White Collar

  • July 29, 2025

    Tornado Founder Rests Case In $1B Crypto Laundering Trial

    Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm on Tuesday rested his defense case, without taking the stand, in a trial over allegations that he and others facilitated the laundering of more than $1 billion via the cryptocurrency tumbler and ran afoul of U.S. sanctions on North Korea.

  • July 29, 2025

    2nd Circ. Says Russian Helped Oligarch Dodge Sanctions

    A lower court correctly denied a Russian citizen's bid to dismiss an indictment purporting that she joined in a conspiracy to help an oligarch evade sanctions imposed by former President Barack Obama against people who contributed to the national emergency in Ukraine, a Second Circuit panel has found.

  • July 29, 2025

    Pa. Bank Slams Ponzi Investors' 'Search For Scapegoats'

    A Pennsylvania-based community bank has urged a federal judge to dismiss a proposed class action accusing it of enabling a $155 million Ponzi scheme carried out by a Pennsylvania dentist and a Texas attorney, arguing that the case attempts to unconstitutionally import Texas securities law into the Keystone State.

  • July 29, 2025

    Ill. Speaker Should Serve Prison Time As Ordered, Feds Urge

    Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan should serve his seven-and-a-half-year corruption sentence as scheduled because he can't cite any particularly substantial appellate issues that would call for such relief, let alone convince the Seventh Circuit to reverse his entire corruption conviction, federal prosecutors argued Monday.

  • July 29, 2025

    Trump Calls 'Blue Slip' Process 'Probably Unconstitutional'

    President Donald Trump on Tuesday railed against the long-standing tradition for home state senators to have essentially veto power over U.S. attorney and district court nominee picks and called on U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, to abandon the process.

  • July 29, 2025

    Senate Confirms DOJ Official Emil Bove To 3rd Circ.

    The Senate voted 50-49 on Tuesday night to confirm Emil Bove, one of President Donald Trump's former attorneys and a top official at the U.S. Department of Justice, as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

  • July 29, 2025

    Prime Core Ch. 11 Trust Seeks Return Of $2.1M In Transfers

    The litigation trust for Prime Core Technologies has sued to claw back $2.1 million in cash and cryptocurrency paid out to customers in the weeks before its bankruptcy filing, saying other creditors are facing a serious recovery shortfall worsened by the payments.

  • July 29, 2025

    Crypto Mixer Execs To Change Plea In Samourai Wallet Case

    The two co-founders of crypto mixer Samourai Wallet told a New York federal judge on Tuesday that they intend to change their not guilty pleas after initially fighting charges that they facilitated over $2 billion in unlawful transactions.

  • July 29, 2025

    REIT Shareholders File 'Improper Lending' Suit Against Execs

    Two Arbor Realty Trust Inc. shareholders hit several of the real estate investment trust's executives, including its president and CEO Ivan Kaufman, with a derivative suit on Tuesday alleging they made the REIT use "improper lending practices" that saddled the company "with a severely distressed loan portfolio."

  • July 29, 2025

    Convicted Crypto CEO Tied To Abramoff Gets 7-Year Sentence

    A California federal judge Tuesday sentenced a cryptocurrency company founder who committed a multimillion-dollar fraud in a scheme also involving disgraced ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff to seven years imprisonment — less than the 17 years prosecutors sought — in light of the man's childhood trauma, mental health and lack of criminal history.

  • July 29, 2025

    Disbarred Pa. Atty Admits Forging Federal Judge's Signature

    A disbarred central Pennsylvania attorney has admitted to federal charges of forging a U.S. district judge's signature on fake court orders he gave to a client showing he had been awarded monetary sanctions in a case that was never actually filed, federal prosecutors announced Monday.

  • July 29, 2025

    Judge Breaks Up Review Of Challenge To New Jersey US Atty

    The chief judge for Pennsylvania's Middle District, who is overseeing a drug trafficking case in New Jersey, on Tuesday evening issued a directive bifurcating a challenge to acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba's authority in order to analyze whether the defendants are entitled to relief if she was illegally appointed.

  • July 29, 2025

    Justices Can Fix Circuit Split On Compassionate Release

    The First Step Act drastically reduced the mandatory minimum sentences for certain federal crimes, but it will be up to the U.S. Supreme Court to settle a 6-4 circuit split over whether courts can consider those changes when weighing a prisoner's compassionate release, attorneys tell Law360.

  • July 29, 2025

    Ga. Senators Accuse DA Of 'Stonewalling' In Testimony Fight

    A Georgia Senate committee investigating Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' prosecution of President Donald Trump and others in an election interference case told the state's Supreme Court that her bid to escape its subpoena for her to testify before the committee seeks "to reward her stonewalling" and "delay tactics."

  • July 29, 2025

    DOJ Says Wis. Judge Not Immune To Charges In ICE Incident

    A Wisconsin state judge cannot duck criminal charges for allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant evade arrest in her courtroom, because judicial immunity applies only to civil suits and official judicial acts, the U.S. Department of Justice told a federal judge Tuesday.

  • July 29, 2025

    NY Judge Faces Recusal Request Over Gilead Stock Holdings

    A criminal defendant who admitted to taking part in a black market HIV drug scam has asked the Manhattan federal judge presiding over his case to step away after the judge disclosed brief ownership of nearly 9,000 shares of Gilead Sciences Inc., while the defendant was fighting her $2 million restitution order.

  • July 29, 2025

    What To Watch As Deadline Looms For Jay Clayton At SDNY

    The clock is ticking closer to the expiration of Jay Clayton's appointment as interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, setting him on a likely collision course with the district's judges, who have the power to vote on whether he can continue overseeing one of the top prosecutorial offices in the country.

  • July 29, 2025

    Court Didn't Justify Seals In OneCoin Fraud, 2nd Circ. Says

    A New York district court inadequately justified its decision to seal exhibits attached to a sentencing memorandum filed by an accomplice in the global OneCoin cryptocurrency scheme, the Second Circuit ruled in a published opinion, ordering the court to reconsider.

  • July 29, 2025

    9th Circ. Clarifies Kickback Boundaries For Referral Bonuses

    A Ninth Circuit opinion affirming a California man's fraud conviction provides some clarity — and a warning — to the owners of medical testing laboratories wondering what sales tactics are allowed under a 2018 kickbacks law.

  • July 29, 2025

    'Hollywood Con Queen' Fails To Quash US Extradition

    An Indonesian man lost his appeal Tuesday to stave off extradition from the U.K. to the U.S. to face accusations he impersonated female Hollywood executives to con more than 300 film industry workers into traveling to Indonesia for false movie projects.

  • July 28, 2025

    Cadence To Pay $140M For Illegal Chip Design Exports To China

    Semiconductor technology company Cadence Design Systems agreed to pay over $140 million and plead guilty to criminal conspiracy to commit export control violations to resolve charges that it exported semiconductor design tools to a restricted Chinese military university, U.S. Department of Justice officials announced Monday.

  • July 28, 2025

    SEC Pushes $630K Penalty Against Atty In Stock Fraud Suit

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission renewed its motion Monday for a more than $630,000 civil penalty and final judgment against securities attorney Henry Sargent, after years of litigation in Massachusetts federal court alleging he orchestrated a sham merger, saying Sargent "has never recognized the wrongfulness of his conduct."

  • July 28, 2025

    SEC Gets Early Win In Fraud Case Against Ex-Citi, Cetera Rep

    A New York federal court has granted the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission a summary judgment win in the regulator's securities fraud case against a former Citigroup and Cetera registered representative, in a case accusing her of stealing $2.4 million from an elderly client.

  • July 28, 2025

    11th Circ. Overturns 15-Year Sentence Over Deportation Error

    An Eleventh Circuit panel on Monday vacated a 15-year sentence for a man who pled guilty to drug and gun charges, saying the trial court judge went five years over prosecutors' recommendations based on the erroneous belief that the defendant was previously deported.

  • July 28, 2025

    Qui Tam Relator's Atty Admits Fake Citations In DC FCA Suit

    An attorney representing the estate of a Washington, D.C.-based construction company's former director in a False Claims Act suit launched against the contractor has withdrawn from the suit due to "recent failure to provide adequate representation" after his co-counsel alleged that the attorney used AI to file a brief "riddled with citation errors."

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Playing The Violin Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing violin in a string quartet reminds me that flexibility, ambition, strong listening skills, thoughtful leadership and intentional collaboration are all keys to a successful legal practice, says Julie Park at MoFo.

  • DOJ Enforcement Trends To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2025

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    Recent investigations, settlements and a declination to prosecute suggest that controlling the flow of goods into and out of the country, and redressing what the administration sees as reverse discrimination, are likely to be at the forefront of the U.S. Department of Justice's enforcement agenda the rest of this year, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • Federal Regs Order May Spell Harsher FDCA Enforcement

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    A recent executive order aimed at reducing criminal prosecutions of those who unknowingly violate complex federal regulations may actually lead to more aggressive felony indictments under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, but companies and executives can mitigate risks by following several key principals, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

  • DOJ's 1st M&A Declination Shows Value Of Self-Disclosures

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recent decision not to charge private equity firm White Deer Management — the first such declination under an M&A safe harbor policy announced last year — signals that even in high-priority national security matters, the DOJ looks highly upon voluntary self-disclosures, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Self-Care

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    Law schools don’t teach the mental, physical and emotional health maintenance tools necessary to deal with the profession's many demands, but practicing self-care is an important key to success that can help to improve focus, manage stress and reduce burnout, says Rachel Leonard​​​​​​​ at MG+M.

  • ABA Opinion Makes It A Bit Easier To Drop A 'Hot Potato'

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    The American Bar Association's recent ethics opinion clarifies when attorneys may terminate clients without good cause, though courts may still disqualify a lawyer who drops a client like a hot potato, so sending a closeout letter is always a best practice, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • 3rd-Party Audit Tactics To Improve Export Control Compliance

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    Companies should take a strategic approach to third-party audits in response to the Trump administration's ramp-up of export control enforcement with steps that strengthen their ability to identify the control weaknesses of distributors, dealers and resellers, say Michael Huneke at Hughes Hubbard, and John Rademacher and Abby Williams at Secretariat Advisors.

  • Evading DOJ Crosshairs As Data Security Open Season Starts

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    As the U.S. Department of Justice begins enforcing its new data security program — aimed at preventing foreign adversaries from accessing government-related and personal sensitive data — U.S. companies will need to understand the program’s contours and potential pitfalls to avoid potential civil liability or criminal scrutiny, say attorneys at Cohen & Gresser.

  • How Trump Admin Treasury Policies Are Reaching Banks

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    The Treasury Department has emerged as an important facilitator of the Trump administration's financial policies affecting banks, which are now facing deregulation domestically and the use of international economic authorities in cross-border trade and investment, say attorneys at Davis Polk.

  • Series

    My Opera And Baseball Careers Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Though participating in opera and the world of professional baseball often pulls me away from the office, my avocations improve my legal career by helping me perform under scrutiny, prioritize team success, and maintain joy and perspective at work, says Adam Unger at Herrick Feinstein.

  • A Look At DOJ's Dropped Case Against Early Crypto Operator

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    The prosecution of an early crypto exchange operator over alleged unlicensed money transmission was recently dropped in Indiana federal court, showcasing that the U.S. Justice Department may be limiting the types of enforcement cases it will bring against digital asset firms, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Policy Shifts Bring New Anti-Money Laundering Challenges

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    In the second half of 2025, the U.S. anti-money laundering regulatory landscape is poised for decisive shifts in enforcement priorities, compliance expectations and legislative developments — so investment advisers and other financial institutions should take steps to prepare for potential new obligations and areas of risk, say attorneys at Linklaters.

  • 8 Ways Lawyers Can Protect The Rule Of Law In Their Work

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    Whether they are concerned with judicial independence, regulatory predictability or client confidence, lawyers can take specific meaningful actions on their own when traditional structures are too slow or too compromised to respond, says Angeli Patel at the Berkeley Center of Law and Business.

  • Kousisis Concurrence Maps FCA Defense To Anti-DEI Suits

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    Justice Clarence Thomas' recent concurrence in Kousisis v. U.S. lays out how federal funding recipients could use the high standard for materiality in government fraud cases to fight the U.S. Justice Department’s threatened False Claims Act suits against payees deviating from the administration’s anti-DEI policies, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

  • Is SEC Moving Away From Parallel Insider Trading Cases?

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's apparent lack of follow-up in four recent criminal cases of insider trading brought by the Justice Department suggests the SEC may be reconsidering the expense and effort of bringing parallel civil charges for insider trading, say attorneys at Dentons.

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