White Collar

  • January 30, 2026

    Ex-CFO Says Gov't Can't Seize $35M In Funds He Never Had

    A former software executive convicted of illegally transferring $35 million to his own startup, only to lose the money in a cryptocurrency collapse, urged a Washington federal judge to reject the government's effort to seize the funds, arguing that he never personally obtained them.

  • January 30, 2026

    3rd Circ. Backs ​​​​​​​'Modern Icarus' Conviction, Cuts Restitution

    The Third Circuit affirmed Friday the fraud and identify theft conviction of a former clean-energy company CEO who characterized himself as a "modern Icarus" in his appeal, but held that the lower court wrongly ordered him to pay $100,000 in victims' attorney fees in addition to $1.1 million in restitution.

  • January 30, 2026

    SEC Walks Away From Biden-Era Construction Fraud Case

    Greenberg Traurig LLP celebrated a legal victory on Friday as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission abandoned its securities fraud claims against their client, a former construction executive, with a firm leader telling Law360 that a meeting with top SEC staff last year marked a turning point in their favor. 

  • January 30, 2026

    FTC Taps Goodwin Atty For Consumer Protection Deputy Role

    A veteran of Goodwin Procter LLP has been tapped to serve as deputy director of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection, the regulator announced.

  • January 30, 2026

    'I Will Not Stop Now': Don Lemon Defiant After Arrest

    A Los Angeles federal judge released journalist Don Lemon from custody Friday afternoon, rejecting a prosecutor's request that his travel be restricted after he was arrested Thursday on charges related to his coverage of a protest inside a Minnesota church. 

  • January 30, 2026

    9th Circ. Says DOJ Can Withhold VW Grand Jury Records

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday held that the U.S. Department of Justice couldn't be forced to hand over about 6 million Volkswagen documents that were part of a Jones Day investigation into the automaker's 2015 emissions-cheating scandal, as the government obtained them through a grand jury subpoena.

  • January 30, 2026

    Startup Founder Ran $37M 'Ponzi-Like' Scheme, SEC Says

    A Silicon Valley software startup owner faces U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission claims he defrauded at least 100 would-be investors as he raised $37 million, using their money to cover his and his company's expenses in a Ponzi-like scheme.

  • January 30, 2026

    Ex-Mass. Pol Gets Extra Month In Prison For Obstruction

    A former Massachusetts state senator who was two weeks from being released from prison on unemployment and tax fraud charges will spend an additional month in custody for misleading investigators, a federal judge ordered on Friday with "some misgivings."

  • January 30, 2026

    Ex-NC City Council Member Cops To COVID Fraud In Plea Deal

    A former Charlotte City Council member reached a plea deal Friday in her North Carolina federal wire fraud case in which she admits to stealing COVID-19 business relief funds by submitting bogus applications to obtain money she later used to throw herself a birthday party.

  • January 30, 2026

    Ex-TD Bank Employee Cops To Helping Launder Drug Money

    A former TD Bank NA employee who worked in Florida has pleaded guilty to accepting bribes and assisting in a money laundering scheme that illicitly sent millions of dollars in narcotics proceeds from the United States to Colombia while employed by the bank.

  • January 30, 2026

    Ex-Fla. Rep. Says Prosecutor Has 'Personal Animus' In DQ Bid

    A former Florida congressman and a lobbyist charged with failing to register as foreign agents for Venezuela urged a federal court to disqualify an assistant U.S. attorney in the case, saying Friday that the prosecutor has a conflict of interest and "personal animus" toward defense counsel.

  • January 30, 2026

    House To Vote On Reform Of Court Nondisclosure Orders

    Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., fumed at the House on Friday for trying to undo a provision that allows him and other senators investigated by special counsel Jack Smith to sue for damages and held up the government funding vote as a result. But a bill the House is poised to take up next week could alleviate some of his concerns.

  • January 30, 2026

    NCAA Eyes Outreach, Not Overhaul, In Hoops Betting Scandal

    This month's rash of indictments over alleged point-shaving in college basketball seems unlikely to prompt immediate wholesale changes within the NCAA, with the organization instead looking outward to address the threats posed by risky wagers offered on its games.

  • January 30, 2026

    Lindberg Takes $122M Contempt Order To NC Top Court

    A convicted billionaire is asking North Carolina's top court to take up his appeal seeking to overturn a $122 million contempt order against him, saying the lower court's finding that he was able to pay ignored the precarious reality of selling off a complex business asset.

  • January 30, 2026

    1st Circ. Upholds Atty's 7-Year Sentence In Email Fraud Case

    A panel of the First Circuit has affirmed a more than seven-year prison term and $2 million restitution order for an Illinois lawyer convicted of collecting proceeds from a romance and real estate email fraud scheme.

  • January 30, 2026

    Vertical Farm Co. Owner Gets 3 Years For Tax Evasion, Fraud

    The owner of a vertical farming business was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $1 million in restitution after he admitted to evading taxes and lying to his clients, according to a judgment filed Friday in Pennsylvania federal court.

  • January 30, 2026

    Prosecutors Can't Revive RICO Case Against NJ Powerbroker

    The New Jersey Appellate Division on Friday rejected a bid from state prosecutors to revive the criminal racketeering case against South Jersey powerbroker George Norcross and several others, finding that the allegations either did not amount to crimes or were brought too late.

  • January 30, 2026

    Mangione Won't Face Death Penalty, Judge Rules

    A Manhattan federal judge on Friday took the death penalty off the table for Luigi Mangione, dismissing a capital count and setting up an October trial that could see him go to prison for life without the possibility of release.

  • January 29, 2026

    Attacks Haven't Killed Judiciary's AI Rule, May Strengthen It

    Federal judiciary advisers Thursday confronted the most extensive opposition yet in their campaign to ensure the reliability of evidence utilizing artificial intelligence, but the criticism appeared constructive, possibly upping the odds of a digital age addition to U.S. court rules.

  • January 29, 2026

    Trump Sues IRS, Treasury For $10B Over Tax Doc Leak

    President Donald Trump is seeking at least $10 billion in damages in a new lawsuit filed Thursday in Miami federal court that accuses the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Department of the Treasury of failing to prevent a former IRS contractor from leaking Trump's tax returns to news outlets.

  • January 29, 2026

    Fed's Master Account Stance Goes Too Far, 2nd Circ. Told

    The Federal Reserve's claim of broad discretion to cut financial institutions off from master accounts could turn these U.S. payment system gateways into potential tools of partisan warfare, an attorney for a Puerto Rico bank told a Second Circuit panel Thursday.

  • January 29, 2026

    Ex-Morgan Stanley Adviser Conned NBA Players, Jury Hears

    A Manhattan federal prosecutor Thursday told jurors that a former Morgan Stanley adviser defrauded three NBA players out of millions of dollars through investments in wildly marked up life insurance policies, while defense counsel said the case was built on lies by a former client.

  • February 05, 2026

    CORRECTED: Ex-Worker Says Goldstein Offered Crypto, Gifts As IRS Probed

    A former employee at Thomas Goldstein's law firm who resigned after the Internal Revenue Service began investigating the firm said that the SCOTUSblog founder suddenly began offering her bitcoin, payment from case settlements and potential student loan relief after federal agents visited the office. Correction: An earlier version of this story, which was published January 29, mischaracterized the testimony of Special Agent Quoc Tuan Nguyen. Special Agent Nguyen addressed the dates in metadata that were altered in the course of the document production and did not allege Goldstein engaged in misconduct regarding the emails.

  • January 29, 2026

    Ex-Synapse Compliance Chief Settles FINRA Supervisory Case

    The former chief compliance officer of a subsidiary of bankrupt fintech company Synapse has agreed to a $20,000 fine and yearlong suspension to settle the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's allegations he failed to preserve certain books and records ahead of the firm's collapse.

  • January 29, 2026

    FINRA Fines Compliance Chief, Firm For Reg BI Failures

    The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined a broker-dealer and its chief compliance officer for allegedly failing to supervise representatives' recommendations of certain risky and illiquid bonds, with the latter also agreeing to a three-month suspension.

Expert Analysis

  • Where Crypto Mixing Enforcement Is Headed From Here

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    Recent developments involving crypto mixers, particularly the Tornado Cash verdict, demonstrate that the Justice Department's shift away from regulation by prosecution does not mean total immunity, rather reflecting an approach that prioritizes both innovation and accountability, says David Tarras at Tarras Defense.

  • Why Foreign Cos. Should Prep For Increased SEC Oversight

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    With the recent trading suspensions of 10 foreign-based issuers listed on the Nasdaq, an enforcement action against a U.K. security-based swap dealer and the announcement of a cross-border task force, it's clear that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will expand oversight on foreign companies participating in the U.S. capital markets, says Tejal Shah at Cooley.

  • What Narrower FinCEN Reporting Spells For Industry

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    As compliance costs soar, the potential slimming down of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism regime is welcome news for banks, and would allow a shift in resources to ever-evolving cybercrime threats, say attorneys at Quarles & Brady.

  • Revisiting Jury Trial Right May Upend State Regulatory Power

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    Justice Neil Gorsuch’s recent use of a denial of certiorari to call for the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit whether the Seventh Amendment jury trial right extends to states, building off last year's Jarkesy ruling, could foretell a profound change in state regulators' ability to enforce penalties against regulated companies, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • How Nasdaq, SEC Proposals May Transform Listing Standards

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    Both Nasdaq and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have increasingly focused their recent regulatory efforts on small and foreign issuers, particularly those from China, reflecting an intention to strengthen the overall quality of companies accessing U.S. markets, but also potentially introducing a chilling effect on certain issuers, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • Reel Justice: 'Roofman,' Modus Operandi Evidence And AI

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    The recent film “Roofman,” which dramatizes the real-life string of burglaries committed by Jeffrey Manchester, illuminates the legal standards required to support modus operandi evidence — which may soon become complicated by the use of artificial intelligence in crime series detection, says Veronica Finkelstein at Wilmington University School of Law.

  • Series

    Building With Lego Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Building with Lego has taught me to follow directions and adapt to unexpected challenges, and in pairing discipline with imagination, allows me to stay grounded while finding new ways to make complex deals come together, says Paul Levin at Venable.

  • How Banks Can Safely Handle Payments For Gambling Biz

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    As the betting market continues to expand, it's crucial for banks and fintechs to track historical developments in wagering and ongoing prediction markets litigation that can factor into a risk analysis for payment processing with respect to gambling operators, says Laura D'Angelo at Jones Walker.

  • SEC Focused On Fraud As Actions Markedly Declined In 2025

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement activity in its fiscal year 2025 was its lowest in 10 years, reflecting not only a significant decline in the commission's workforce, but also Chairman Paul Atkins' stated focus on fraud and individual wrongdoing and a new approach to crypto regulation, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Networking 101

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    Cultivating a network isn't part of the law school curriculum, but learning the soft skills needed to do so may be the key to establishing a solid professional reputation, nurturing client relationships and building business, says Sharon Crane at Practising Law Institute.

  • Defeating Estoppel-Based Claims In Legal Malpractice Actions

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    State supreme court cases from recent years have addressed whether positions taken by attorneys in an underlying lawsuit can be used against them in a subsequent legal malpractice action, providing a foundation to defeat ex-clients’ estoppel claims, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin and Lodgen.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: How It Works In Massachusetts

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    Since its founding in 2000, the Massachusetts Business Litigation Session's expertise, procedural flexibility and litigant-friendly case management practices have contributed to the development of a robust body of commercial jurisprudence, say James Donnelly at Mirick O’Connell, Felicia Ellsworth at WilmerHale and Lisa Wood at Foley Hoag.

  • Why Appellees Should Write Their Answering Brief First

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    Though counterintuitive, appellees should consider writing their answering briefs before they’ve ever seen their opponent’s opening brief, as this practice confers numerous benefits related to argument structure, time pressures and workflow, says Joshua Sohn at the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • Navigating DEA Quotas: Key To Psychedelics Industry Growth

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    As new compounds like DOI enter the Schedule I landscape, manufacturers who anticipate U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration quota regulations, and build quota management into their broader strategy, will be best equipped to meet the growing demand, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell and Jaime Dwight at Promega.

  • Questions To Ask Your Client When Fraud Taints Financing

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    As elevated risk levels yield fertile conditions for fraud in financing transactions, asking corporate clients the right investigative questions can help create an action plan, bring parties together and help clients successfully survive any scam, says Mark Kirsons at Morgan Lewis.

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