White Collar

  • January 28, 2025

    Chinese Pair Sought To Fuel Fentanyl 'Grand Lab,' Feds Say

    Prosecutors told a Manhattan federal jury Tuesday that two Chinese nationals sought to furnish chemicals for what they thought would be a huge fentanyl hub in New York City, pointing to what they called damning evidence such as recordings, texts and cryptocurrency transfers.

  • January 28, 2025

    Ex-DOJ Criminal Division Deputy Leader Joins Sidley In DC

    Sidley Austin LLP announced Tuesday that it has deepened its white collar defense bench in Washington, D.C., with a partner who formerly served as a deputy assistant attorney general in the criminal division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • January 28, 2025

    Menendez Says Any Prison Time Should Wait For Appeal

    Former U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez told a Manhattan federal judge ahead of his sentencing hearing Wednesday that any prison term should be delayed until after his appeal of his bribery conviction plays out, saying the Second Circuit could well rule in his favor.

  • January 28, 2025

    Ex-SDNY Jeffrey Epstein Prosecutor Returns To Quinn Emanuel

    A former federal attorney who led prosecutions against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell has rejoined Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP as an of counsel in New York, the firm announced Tuesday.

  • January 28, 2025

    Pa. Justices Won't Hear 3rd Circ. Pot Deportation Question

    In a split decision, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has opted not to take up a question from the Third Circuit on whether a man from the Dominican Republic can be automatically deported for a possession with intent to deliver charge without specific proof of the drug he had in his possession.

  • January 28, 2025

    White Collar Group Of The Year: Gibson Dunn

    Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP secured a $4.3 billion plea agreement to resolve an investigation by multiple agencies into cryptocurrency exchange Binance and achieved a no-penalty resolution for Mercedes-Benz in the "Dieselgate" scandal that caused other car companies to pay out billions, earning the firm a spot among the 2024 Law360 White Collar Groups of the Year. 

  • January 28, 2025

    Wealth Manager Cops To Funding Lifestyle With Client Money

    A suburban Philadelphia investment adviser pled guilty in federal court Tuesday morning to charges that he stole more than $20 million of his clients' money, which he spent on international travel, country club dues, and a stake in a New Jersey mini golf course.

  • January 27, 2025

    Anadarko Prevails In La. Kickback Defense Coverage Suit

    An environmental remediation company should defend and indemnify Anadarko Petroleum Corp. in a decade-old Louisiana kickback lawsuit, a Texas federal court judge has ruled.

  • January 27, 2025

    Palo Alto Networks Inside-Trader Wins Resentencing At 9th Circ.

    The Ninth Circuit on Monday upheld securities fraud convictions of a former Palo Alto Networks engineer for raking in $7 million by trading on stolen inside information but remanded the case for resentencing, saying a lower court was wrong to use his trading gains to estimate the cybersecurity company's loss.

  • January 27, 2025

    Crypto Exchange KuCoin Pleads Out, Agrees To Pay $297M

    Cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin on Monday pled guilty and agreed to pay $297 million for failing to implement anti-money laundering protocols and allowing more than $5 billion worth of criminal funds to flow through its trading platform.

  • January 27, 2025

    Fund Tells Jury No Need To Return $11M Short-Swing Profits

    A hedge fund told a Denver federal jury Monday that the $11 million it earned from the short-swing sales of a biopharmaceutical company's stock doesn't need to be returned because the transactions fall under an exception to securities law on insider trading.

  • January 27, 2025

    FOIA Lawsuit Seeks Marijuana Docs From Health Officials

    A nonprofit that advocates for government transparency has filed a federal lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act seeking to push federal health regulators to release internal communications related to their recommendation to loosen restrictions on marijuana.

  • January 27, 2025

    Justice Thomas Slams 6th Circ. In Habeas Petition Dissent

    U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on Monday called out the Sixth Circuit for "repeated disrespect" for the law in granting what he said was inappropriate habeas relief, a practice he said is costly to the justice system and victims in a dissent from a denial of writ of certiorari.

  • January 27, 2025

    Feds' Madigan Informant Is A 'Malignant Tumor,' Jury Told

    An attorney for ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan took aim Monday at the former Chicago alderman called as the government's star witness in Madigan's criminal racketeering trial, calling him "a malignant tumor at the heart of this case" and urging jurors not to trust his testimony as they prepare to deliberate on his client's fate.

  • January 27, 2025

    Archegos CFO Gets 8 Years For $100M Stock Fraud Ploy

    The former chief financial officer of defunct hedge fund Archegos on Monday was sentenced in New York federal court to eight years in prison for his role in a $100 billion scheme to manipulate the market and defraud banks.

  • January 27, 2025

    9 Charged In Alleged $200M Chinese Smuggling Scheme

    Nine people were charged by Los Angeles federal prosecutors with scheming to smuggle as much as $200 million worth of counterfeit luxury items into the United States through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

  • January 27, 2025

    So-Called 'Face' Of $14M Crypto Ponzi Scheme Gets 2½ Years

    A Manhattan federal judge sentenced a Florida house cleaner to 2½ years in prison Monday for her role in promoting the $14 million, international Forcount cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme to fellow Latinos over three years.

  • January 27, 2025

    4 Things The Menendez Trial Judge Will Weigh At Sentencing

    When he sentences former U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez on federal bribery and corruption charges Wednesday in New York federal court, U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein will weigh the politician's lifetime of public service against the stark evidence of his crimes.

  • January 27, 2025

    Meet The Attys Surrounding Pa. Wealth Manager In Fraud Case

    By the time Scott Mason and his company Rubicon Wealth Management were hit with criminal and regulatory enforcement claims alleging he stole $20 million from clients, the suburban Philadelphia wealth manager was already defending multiple civil lawsuits in Pennsylvania state court.

  • January 27, 2025

    SCOTUSblog Publisher Pleads Not Guilty To Tax Crimes

    U.S. Supreme Court advocate and SCOTUSblog co-founder Tom Goldstein pled not guilty in Maryland federal court on Monday to charges that he schemed to evade taxes and used funds from his boutique law firm to cover gambling debts.

  • January 27, 2025

    Widow Says Century Homebuilders' Atty Conspired To Move Assets

    The widow of Sergio Pino, the late founder and CEO of Century Homebuilders Group LLC, has sued Century Homebuilders' attorney, accusing him of setting up fraudulent transfers of the company's assets during the Pinos' contentious divorce to keep her from getting her half of the company.

  • January 27, 2025

    Oklahoma Tribes Want In On DOJ's Jurisdiction Lawsuits

    Three Native American tribes want to back the Department of Justice in its challenges to two Oklahoma district attorneys in an effort to stop them from prosecuting tribal citizens for crimes committed in Indian Country, arguing that the ongoing threat interferes with tribes' rights to enforce their own laws.

  • January 27, 2025

    Biz Adviser, Relative Beat SEC's Investment Fraud Claims

    A Boston federal judge rejected the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's claims that a business adviser and his brother-in-law traded penny stocks to further a $2.3 million fraud scheme.

  • January 27, 2025

    High Court Won't Mull 'Cruel And Unusual' Miss. Voting Ban

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge to sections of the Mississippi Constitution that permanently bar people convicted of certain felonies from voting and which a federal court of appeals had found violated the Eighth Amendment's prohibitions against "cruel and unusual punishment."

  • January 27, 2025

    Feds Want 10 Yrs. For Atty Over Attempted Embassy Bombing

    Federal prosecutors are seeking a 10-year prison sentence for a former Florida defense attorney who pled guilty to blowing up a sculpture in Texas and trying to bomb the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., citing the extreme harm he was trying to inflict.

Expert Analysis

  • What's Next For The CFTC After The Election

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    While much of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's enforcement actions in line with its traditional priorities will continue as usual in the near term, postelection leadership changes at the CFTC and new congressional priorities may alter the commission's regulatory framework in 2025 and beyond — particularly its oversight of crypto, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Series

    Being A Navy Reservist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Serving this country in uniform has not only been one of the greatest honors of my life, but it has also provided me with opportunities to broaden my legal acumen and interpersonal skills in ways that have indelibly contributed to my civilian practice, says Phillip Smith at Weinberg Wheeler.

  • Cos. Should Inventory Issues To Prep For New Congress

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    As the legislative and oversight agendas of the 119th Congress come into sharper focus, corporate counsel should assess and plan for areas of potential oversight risk — from tax policy changes to supply chain integrity — even as much uncertainty remains, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Conservation Easement Cases Weave Web Of Uncertainty

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    Much of the IRS and Justice Department’s recent success in prosecuting syndicated conservation easement cases can be attributed to the government’s focus on the so-called PropCo ratio, which could indicate treacherous waters ahead for participants and their advisers, even under the incoming Trump administration, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

  • Navigating DOJ's Patchwork Whistleblower Regime

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    In the past few months, the U.S. Department of Justice and several individual U.S. attorney’s offices have issued different pilot programs aimed at incentivizing individuals to blow the whistle on misconduct, but this piecemeal approach may create confusion and suboptimal outcomes, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • So You Want To Move Your Law Practice To Canada, Eh?

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    Google searches for how to move to Canada have surged in the wake of the U.S. presidential election, and if you’re an attorney considering a move to the Great White North, you’ll need to understand how the practice of law differs across the border, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.

  • Opinion

    Efficiency Dept. Should Consolidate Antitrust Enforcement

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    President-elect Donald Trump's planned Department of Government Efficiency should transfer the authority of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Competition into the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division, because there is no justification for two federal entities to enforce antitrust and competition laws, says retired judge Susan Braden.

  • 5 Areas Congress May Investigate After GOP Election Wins

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    With Republicans poised to take control of Congress in addition to the executive branch next year, private companies can expect an unprecedented uptick in congressional investigations focused on five key areas, including cryptocurrency and healthcare, say attorneys at Cahill Gordon.

  • US Intellectual Property-Based Sanctions Could Be Imminent

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    A recent presidential delegation suggests that regulators may be ready to wield the sanctions authority found in the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act, which has been unutilized for the first 22 months of its life, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Trump's 2nd Term May Be A Boost To Banking Industry

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    President-elect Donald Trump's personnel appointments could be instrumental in reshaping the financial regulatory landscape during his second administration, likely allowing for greater merger activity and halting or undoing some of the Biden administration's more restrictive financial services policies, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Loper Bright Offers New Materiality Defense To FCA Liability

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bight Enterprises v. Raimondo, ending Chevron deference, may have created a new defense to False Claims Act liability by providing the opportunity to argue that a given regulation is not material to the government's payment decision, says Tanner Cook at Husch Blackwell.

  • Why K-Cup Claims Landed Keurig In Hot Water With SEC

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent settlement with Keurig Dr. Pepper for making incomplete statements regarding the recyclability of K-cup pods highlights the importance of comprehensive corporate disclosures, particularly with respect to ESG matters, say attorneys at BCLP.

  • 2nd Circ. Halkbank Ruling Shifts Foreign Immunity Landscape

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    Following the Second Circuit’s recent common law immunity ruling in U.S. v. Halkbank, foreign state-owned banks, wealth funds and other entities now must seriously consider the risk of criminal liability for commercial activity that violates U.S. laws, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Justices Must Weigh Reach Of Civil RICO In Cannabis Case

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    Oral arguments in Medical Marijuana Inc. v. Horn suggest that a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court may agree that a truck driver's losing his job after unknowingly ingesting THC and failing a drug test does not merit a racketeering claim — but the court may not buy the other side's theory of the case either, say attorneys at Lewis Baach.

  • What Trump's 2nd Presidency Could Mean For Crypto Sector

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    Trump's second term will bring a fundamental shift from the Biden administration's approach to crypto-asset regulation and banking supervision, with the most significant changes likely taking effect in the first two quarters of 2025 and broader policy shifts emerging over the next year, say attorneys at Cahill.

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