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White Collar
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December 03, 2024
Coinbase Says It Won't Use Firms That Hire Crypto Enforcers
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase made clear that it won't work with law firms that employ former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission attorneys who led the charge on crypto enforcement suits, singling out Milbank LLP for its hiring of ex-SEC enforcement director Gurbir Grewal.
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December 03, 2024
Atlanta Imaging Co., Ex-CEO To Pay $5M In FCA Settlement
An Atlanta-based diagnostic imaging company and its former CEO have agreed to pay $5.25 million to end claims that the firm ran a referral kickback scheme in which it buttered up doctors with sports tickets and booze in exchange for sending patients its way, the U.S. Department of Justice has announced.
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December 03, 2024
Unit Of World's Largest Bank Avoids SEC Penalty In Cyber Case
A broker-dealer subsidiary of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China will escape civil penalties in a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over its books and records because of the firm's remediation and cooperation, the agency says.
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December 03, 2024
DOJ Plans To Seize $3.4M From Sanctioned Russian Oligarch
The U.S. Department of Justice is looking to seize $3.4 million from Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska based on the sale of a music studio in Burbank, California, saying he must forfeit the sale proceeds because they're linked to his sanctions violations.
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December 03, 2024
Ex-Lender Agrees To $1M FDIC Order After Enforcement Battle
A retired small business financier has agreed to pay $1 million in restitution to end administrative Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. allegations of a fraudulent bridge loan scheme, with the agreement coming after his most recent constitutional challenges to the agency's structure fell flat in October.
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December 03, 2024
Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action
December's appellate forecast calls for a squall of showdowns in a tiny time period before the holidays, including arguments involving recent U.S. Supreme Court cases, Big Tech's patents and popular purveyors of health food. In addition, winds of change are swirling around the White House's litigation posture and judicial nominations, and we'll quiz you on the latter in this edition of Wheeling & Appealing.
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December 03, 2024
Calif. Man Charged With Shipping Firearms To North Korea
Federal authorities on Tuesday arrested a man in San Bernardino County, California, accusing him of illegally exporting firearms, ammunition and other military equipment to North Korea by concealing the items inside shipping containers departing from Long Beach.
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December 03, 2024
Judge Denies News Orgs. Bid To Unseal FTX Customer Names
A Delaware federal judge on Tuesday said he wouldn't reverse an order allowing defunct crypto platform FTX Trading Ltd. to keep customer names out of public bankruptcy filings, rejecting an appeal from major news outlets to unseal the information and writing that sealing the information preserved FTX's assets and protected creditors from cybercrime.
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December 03, 2024
Partner Of Ex-Abercrombie CEO Denies Guilt, Gets $10M Bail
The romantic partner of former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Michael Jeffries was released on $10 million bond Tuesday after pleading not guilty in New York federal court to charges he helped operate a prostitution and trafficking ring that preyed on male models.
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December 03, 2024
Insurance Execs Charged With $250M Fake Policy Scheme
An insurance company and two executives issued bogus insurance policies purporting to offer over $250 million in coverage to companies and homeowners, according to an indictment announced by the Manhattan district attorney Tuesday.
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December 03, 2024
Former FirstEnergy CEO Rips SEC's 'Belated' Suit Against Him
Former FirstEnergy Corp. chief executive officer Charles Jones slammed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement action against him over his alleged part in the company's widely publicized bribery scandal relating to its nuclear program, calling the suit "belated" and arguing the agency failed to back up its claims.
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December 03, 2024
Fla.'s 'Mother Teresa' Gets 20 Years For Ponzi Scheme
A Florida federal judge on Tuesday accused the U.S. attorney's office of "abdicating its responsibility" by agreeing to a maximum of 20 years in prison for Johanna Garcia, the former MJ Capital CEO known as "Mother Teresa" who pled guilty to running a $190 million Ponzi scheme.
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December 03, 2024
Trump Argues Immunity Extends To Local Prosecutions
President-elect Donald Trump told the New York state judge presiding over his hush money case that the criminal charges and guilty verdict should be thrown out, arguing in an expansive motion released Tuesday that allowing a local prosecution to proceed would upset the republic's balance of power.
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December 03, 2024
'Bitcoin Jesus' Calls $48M Tax Dodging Case Unconstitutional
An early Bitcoin investor known as Bitcoin Jesus asked a California federal judge Tuesday to dismiss charges that he dodged approximately $48 million in taxes by filing false tax returns and concealing how much cryptocurrency he owned, arguing that the charges are unconstitutional.
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December 03, 2024
Harvey Weinstein Gets March Trial Date In LA Civil Rape Suit
A California judge on Tuesday set a March trial date for a civil lawsuit brought by a woman whom Harvey Weinstein was convicted of raping, saying the disgraced movie producer's age and poor medical condition outweigh the plaintiff's desire to pause proceedings until a criminal appeal concludes.
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December 03, 2024
Celsius Founder Cops To Fraud That Sunk $25B Crypto Lender
Celsius Network founder Alex Mashinsky told a Manhattan federal judge Tuesday that he lied when he told the public that the fallen $25 billion crypto lender's tokens were a safe investment, pleading guilty to fraud charges ahead of a January criminal trial.
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December 03, 2024
Former OFAC Official Joins Hughes Hubbard In DC
Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP has announced that a former lead sanctions investigator and analyst at the Office of Foreign Assets Control has joined the firm's Washington, D.C., office as a partner in its sanctions, export controls and anti-money laundering practice.
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December 03, 2024
McGuireWoods Grows DC Office With White Collar Duo
McGuireWoods LLP said Tuesday that it has hired the leader of litigation boutique McCool Law PLLC, marking the seventh partner with a history at the U.S. Department of Justice to join the firm this year.
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December 03, 2024
OneTaste Execs Say Former Member's Journals Fabricated
Two former OneTaste executives facing forced labor conspiracy charges claim a former employee's journals were fabricated for a Netflix documentary about the sexual wellness company and were further edited by an FBI agent before being produced to the defense in discovery.
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December 03, 2024
Tax, Insurance Cos. Owner Gets 3 Years For $1M Tax Evasion
The owner of a tax business who also ran an insurance company the government says provided fraudulent vehicle registrations for unauthorized immigrants was sentenced to three years in prison for failing to pay more than $1 million in taxes, federal authorities in North Carolina announced Tuesday.
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December 03, 2024
Veterans Group Challenges Exclusion From DEA Pot Hearing
A veterans group is challenging the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's decision to deny it a spot among 25 participants in hearings exploring whether to reschedule cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act, saying veterans have been deprived of an advocate for a conclusion that would best suit their needs.
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December 02, 2024
Girardi Won't Get New Fraud Trial Despite Memory Claims
A California federal judge on Monday denied Tom Girardi's bid for a new trial after a jury found he misappropriated $15 million worth of client settlement funds, standing by a prior assessment that the disbarred attorney was "exaggerating" symptoms of mild cognitive impairment.
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December 02, 2024
BIA Aims To Exclude Evidence In Assault Liability Case
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is looking to throw out an array of evidence in a Montana federal court dispute over whether the agency is liable for a former officer's sexual assault of a Northern Cheyenne woman, arguing most of the information is based on hearsay, undisclosed opinion and privileged testimony.
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December 02, 2024
Government Mole Faces Tough Cross From Madigan's Atty
An attorney for former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan got his chance Monday to question the ex-Chicago alderman who recorded his client while cooperating with the government, pushing him to admit that Madigan never explicitly conditioned his support on legal business for his law firm or told the alderman to vote against developers who didn't hire him for tax work.
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December 02, 2024
SEC Crypto Cases To Face Review Under Trump
President-elect Donald Trump's promises of a friendlier approach to the digital asset industry means a review is coming for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's controversial crypto suits, but experts agreed that this doesn't mean enforcement actions in the space will grind to a halt.
Expert Analysis
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Bankruptcy Trustees Need More FinCEN Guidance
Recent FinCEN consent orders in two North Carolina bankruptcy cases show that additional guidance is necessary for most types of fiduciaries overseeing bankruptcy estates or other insolvency vehicles, say Brian Shaw and David Doyle at Cozen O’Connor.
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Jarkesy Ruling May Redefine Jury Role In Patent Fraud
Regardless of whether the U.S. Supreme Court’s Jarkesy ruling implicates the direction of inequitable conduct, which requires showing that the patentee made material statements or omissions to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the decision has created opportunities for defendants to argue more substantively for jury trials than ever before, say attorneys at Cadwalader.
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3 Leadership Practices For A More Supportive Firm Culture
Traditional leadership styles frequently amplify the inherent pressures of legal work, but a few simple, time-neutral strategies can strengthen the skills and confidence of employees and foster a more collaborative culture, while supporting individual growth and contribution to organizational goals, says Benjamin Grimes at BKG Leadership.
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The OIG Report: DOJ's Own Whistleblower Program Has Holes
A recent Office of the Inspector General memo found that the U.S. Department of Justice’s whistleblower program failed to protect federal employees whose security clearances were allegedly suspended in retaliation — a serious cause for concern that could have a potential chilling effect on would-be whistleblowers, says Diana Shaw at Wiley.
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Attorneys Can Benefit From Reverse-Engineering Their Cases
Trial advocacy programs often teach lawyers to loosely track the progression of a lawsuit during preparation — case analysis, then direct examination, then cross-examination, openings and closings — but reverse-engineering cases by working backward from opening and closing statements can streamline the process and also improve case strategy, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Hyperlinked Documents
Recent rulings show that counsel should engage in early discussions with clients regarding the potential of hyperlinked documents in electronically stored information, which will allow for more deliberate negotiation of any agreements regarding the scope of discovery, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Enron Law Is Still Threat To Execs After Justices' Jan. 6 Ruling
While the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Fischer v. U.S. decision is a setback for prosecutors’ obstruction charges against Jan. 6 defendants, it also represents a strong endorsement of the post-Enron Sarbanes-Oxley Act’s original purpose, serving as a corporate compliance reminder for executives, say Michael Peregrine and Ashley Hoff at McDermott.
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Loper Bright Limits Federal Agencies' Ability To Alter Course
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to dismantle Chevron deference also effectively overrules its 2005 decision in National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X, greatly diminishing agencies' ability to change regulatory course from one administration to the next, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.
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What Cos. Should Note In DOJ's New Whistleblower Pilot
After the U.S. Department of Justice unveiled a new whistleblower pilot program last week — continuing its efforts to incentivize individual reporting of misconduct — companies should review the eligibility criteria, update their compliance programs and consider the risks and benefits of making their own self-disclosures, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Series
After Chevron: New Lines Of Attack For FCA Defense Bar
Loper Bright has given defense counsel new avenues to overcome the False Claims Act elements of falsity and scienter, as any FCA claim based upon ambiguous statutory terms can no longer stand solely on agency regulations to establish the statute's meaning, which is itself necessary to satisfy the FCA's basic requirements, says Elisha Kobre at Bradley Arant.
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Autonomy Execs' Acquittal Highlights Good Faith Instruction
The recent acquittal of two former Autonomy executives demonstrates that a good faith jury instruction can be the cornerstone of an effective defense strategy in white collar criminal cases, in part because the concept of good faith is a human experience every juror can relate to, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.
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Series
Teaching Scuba Diving Makes Me A Better Lawyer
As a master scuba instructor, I’ve learned how to prepare for the unexpected, overcome fears and practice patience, and each of these skills – among the many others I’ve developed – has profoundly enhanced my work as a lawyer, says Ron Raether at Troutman Pepper.
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3 Ways To Lower Insider Trading Risk After First 10b5-1 Case
In light of the U.S. Department of Justice's insider trading prosecution against the former CEO of Ontrack based on alleged abuse of a Rule 10b5-1 safe harbor plan — designed to allow executives to sell their companies' securities without liability — companies and individuals should take steps to avoid enacting similar plans in bad faith, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act
As the Voting Rights Act reaches its 59th anniversary Tuesday, it must urgently be reinforced against recent efforts to dismantle voter protections, and lawyers can pitch in immediately by volunteering and taking on pro bono work to directly help safeguard the right to vote, says Anna Chu at We The Action.
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New Russia Sanctions Law: Bank Compliance Insights
Financial institutions must familiarize themselves with the new reporting obligations imposed by the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians Act, a recent law that authorizes seizures of Russian sovereign assets under U.S. jurisdiction, say attorneys at Seward & Kissel.