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White Collar
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April 24, 2024
Bid To Sanction DOJ Denied In Novel Insider Trading Case
A California federal judge on Tuesday refused to grant an indicted former healthcare CEO's bid to sanction the government in a case accusing him of a novel form of insider trading, saying the CEO failed to show that he was prejudiced by the government interviewing a potential witness without counsel present.
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April 24, 2024
Kwok Jurors To Be Anonymous Amid Harassment Concerns
Jurors who will decide the criminal fraud and racketeering case against exiled Chinese billionaire Ho Wan Kwok will be anonymous and partially sequestered, a New York federal judge said on Wednesday, ruing that if their identities are revealed they could face the same harassment that befell Kwok's bankruptcy trustee.
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April 24, 2024
Tax Fraud Case Skewed By Prosecutors' Spin, NC Jury Told
Prosecutors and defense attorneys in a tax fraud trial against two lawyers and an insurance agent traded final barbs Wednesday in a North Carolina courtroom before sending the jury to deliberate, with the defendants again defending the tax plan at the center of the government's case and accusing prosecutors of making up facts.
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April 24, 2024
Crypto Mixer Execs Arrested Over $2B In Illicit Transactions
New York federal prosecutors announced Wednesday that they have arrested the co-founders of crypto mixing service Samourai Wallet over their operation of a crypto service that authorities say executed over $2 billion in unlawful transactions.
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April 24, 2024
DEA's Upcoming Decision On Cannabis Likely To Be Litigated
The potential loosening of federal restrictions on marijuana is likely to be litigated for years, and the pro-legalization camp would do well to pool resources to build the most persuasive evidentiary record it can, a leading cannabis advocate said Wednesday.
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April 24, 2024
Backpage Execs Win Partial Acquittal In Prostitution Ad Retrial
An Arizona federal judge has partially overturned jury retrial convictions against two former Backpage.com executives and the now-defunct classifieds website's co-founder, but she refused to acquit the trio of all charges or grant a second retrial in a sprawling criminal case alleging they facilitated Backpage's $500 million prostitution scheme.
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April 24, 2024
Instagram Star Gets 7 Years For Multiple Fraud Schemes
A Brooklyn federal judge on Wednesday imposed a seven-year prison term on a former Instagram influencer who admitted to defrauding members of his Muslim community and others out of over $8 million via a bogus investment fund and Bitcoin theft, saying the crime probably should be featured on the television show "American Greed."
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April 24, 2024
Seagram's Heiress Can't Cut NXIVM Prison Sentence
An heir to the Seagram's liquor fortune has been denied a reduction in her nearly seven-year prison term for her role in the alleged sex cult NXIVM.
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April 24, 2024
Ill. Woman Gets 18 Months For Role In $16M COVID Aid Theft
An Illinois federal judge sentenced a woman to 18 months in prison on Wednesday for her "supporting role" in a scheme to fraudulently obtain at least $16 million in federal coronavirus-relief small business loans, saying that while she wasn't the ringleader of the fraud, she still committed a "crime of greed."
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April 24, 2024
Meet The Attorneys Arguing Trump's Immunity At High Court
A Missouri solicitor general-turned-law firm founder will square off Thursday against a U.S. solicitor general's office veteran who is a member of an elite group of U.S. Supreme Court bar attorneys in a special oral argument session over former President Donald Trump's bid for immunity from federal criminal charges alleging he interfered in the 2020 presidential election.
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April 24, 2024
Feds File Conspiracy Charges In $1M La. 'Romance' Fraud
U.S. prosecutors in Louisiana have charged three Atlanta-area individuals of running "romance scams" to defraud victims of more than $1 million, according to a recently unsealed indictment in Pelican State federal court.
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April 24, 2024
Mass. Golf Course Manager Gets 13 Months For Tax Fraud
A Massachusetts golf course manager was sentenced to 13 months in prison after pleading guilty to tax charges, following prosecutors' accusations that he manipulated contracts with a home developer to deflate their value.
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April 24, 2024
Forex Trader Must Pay $11.8M For Ponzi-Like Scheme
A Michigan federal judge on Tuesday said a purported forex commodity pool operator and its agent must pay more than $11.8 million in penalties and restitution for bilking participants in a Ponzi-like scheme, after the defendants ignored a Commodity Futures Trading Commission suit.
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April 24, 2024
Metals Firm To Pay $66M Over Retirement Coin Scam
A California federal judge has ordered a metals trading firm to pay $66 million and each of its owners to pay between $1 million and $3 million to settle claims that they defrauded hundreds of investors by convincing them to sell their retirement securities to buy gold and silver coins at inflated prices.
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April 24, 2024
Binance Founder Should Get 3 Years, Not Probation, Feds Say
Federal prosecutors asked a Washington federal judge to sentence Binance founder Changpeng Zhao to three years over his failure to implement an effective anti-money laundering program at his crypto exchange, but the founder said jail time isn't necessary since he's already paid "massive" fines and comparable cases haven't resulted in prison sentences.
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April 24, 2024
Bill To Repeal 'Zombie' 1864 Abortion Ban Clears Ariz. House
Legislation that would repeal an 1864 law banning almost all abortions in Arizona narrowly cleared the state House on Wednesday after a handful of Republican lawmakers crossed party lines to help Democrats muscle the measure through following a bruising debate.
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April 24, 2024
Chicago Museum Accuses New York DA Of Art Seizure Overreach
The Art Institute of Chicago has urged a New York criminal court to give back an Egon Schiele drawing seized by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, saying the artwork was never looted by Nazis and prosecutors have no business litigating a civil ownership dispute.
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April 24, 2024
Trump Considered 'Co-Conspirator' In Mich. Elector Probe
Donald Trump and his former lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis are considered unindicted co-conspirators in an alleged plot to cast Michigan's electoral votes for the former president following the 2020 election, a witness revealed Wednesday in criminal proceedings against the so-called false electors.
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April 24, 2024
DEA Agent Who Sold Info To Private Detective Gets 4 Years
A Manhattan federal judge hit a suspended U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent with a four-year prison sentence Wednesday after a jury convicted him of taking bribes from a Florida private investigator in exchange for spilling secrets about criminal investigations of narcotics dealers.
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April 24, 2024
Student Gets 9 Mos. For Stalking China Democracy Activist
A Boston federal judge on Wednesday sentenced a Chinese national to nine months in prison for threatening a fellow student at the Berklee College of Music who had posted a pro-democracy flier on campus, citing a desire to deter other foreigners from engaging in criminal conduct to suppress speech.
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April 24, 2024
Senate OKs Testimony And Evidence For Menendez Trial
U.S. senators and current and former staff members have received approval to testify at the bribery trial of Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, which begins in federal court in New York on May 13.
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April 24, 2024
Baldwin Alleges 'Rust' Prosecutors Abused Justice System
Alec Baldwin is accusing New Mexico prosecutors of committing a "mountain of misconduct" in pursuing a "wildly out of control" involuntary manslaughter case against the "Rust" actor-producer.
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April 24, 2024
Feds Nab Latest OneCoin Plea On $35M Laundering Charge
An eighth defendant has been charged by federal prosecutors over the global OneCoin cryptocurrency scam and has pled guilty to laundering about $35 million in illicit proceeds through bank accounts he controlled in China and Hong Kong.
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April 24, 2024
Trump Says 1890s Ruling Nixes Ga. False Filing Charges
Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday told a Georgia court a 134-year-old U.S. Supreme Court case requires the court to dismiss state charges that he made false filings in federal court in an alleged attempt to overturn the results of the last presidential election.
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April 24, 2024
Trump Can't Subpoena Daniels For Alleged Bias In NY Trial
A New York state judge rejected Donald Trump's "overbroad" subpoena seeking records that the former president said would show bias by adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of her testimony about an alleged hush money payment in 2016.
Expert Analysis
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3 Lessons From Family Dollar's Record $41.7M Guilty Plea
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.
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This Earth Day, Consider How Your Firm Can Go Greener
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.
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What FinCEN Proposed Customer ID Number Change Means
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.
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Circumstantial Evidence Requires A Pointillist Approach
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.
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Discord Stock Case Toss Means Little For Fraud Defendants
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.
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Strategies For Navigating Compliance Monitorships
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.
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At 'SEC Speaks,' A Focus On Rebuilding Trust Amid Criticism
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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Series
NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1
The first quarter of 2024 saw a number of notable legal and regulatory developments that will significantly affect New York's financial services industry, including the New York Department of Financial Services' finalized novel guidance directing banks to continuously monitor the character and fitness of key personnel, say Brian Montgomery and Nathan Lewko at Pillsbury.
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Weisselberg's Perjury At Trial Spotlights Atty Ethics Issues
Former Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg’s recent guilty plea for perjury in the New York attorney general's civil fraud trial should serve as a reminder to attorneys of their ethical duties when they know a client has lied or plans to lie in court, and the potential penalties for not fulfilling those obligations, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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Practicing Law With Parkinson's Disease
This Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Adam Siegler at Greenberg Traurig discusses his experience working as a lawyer with Parkinson’s disease, sharing both lessons on how to cope with a diagnosis and advice for supporting colleagues who live with the disease.
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When Trade Secret Protection And Nat'l Security Converge
The Trump administration's anti-espionage program focused on China is over, but federal enforcement efforts to protect trade secrets and U.S. national security continue, and companies doing business in high-risk jurisdictions need to maintain their compliance programs to avoid the risk of being caught in the crosshairs of an investigation, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.
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Calif. Verdict Showcases SEC's New 'Shadow Trading' Theory
Last week's insider trading verdict, delivered against biopharmaceutical executive Matthew Panuwat by a California federal jury, signals open season on a new area of regulatory enforcement enabled by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's shadow trading theory, say Perrie Weiner and Aaron Goodman at Baker McKenzie.
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Strategies For Defense Attys To Subpoena A Nonparty Witness
Federal criminal defendants seeking to subpoena potentially exculpatory information from nonparty witnesses must satisfy a stringent standard and should consider several often overlooked arguments to assure courts they’re not engaging in a fishing expedition, says James Roberts at Schlam Stone.
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Series
Playing Hockey Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Nearly a lifetime of playing hockey taught me the importance of avoiding burnout in all aspects of life, and the game ultimately ended up providing me with the balance I needed to maintain success in my legal career, says John Riccione at Taft.
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For Lawyers, Pessimism Should Be A Job Skill, Not A Life Skill
A pessimistic mindset allows attorneys to be effective advocates for their clients, but it can come with serious costs for their personal well-being, so it’s crucial to exercise strategies that produce flexible optimism and connect lawyers with their core values, says Krista Larson at Stinson.