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White Collar
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March 27, 2025
Umpqua Bank Strikes Deal With Investors In $300M Ponzi Suit
Umpqua Bank and a class of investors on Thursday informed a California federal judge they've reached a settlement to resolve claims the bank helped execute an alleged $300 million Ponzi scheme led by a since-deceased real estate investment manager.
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March 27, 2025
Russian Oligarch-Linked Firm Owner Can't Shake SEC's Claim
A New York federal judge has declined to toss claims brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against an investment firm owner who allegedly managed a Russian oligarch's wealth in America without ever registering with the SEC as required.
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March 27, 2025
Sentencing 'ComEd Four' Key For Closure, Ill. Judge Says
A former Commonwealth Edison executive and three lobbyists will be sentenced in July for conspiring to bribe former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, a federal judge said Thursday, rejecting the assertion that he'd be "reckless" to proceed before determining how a recent U.S. Supreme Court false-statement ruling impacts their case.
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March 27, 2025
Ex-Netflix Exec Urges 9th Circ. To Wipe Bribery Conviction
Counsel for Netflix's former vice president of information technology urged a Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday to undo his conviction for taking bribes from vendors, saying prosecutors tainted the verdict by improperly intertwining two different fraud theories.
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March 27, 2025
FINRA Improperly Acts As Government Agency, 6th Circ. Told
The owner of a consulting company has urged the Sixth Circuit to overturn a decision by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission affirming sanctions imposed by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for alleged securities fraud, arguing that FINRA never had jurisdiction over him.
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March 27, 2025
US Ranked Low At Fighting Real Estate Money Laundering
The U.S. is the third-worst country when it comes to fighting money laundering in real estate because of a lack of regulations, according to a report ranking the national markets of 24 countries.
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March 27, 2025
UMich Athletes Launch Second Suit Over Ex-Coach's Hacking
Two former University of Michigan student-athletes have launched a class action against former offensive coordinator Matthew Weiss and the university over the ex-coach's alleged illegal access to and downloading of thousands of student-athletes' private information, the second lawsuit in recent weeks.
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March 27, 2025
DOJ's Antitrust Unit Targeting Anticompetitive Regulations
The U.S. Department of Justice launched a task force on Thursday aimed at eliminating state and federal laws and regulations that are hindering competition, with an initial focus on key sectors including housing, food and transportation.
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March 27, 2025
Guo Trustee Settles Clawbacks From Versace, Firms
The Chapter 11 trustee handling convicted Chinese exile Miles Guo's estate has asked a Connecticut bankruptcy judge to approve 10 clawback settlements with Hodgson Russ LLP, BakerHostetler, luxury retailer Versace and others, ending claims totaling $8.6 million but keeping the terms under wraps for six months.
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March 27, 2025
FCPA 'Purgatory' Frustrates White Collar Bar, Anxious Clients
An abrupt pause in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement has created tension between clients eager to resolve investigations and their attorneys, who are having trouble reaching decision-makers at the U.S. Department of Justice and are more inclined to await further guidance from the government.
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March 27, 2025
Fuel Truck Exec Cops To Wildfire Bid-Rigging Scheme
The owner of a company that contracted with the U.S. Forest Service to supply fuel truck services to wildland firefighters pled guilty to conspiring with another executive to rig bids and allocate territories between 2015 and 2023.
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March 26, 2025
Feds Led Jury Astray About $175M JPMorgan Deal, Javice Says
A lawyer for Frank founder Charlie Javice on Wednesday told a Manhattan federal jury that prosecutors have spent weeks misleading them about evidence purporting to show that she conned JPMorgan Chase & Co. into buying the now-defunct educational startup for $175 million, based on false information.
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March 26, 2025
Sotomayor Urges Caution On Nondelegation Doctrine Revamp
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor cautioned her colleagues during oral arguments Wednesday against using a challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's administration of a broadband subsidy program as a way to resurrect the long-dormant nondelegation doctrine. Several conservative justices, however, seemed willing to disregard that admonition.
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March 26, 2025
Atty's Falsehoods In Key Docs Aided $23M Fraud, Suit Says
A pair of investment funds and two investors have hit a lawyer with professional malpractice and misrepresentation claims in Illinois federal court, accusing him of making false statements in solicitation documents to help their since-convicted managing member carry out a $23 million fraud.
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March 26, 2025
Mars Risk Exec Caught With Hand In Cookie Jar, Feds Allege
A former Mars Inc. subsidiary global price risk manager pled not guilty in Connecticut federal court Wednesday to multiple criminal charges alleging that he defrauded his employer out of more than $28 million to fund his lifestyle, including a $2.3 million Greenwich home and a ranch in Argentina.
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March 26, 2025
Senate Confirms Aaron Reitz To Lead DOJ Legal Policy Office
Aaron Reitz, chief of staff for Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and a former deputy attorney general in the Lone Star State, was confirmed on Wednesday to lead the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Legal Policy by a 52-46 vote in the Senate.
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March 26, 2025
Ga. Judge Orders 3 To Pay $1.4M In SEC's Ponzi Scheme Suit
A Georgia federal judge has ordered three investment advisers to pay, in total, more than $1.4 million in monetary relief over their alleged roles in a Ponzi scheme involving a private equity fund named Horizon Private Equity III.
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March 26, 2025
4th Circ. Says Credit Union Not Liable For Fraudulent Transfer
A Fourth Circuit panel on Wednesday reversed a lower court ruling that held a credit union liable for a scammer's use of its services to swindle a metal fabricator out of $560,000, ruling that banks aren't on the hook for misdescribed fund transfers without "actual knowledge" of the discrepancy.
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March 26, 2025
Trump Pardons Ex-Hunter Biden Biz Pal For Tribal Bond Fraud
President Donald Trump pardoned a former business partner of Hunter Biden who was convicted of helping to execute a $60 million bond scam against a South Dakota tribal corporation, saying he believes the former venture capital and private equity fund investor was treated unfairly.
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March 26, 2025
Par Funding's Ex-CEO Gets 15½ Years For Racketeering, Fraud
Par Funding ex-CEO Joseph LaForte was sentenced to 15½ years in prison Wednesday for his role in running a $404 million racketeering conspiracy that prosecutors said involved him bilking the cash advance business's investors and threatening its borrowers with violence if they didn't pay up.
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March 26, 2025
Jay-Z's New Evidence May Save Claim Buzbee Tried Extortion
A California state court judge said Wednesday that new evidence submitted by Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter "has thrown a monkey wrench" in his analysis of the rapper's feud with personal injury lawyer Tony Buzbee, and he's now inclined to keep alive an extortion claim stemming from now-abandoned rape allegations.
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March 26, 2025
Willkie Securities Enforcement Leader Joins Simpson Thacher
A former co-chair of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP's securities enforcement practice has moved to Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in Washington, D.C., Simpson Thacher said Wednesday.
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March 26, 2025
DOJ Can't DQ Judge In Perkins Coie Suit Over Trump Order
A D.C. federal judge on Wednesday shot down a demand from the U.S. Department of Justice that she step aside from Perkins Coie LLP's lawsuit against the federal government over President Donald Trump's executive order targeting the firm.
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March 26, 2025
Ex-GE Exec Gets 7 Years For Fraud In $1B Angola Energy Deal
A Manhattan federal judge hit a former GE Power executive with seven years in prison Wednesday, after a jury convicted him of forgery and taking a $5 million kickback while working on a $1.1 billion deal in his native Angola.
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March 26, 2025
Goldstein's Devices Must Be Monitored, Judge Affirms
A Maryland federal judge on Tuesday rejected U.S. Supreme Court lawyer and SCOTUSblog publisher Tom Goldstein's request to dismiss a bail condition that requires his electronic devices to be monitored out of concerns that he's been hiding millions in cryptocurrency from the government and could flee while facing tax evasion charges.
Expert Analysis
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How Foreign Cos. Should Prep For New UK Fraud Law
As the U.K. prepares to hold companies criminally liable for failing to prevent fraudulent acts of their associates, U.S. and global companies should review their compliance measures against the broad language of this new offense, which could permit prosecution of acts committed entirely abroad, say attorneys at Latham & Watkins.
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What's Potentially In Store For CFTC Under New Leadership
Under the leadership of acting U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Caroline Pham, and with the nomination of former commissioner Brian Quintenz to serve as permanent chair, the commission is set to widely embrace digital assets and event contracts, say attorneys at Davis Wright.
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Recent Cases Clarify FCA Kickback Pleading Standards
Two recently resolved cases involving pharmaceutical manufacturers may make it more difficult for False Claims Act defendants facing kickback scheme allegations to get claims dismissed for lack of evidence, say Li Yu at Bernstein Litowitz, Ellen London at London & Noar, and Gregg Shapiro at Gregg Shapiro Law.
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2 Practical Ways For Banks To Battle Elder Financial Abuse
Federal regulators' recent statement raising awareness of elder financial exploitation provides a useful catalog of techniques that banks can employ to fight fraud, particularly encouraging older account holders to establish trusted contacts and sharing timely warnings about the latest scams with customers, say attorneys at Nutter.
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3 Ways Civil Plaintiffs Could Fill An FCPA Enforcement Gap
While the Department of Justice recently announced it would deprioritize Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations into U.S. businesses without obvious ties to international crime, companies should stay alert to private plaintiffs, who could fill this enforcement void — and win significant civil damages — through several legal channels, says Eric Nitz at MoloLamken.
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Examining Trump Meme Coin And SEC's Crypto Changes
While the previous U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission tended to view most crypto-assets as securities, the tide is rapidly changing, and hopefully the long-needed reevaluation of this regulatory framework is not tarnished by an arguable conflict of interest due to President Donald Trump's affiliation with the $Trump meme coin, say attorneys at Thompson Coburn.
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Opinion
State FCAs Should Cover Local Fund Misuse, State Tax Fraud
New Jersey and other states with similar False Claims Acts should amend them to cover misappropriated municipal funding, and state and local tax fraud, which would encourage more whistleblowers to come forward and increase their recoveries, says Kenneth Levine at Stone & Magnanini.
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New Fla. Financial Abuse Law May See Limited Buy-In
Florida's newly effective financial protection law comes with compliance burdens and uncertainties that could discourage financial institutions from participating, even though the law aims to shield them from liability for delaying transactions when they suspect exploitation of elderly and vulnerable account holders, say attorneys at Shutts & Bowen.
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7 Tips For Associates To Thrive In Hybrid Work Environments
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
As the vast majority of law firms have embraced some type of hybrid work policy, associates should consider a few strategies to get the most out of both their in-person and remote workdays, says James Argionis at Cozen O’Connor.
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White Collar Archetypes: Wrangling The Shape-Shifter
In white collar criminal trials, certain pieces of evidence can shape-shift in the jury’s eyes, presenting both challenges and opportunities for defense counsel, says Jack Sharman at Lightfoot Franklin.
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Series
Playing Beach Volleyball Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My commitment to beach volleyball has become integral to my performance as an attorney, with the sport continually reminding me that teamwork, perseverance, professionalism and stress management are essential to both undertakings, says Amy Drushal at Trenam.
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How GSA Lease Clauses May Affect DOGE Terminations
The Department of Government Efficiency has begun to cut the U.S. General Services Administration's enormous real estate portfolio, but some standard lease clauses include limits helpful to landlords that may slow progress toward the administration's cost-cutting goals, say attorneys at Pillsbury.
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Managing Anti-Corporate Juror Views Revealed By CEO Killing
After the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson laid bare deep-seated anti-corporate sentiments among the public, companies in numerous industries will have to navigate the influence of related juror biases on litigation dynamics, say Jorge Monroy and Keith Pounds at IMS Legal Strategies.
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Terraform Case May Be Bellwether For Crypto Enforcement
The prosecution of crypto company Terraform Labs and its CEO, Do Kwon, offers a unique test of the line between lawful and unlawful conduct in digital transactions, and the Trump administration’s posture toward the case will provide clues about its cryptocurrency enforcement agenda in the years to come, say attorneys at Brooks Pierce.
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What's Next For Russia Sanctions After Task Force Disbanded
Attorney General Pam Bondi’s recent disbanding of Task Force KleptoCapture, which was initially aimed at seizing Russian oligarchs’ funds and assets, is unlikely to mean the end of Russia sanctions enforcement and other economic countermeasures, as the architecture for criminal enforcement remains in place, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.