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White Collar
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June 04, 2024
DOJ Remains 'Clear Eyed' About No-Poach Prosecutions
A senior U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division prosecutor continued Tuesday to emphasize the importance of criminal cases accusing employers of fixing wages or curtailing recruitment and hiring of workers from rivals, asserting that despite courtroom defeats, enforcers are trying to learn from past failures.
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June 04, 2024
Fla. Biz Owners Indicted On Grant-Writing Fraud Conspiracy
Two northern Florida business owners have been federally indicted on fraud conspiracy-related charges in connection to a scheme in which they allegedly stole nearly $3 million from minority-owned companies by promising grant-writing services that were never delivered.
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June 04, 2024
Hunter Biden Didn't Knowingly Lie On Gun Form, Atty Says
When Robert Hunter Biden bought a gun in October 2018, he denied on a federal form that he was addicted to drugs — not because he was lying to the government, but because he was lying to himself, his attorney said Tuesday in Delaware federal court.
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June 04, 2024
'Miles Guo Stole My Money': NY Jury Hears Of Alleged Fraud
A former supporter of exiled Chinese billionaire Miles Guo testified in Manhattan federal court Tuesday that the purported billionaire conned her into investing more than $100,000 in the media company he founded alongside former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon, describing Guo's interrelated business ventures as a "mafia."
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June 04, 2024
Netflix Settles Central Park 5 Defamation Case Ahead Of Trial
Netflix has settled a lawsuit alleging one of its docuseries defamed a Manhattan prosecutor who was involved in the Central Park Five case, agreeing Tuesday to donate $1 million to a nonprofit dedicated to preventing wrongful convictions.
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June 04, 2024
Garland Defends DOJ Integrity, Demurs On Justices' Ethics
Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday defended the Department of Justice's independence, deflecting questions about ethics scandals at the U.S. Supreme Court and rejecting Donald Trump's "conspiracy theory" that federal prosecutors were the real force behind his recent conviction.
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June 04, 2024
Nurse Staffing Exec Wants Antitrust, Fraud Charges Separated
An indicted home health care staffing executive asked a Nevada federal court to separate the antitrust charge against him for allegedly fixing nurses wages from claims that he concealed the conspiracy and government probe when selling the business for more than $10 million.
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June 04, 2024
Psychiatrist's Billing Scheme Warrants 11 Years, Feds Say
A psychiatrist convicted of billing Medicare and private insurers for $19 million worth of treatments he never provided should serve more than 11 years in prison for the "brazen, greed-fueled" fraud scheme, prosecutors have told a Boston federal judge.
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June 04, 2024
Jury Still Deadlocked Over Carhartt Atty's Embezzlement Trial
A Detroit-area jury remained deadlocked Tuesday as it deliberated for the second day on embezzlement charges against a Michigan attorney who is accused of stealing millions from Carhartt heiress Gretchen Valade when he was trustee of her irrevocable trust.
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June 04, 2024
Fox Rothschild Partner Can't Testify In NJ Fraud Retrial
Fox Rothschild LLP partner Ernest E. Badway can't serve as an expert witness for a businessman facing retrial on securities fraud claims, a New Jersey federal judge ruled Tuesday, siding with the government's contention that the testimony would be irrelevant.
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June 04, 2024
SC Man Gets 7 Years For Threatening Fed. Judge, Courthouse
A South Carolina federal judge on Tuesday granted prosecutors' request for an upward departure from a sentencing advisory by giving a seven-year prison sentence to a man who copped to sending a letter threatening to kill a federal judge and warning that he might blow up a courthouse.
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June 04, 2024
Clinton Says Dismissal Of Trump's RICO Suit Was Warranted
Hillary Clinton and members of the Democratic National Committee urged the Eleventh Circuit not to revive Donald Trump's suit alleging they conspired to push false claims of Russian election interference in 2016, arguing that the dismissal and resulting sanctions for pursuing the frivolous suit should be kept in place.
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June 04, 2024
SDNY Shakes Up Its Leadership After 2 Departures
On the heels of former Southern District of New York Deputy U.S. Attorney Andrea Griswold's transition to the partner ranks of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP, U.S. Attorney for SDNY Damian Williams on Monday announced two newly appointed attorneys to replace her and the office's departed executive assistant U.S. attorney.
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June 04, 2024
Ex-Lumentum VP Traded On Merger Info, SEC Says
The former vice president of product line management at Lumentum has been accused by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of using nonpublic information about a pending merger to trade stock during his time with the laser products company.
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June 04, 2024
Conn. Judicial Marshal Charged With Workers' Comp Fraud
A judicial marshal for the Connecticut Judicial Branch has been arrested and charged with trying to steal $891.52 in workers' compensation benefits after he was injured while trying to restrain a prisoner, prosecutors said.
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June 04, 2024
Baldwin Prosecutors Seek Immunity For Armorer's Testimony
New Mexico state prosecutors asked a judge Monday to grant immunity to a convicted "Rust" film armorer in a bid to compel her to take the stand during actor-producer Alec Baldwin's upcoming involuntary manslaughter trial in the on-set shooting death of a cinematographer.
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June 04, 2024
Archegos Jury Note Demands Info After Atty's COVID Absence
A juror hearing the government's $36 billion market manipulation case against Archegos founder Bill Hwang took the unusual step Tuesday of asking if there was "something we are not being told" after COVID-19 sidelined a lawyer and prompted others to don masks.
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June 04, 2024
Hunter Biden Judge Won't Bar Drug Abuse Related Evidence
A federal judge overruled several objections to evidence admissible in presidential son Hunter Biden's gun purchase trial in Delaware federal court, including Biden's objection to photos purportedly documenting his drug abuse, before the sides launched into opening arguments Tuesday morning.
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June 04, 2024
Research Co. Pays Record $35M Fine In Dog Abuse Case
A clinical research company has agreed to pay a record $35 million fine for violations of the Animal Welfare Act as part of a deal to resolve criminal charges stemming from the abuse of beagles that it bred for medical research.
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June 04, 2024
Ohtani's Ex-Interpreter Cops To Stealing $17M From MLB Star
Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter pled guilty Tuesday to bank and tax fraud charges in a packed Santa Ana, California, federal courtroom, admitting he stole nearly $17 million from the MLB superstar to help pay off massive gambling debts.
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June 03, 2024
FTX, IRS Propose Settling $8B Tax Fight For Just $885M
FTX and the Internal Revenue Service have reached a proposed settlement worth roughly $885 million that would resolve the agency's contention that the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange operator owes $8 billion in taxes, according to a motion filed Monday in Delaware federal bankruptcy court.
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June 03, 2024
Ex-Autonomy CEO 'Had 500M Reasons' For Fraud, Jury Told
Autonomy's ex-CEO Michael Lynch "had 500 million reasons to defraud HP," since he reaped $500 million by selling his company to the tech giant at an inflated price, a federal prosecutor argued Monday during closings for the businessman's criminal trial, while Lynch's lawyer told jurors, "HP was not a victim."
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June 03, 2024
Voir Dire With No Judge Present Persists In State Courts
Data released Friday by the National Center for State Courts revealed that voir dire conducted by lawyers with no judge present in the room persists in 7% of state court trials, but has been virtually eliminated in federal courts.
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June 03, 2024
Mich. Justices Say Mid-Case Appeal Should Have Frozen Trial
The Michigan Supreme Court said Monday that a judge should not have moved ahead with a man's rape trial while an appeal of a pretrial ruling was pending before the high court, but the justices were split over whether the man deserved a new trial as a result.
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June 03, 2024
Colo. Defendants Must Show Real Need To Make DAs Testify
The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday ruled that criminal defendants must have a "compelling and legitimate need" for forcing their prosecutor to testify, concluding that a trial court judge in Boulder County was wrong to force such testimony in an assault case.
Expert Analysis
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Tips For Balanced Board Oversight After A Cyberincident
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's cybersecurity disclosure rules, as well as recent regulatory enforcement actions bringing board governance under scrutiny, continue to push boards toward active engagement in relation to their cyber-oversight role, despite it being unclear what a board's level of involvement should be, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.
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Breaking Down DOJ's Individual Self-Disclosure Pilot Program
The U.S. Department of Justice’s recently announced pilot program aims to incentivize individuals to voluntarily self-disclose corporate misconduct they were personally involved in, complementing a new whistleblower pilot program for individuals not involved in misconduct as well as the government's broader corporate enforcement approach, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.
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Ensuring Nonpublic Info Stays Private Amid SEC Crackdown
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.
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Opinion
Seafarer Detention Under Ship Pollution Law Must Have Limits
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.
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Perspectives
Justices' Forfeiture Ruling Resolves Nonexistent Split
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.
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Binance Ruling Spotlights Muddled Post-Morrison Landscape
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.
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IRS Sings New Tune: Whistleblower Form Update Is Welcome
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.
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Strategies For Challenging A Fla. Grand Jury Report's Release
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.
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First 10b5-1 Insider Trading Case Raises Compliance Issues
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.
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Series
Whitewater Kayaking Makes Me A Better Lawyer
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.
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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.