has granted a motion by prosecutors to drop bribery charges against a maker of spinal implant devices and whittle down the case against two of its former executives.

  • January 22, 2025

    Ga. Hedge Fund Manager Gets 7 Years For $10M Fraud

    An Atlanta hedge fund manager has been hit with a seven-plus year prison term after admitting he ripped off investors in his nearly $10 million fund, pocketing the money to fund private school tuition, international travel and six-figure credit card bills, the Department of Justice said Wednesday.

  • January 22, 2025

    Feds Drop Case Against Atty's Accomplice In COVID Loan Fraud

    A Savannah, Georgia, man who conspired with two attorneys to defraud the federal pandemic relief effort of $300,000 has had the charges against him in Georgia federal court dropped, after he completed a year of a pretrial diversion program.

  • January 22, 2025

    Committee's Trump Probe Subpoenas Are Moot, Willis Says

    Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has urged a Georgia state court to quash a bid to enforce subpoenas from a state Senate committee investigating her handling of the prosecution of President Donald Trump, arguing the subpoenas are moot because "the old special committee no longer exists."

  • January 22, 2025

    Menendez Loses 2nd Bid For New Trial As Sentencing Nears

    A Manhattan federal judge on Wednesday denied former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez's latest motion for a new corruption trial a week before his sentencing, rejecting his claim that the jury could have been swayed by improperly redacted exhibits that were loaded onto a computer containing the evidence in the case.

  • January 22, 2025

    Exonerees In Mass. Drug Lab Scandal Can't Undo Forfeiture

    The First Circuit has tossed what was left of a lawsuit seeking the return of forfeited funds and property to thousands of Massachusetts residents whose drug convictions were vacated due to the misconduct of two crime lab chemists.

  • January 22, 2025

    Atty Seeks Appeal In Failed Bid To Unwind 'Varsity Blues' Plea

    A former attorney and television executive wants to ask the First Circuit whether her guilty plea in the "Varsity Blues" college admissions case should stand after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that she argues invalidates the government's theory.

  • January 22, 2025

    DOJ Aims To Prosecute Local Officials Who Impede Removals

    The U.S. Department of Justice instructed its staff to investigate and take enforcement actions against state and local officials who interfere with the Trump administration's plans to deport unlawfully present immigrants, according to an internal agency memo.

  • January 21, 2025

    Trump Pardons Silk Road's 'Dread Pirate' Ross Ulbricht

    President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he granted an unconditional pardon to Ross Ulbricht, the mastermind behind the cryptocurrency-fueled online drug bazaar Silk Road, in return for the political support he received from the crypto and libertarian realms.

  • January 21, 2025

    SEC Says 'Hotspot' Crypto Miners Broke Registration Laws

    Technology company Nova Labs Inc. faces U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission allegations that it attempted an "end-run" around federal securities laws with its unregistered sale of investment contracts in the form of its "hotspot" crypto asset mining devices.

  • January 21, 2025

    SEC Sues Ex-Investment Firm Reps, GC Over 'Sham' Energy Co.

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has accused former representatives of a wealth management firm of selling shares of a "sham" oil and gas company, and separately accused the firm's general counsel and chief compliance officer of playing an "active role" in the alleged misconduct by drawing up liability releases for the firm.

  • January 21, 2025

    SEC Says Engineering Prof To Pay $785K For Insider Trading

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday told a California federal court that an electrical engineering professor has agreed to pay about $785,000 to settle a lawsuit accusing him of improperly trading shares of a radio technology company at which he previously served as an advisory committee member.

  • January 21, 2025

    4th Circ. Won't Undo Doctor's Conviction For Reusing Devices

    A former North Carolina ear, nose and throat doctor staring down 25 years in prison for healthcare fraud lost an appeal Tuesday seeking to overturn her conviction, with the Fourth Circuit finding that the lower court did not commit any reversible error that would favor a shot at redemption.

  • January 21, 2025

    Block Hit With Shareholder Suit Over Cash App AML Protocols

    Jack Dorsey's fintech company Block Inc. touted its anti-money laundering protocols designed to prevent criminals from using Cash App and Square for illicit purposes, but in reality, the company's lack of even basic protocols created a "haven for criminal and illicit activities," a California federal lawsuit alleges.

  • January 21, 2025

    Calif. AG Warns 200 Landlords, Hotels About Price Gouging

    California Attorney General Rob Bonta has sent more than 200 warning letters to Southern California landlords and hotels accused of price gouging as fires ravaged communities in the Los Angeles area, according to an announcement made Friday.

  • January 21, 2025

    Colo. High Court Says Personal ID Theft Limited To People

    The Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out a charge of identity theft against a man convicted of running a fraudulent nursing class, saying that while parts of the state's identity theft statute can apply to businesses, the portion concerning personal identifying information applies only to individuals.

  • January 21, 2025

    Trump Names Interim Top Prosecutors In Manhattan, Brooklyn

    President Donald Trump named two high-ranking prosecutors to be interim U.S. attorneys in the Southern and Eastern districts of New York while his long-term picks for the posts await Senate confirmation, spokespeople for the offices confirmed Tuesday.

  • January 21, 2025

    Biden Commutes Sentence For Native Activist Leonard Peltier

    In one of his final acts as president, Joe Biden commuted the life sentence of Native American activist Leonard Peltier after decades of calls from figures such as Pope Francis, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama and Coretta Scott King.

Expert Analysis

  • Navigating New Enforcement Scrutiny Of 'AI Washing'

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent lawsuit against Joonko Diversity, its first public AI-focused enforcement action against a private company, underscores the importance of applying the same internal legal and compliance rigor to AI-related claims as other market-facing statements, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • Avoiding Corporate Political Activity Pitfalls This Election Year

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    As Election Day approaches, corporate counsel should be mindful of the complicated rules around companies engaging in political activities, including super PAC contributions, pay-to-play prohibitions and foreign agent restrictions, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Why Attorneys Should Consider Community Leadership Roles

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    Volunteering and nonprofit board service are complementary to, but distinct from, traditional pro bono work, and taking on these community leadership roles can produce dividends for lawyers, their firms and the nonprofit causes they support, says Katie Beacham at Kilpatrick.

  • 'Pig Butchering': The Scam That Exploits Crypto Confusion

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    Certain red flags can tip off banks to possible "pig-butchering," and with the scam's increasing popularity, financial institutions need to take action to monitor entry points into the crypto space, detect suspicious activity and provide a necessary backstop to protect customers, say Brandon Essig and Mary Parrish McCracken at Lightfoot Franklin.

  • Opinion

    Agencies Should Reward Corporate Cyber Victim Cooperation

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    The increased regulatory scrutiny on corporate victims of cyberattacks — exemplified by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's case against SolarWinds — should be replaced with a new model that provides adequate incentives for companies to come forward proactively and collaborate with law enforcement, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Firms Must Offer A Trifecta Of Services In Post-Chevron World

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision overturning Chevron deference, law firms will need to integrate litigation, lobbying and communications functions to keep up with the ramifications of the ruling and provide adequate counsel quickly, says Neil Hare at Dentons.

  • 5 Ways Life Sciences Cos. Can Manage Insider Trading Risk

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    In light of two high-profile insider trading jury decisions against life sciences executives this year, public companies in the sector should revise their policies to account for regulators' new and more expansive theories of liability, says Amy Walsh at Orrick.

  • How Ripple Final Judgment Fits In Broader Crypto Landscape

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    The Southern District of New York's recent $125 million civil penalty levied in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Ripple will have a broad impact on the crypto industry as it was the first to hold that blind sales of digital assets are not securities, even if deemed securities in other circumstances, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • 5 Tips To Succeed In A Master Of Laws Program And Beyond

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    As lawyers and recent law school graduates begin their Master of Laws coursework across the country, they should keep a few pointers in mind to get the most out of their programs and kick-start successful careers in their practice areas, says Kelley Miller at Reed Smith.

  • Assessing Whether Jarkesy May Limit FINRA Prosecutions

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Jarkesy v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, holding that civil securities fraud defendants are entitled to jury trials, may cause unpredictable results when applied to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority prosecutions, say Barry Temkin and Kate DiGeronimo at Mound Cotton.

  • When Trauma Colors Testimony: How To Help Witnesses

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    As stress-related mental health issues continue to rise, trial attorneys must become familiar with a few key trauma-informed strategies to help witnesses get back on track — leaning in to the counselor aspect of their vocations, say Ava Hernández and Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.

  • Series

    Being An Opera Singer Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    My journey from the stage to the courtroom has shown that the skills I honed as an opera singer – punctuality, memorization, creativity and more – have all played a vital role in my success as an attorney, says Gerard D'Emilio at GableGotwals.

  • Pros, Cons Of Disclosing Improper Employee Retention Credit

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    Employers considering the Internal Revenue Service’s second voluntary disclosure program, which allows companies to avoid penalties for erroneously claiming employee retention credits for the 2021 tax year by repaying the credits and naming the tax advisers who encouraged these abusive practices, should carefully weigh the program’s benefits against its potential drawbacks, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • Until Congress Acts, EDNY 'Insider Betting' Case Is Premature

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    The Eastern District of New York’s novel wire fraud conspiracy indictment in U.S. v. Pham may have prematurely heralded a new era in federal gambling enforcement, but in the absence of an “insider betting” statute, sportsbooks — not prosecutors — should be responsible for enforcing their terms of use, says attorney Jonathan Savella.

  • How Law Firms Can Avoid 'Collaboration Drag'

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    Law firm decision making can be stifled by “collaboration drag” — characterized by too many pointless meetings, too much peer feedback and too little dissent — but a few strategies can help stakeholders improve decision-making processes and build consensus, says Steve Groom at Miles Mediation.

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