White Collar

  • March 17, 2025

    Ex-Opioid Co. CEO Wants Out Of Law Firm's Billing Suit

    A convicted former CEO of an opioid distributor is urging a New York federal judge to dismiss his criminal defense firm's suit against him over an alleged unpaid $150,000 expert witness tab, saying the suit fails because of "the clear and unambiguous language of the retainer agreements."

  • March 17, 2025

    DOJ Dismisses BitClout Crypto Fraud Case, Court Filings Say

    Federal prosecutors have dropped their fraud case against the founder of crypto project BitClout accused of ripping off a venture capital firm, while the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is engaged in talks about a possible end to its own civil action against him, court documents show.

  • March 17, 2025

    Judge Ends Ex-Ga. Tech Prof's Suit Over Finance Probe

    Two Georgia Tech auditors have escaped a malicious prosecution suit from a former professor over allegedly suspicious financial dealings by his startup that they flagged, as a Georgia federal judge said the professor "failed to provide evidence" his rights were violated.

  • March 17, 2025

    Ex-Avenatti Clients Resolve Fight Over Seized Honda Jet

    Two of Michael Avenatti's former clients have settled their dispute over ownership interest and an insurance policy covering a $4.4 million Honda jet that the disgraced attorney allegedly purchased with stolen client funds, according to a notice filed in California federal court.

  • March 17, 2025

    Doctor Pays $700K To Settle Feds' Medicare Fraud Suit

    A doctor and his Ringgold, Georgia, practice have agreed to pay $700,000 to settle allegations that they knowingly submitted false claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary chelation therapy.

  • March 17, 2025

    NYC To Pay $140M To End Taxi Drivers' Unfair Suspension Suit

    New York City has agreed to pay $140 million to settle a nearly two-decade-old federal class action alleging its practice of summarily suspending licenses for taxi drivers who've been arrested but not yet convicted deprives them of due process by denying them meaningful opportunities to challenge their suspensions.

  • March 17, 2025

    9th Circ. Says Capital One Cyberattacker Sentence Too Light

    A split Ninth Circuit panel Monday said a lower court judge was too lenient in sentencing a former Amazon.com Inc. coder to probation for orchestrating one of the nation's latest data breach crimes, finding that the district court judge erred in finding her actions were not "malicious."

  • March 17, 2025

    Florida Businessman Pleads Guilty To Hiding $20M From IRS

    A Florida businessman faces up to five years in prison after he pled guilty Monday to hiding $20 million in Swiss bank accounts from the Internal Revenue Service.

  • March 17, 2025

    Execs Stole $5.4M In Fla. Trucking Co. Investments, SEC Says

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has brought a Florida federal lawsuit against three principal members of a trucking company over securities violations, alleging that they raised at least $5.4 million after falsely promising investors significant profits but returned only a fraction of the money.

  • March 17, 2025

    Ex-Flooring Co. Exec Gets 7½ Years For $1.8M Fraud Scheme

    Flooring manufacturer Mohawk Industries Inc.'s former head of information technology has been hit with a 7½-year prison sentence after admitting to masterminding a $1.8 million scheme to rip off the company, taking a guilty plea just days before a trial where his co-conspirators were set to testify against him.

  • March 17, 2025

    Okla. Gov. Looks To Dismiss Tribe's Jurisdiction Dispute

    Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt is asking a federal court to dismiss a paused jurisdiction dispute between the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and the city of Tulsa, or be allowed to intervene, arguing that the municipality has signaled a willingness to abandon the defense of the state's interests.

  • March 17, 2025

    'Jailhouse Lawyer' Admits Firing Off Error-Filled Filings

    A convicted fraudster accused of duping people into paying him for legal work told a Manhattan federal jury on Monday that he "wanted to help people," before a prosecutor showed evidence that he "cut and pasted" often-sloppy court papers in rapid-fire fashion.

  • March 17, 2025

    SEC Says Ex-CFO Cooked Pot Co. Acreage's Books

    The former chief financial officer of cannabis company Acreage faces U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission allegations that he covered up the company's attempt to inflate its 2019 cash balance with a so-called round-trip transaction involving an affiliate.

  • March 17, 2025

    May Trial Set For Ex-Conn. Official's New Corruption Charges

    A Connecticut federal judge said Monday that former Constitution State budget official Konstantinos Diamantis and ex-lawmaker Christopher Ziogas will go to trial on May 7 for claims they respectively took and paid bribes to stop a state audit of Ziogas' fiancée, who has admitted to healthcare fraud.

  • March 17, 2025

    Ex-Haiti Mayor Hid Atrocities To Secure Green Card, Jury Told

    The former mayor of a remote Haitian town led a rampage of violence against political opponents and then lied about the hand he played in the deaths and torture to get into the United States with a green card, a Justice Department lawyer told a Boston federal jury Monday.  

  • March 17, 2025

    Georgia Justices Urged To Revive Trump Election Charges

    Prosecutors argued that the Georgia Supreme Court should reinstate certain criminal charges against President Donald Trump, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and others alleging interference in the 2020 presidential election, saying lower courts wrongly dismissed the charges because of the indictment's purported lack of detail.

  • March 17, 2025

    Former DOJ, FCC Official Joins Morgan Lewis In DC

    Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP has grown its telecommunications, media and technology practice in Washington, D.C., with the addition of a former senior Federal Communications Commission and U.S. Department of Justice official, the firm announced on Monday.

  • March 17, 2025

    Houston Midwife Arrested In Texas' 1st Criminal Abortion Case

    A Houston-area midwife has been arrested after an investigation by the Texas attorney general's office for allegedly providing illegal abortions, Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Monday, the first such criminal charges brought since the state issued its near-total abortion ban.

  • March 17, 2025

    Ex-Seton Hall Law Worker Avoids Jail In Embezzlement Case

    A former employee of Seton Hall University School of Law was sentenced Monday to two years of probation with one year of electronic monitoring for her guilty plea in an embezzlement scheme that defrauded the school of $1.3 million over 13 years.

  • March 17, 2025

    Pa. Judge Facing Fraud Charges Asks For Trial Delay

    The York County, Pennsylvania, Court of Common Pleas judge under indictment for fraud, witness tampering and obstruction of justice related to his allegedly misusing unemployment relief funds to pay his law firm's employees during the COVID-19 pandemic has asked a federal court to delay his trial until at least June in order to review discovery.

  • March 14, 2025

    Qatari Sheikh's Billions Invoked In $1M Scam, SEC Claims

    A purported wealth management company and its managing member face U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission fraud allegations over a pair of $1 million dollar schemes, including one involving an elaborate ruse invoking ties to the wealth of the royal family of Qatar.

  • March 14, 2025

    PE Fund Accuses Ex-CEO Of Stealing To Pay Divorce Atty

    A former private equity CEO has been sued by a Denver-based fund in Colorado state court for allegedly using its money to pay his divorce lawyer and for other personal expenses, following a settlement earlier this year with federal securities regulators over claims he improperly charged two other funds.

  • March 14, 2025

    'Pig Butchering' Crypto Site Must Pay $2.5M, Judge Says

    A purported crypto trading platform has been ordered to pay nearly $2.5 million after failing to respond to U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission claims that it was at the heart of a so-called pig-butchering scheme — or a scam that sees victims fleeced by fictitious, chatty social media users.

  • March 14, 2025

    5th Circ. Affirms Energy Exec's Insider Trading Conviction

    The Fifth Circuit upheld a Texas energy executive's conviction for insider trading on natural gas futures based on the constitutionality of federal laws and regulations that criminalize manipulative commodity deals.

  • March 14, 2025

    Par Funding Conspirator Gets 11 Years For Fraud, Atty Assault

    A Pennsylvania federal judge has sentenced Par Funding principal James "Jimmy" LaForte to 11 years and four months in prison for helping his family run a $404 million racketeering conspiracy and violently assaulting Par Funding receivership's court-appointed counsel in a position prosecutors described as the loan company's "loyal attack dog."

Expert Analysis

  • Managing Transatlantic Antitrust Investigations And Litigation

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    As transatlantic competition regulators cooperate more closely and European antitrust investigations increasingly spark follow-up civil suits in the U.S., companies must understand how to simultaneously juggle high-stakes multigovernment investigations and manage the risks of expensive new claims across jurisdictions, say lawyers at Paul Weiss.

  • Cos. Must Prepare For Heightened Trade Enforcement Risks

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    Recent trade enforcement cases — including criminal prosecutions for tariff evasion — as well as statements from the Trump administration make it clear that companies must assess their risk profiles, review compliance programs and communication policies, and consider protocols for responding to subpoenas, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

  • When Innovation Overwhelms The Rule Of Law

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    In an era where technology is rapidly evolving and artificial intelligence is seemingly everywhere, it’s worth asking if the law — both substantive precedent and procedural rules — can keep up with the light speed of innovation, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Engaging With Feds On Threats To Executives, Employees

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    In an increasingly polarized environment, where companies face serious concerns about how to protect executives and employees, counsel should consider working with federal law enforcement soon after the discovery of threats or harassment, says Jordan Estes at Gibson Dunn.

  • The Tides Are Changing For Fair Access Banking Laws

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    The landscape of fair access banking laws, which seek to prevent banks from denying services based on individuals' ideological beliefs, has shifted in the last few years, but a new presidential administration provides renewed momentum for advancing such legislation against the backdrop of state efforts, say attorneys at Latham.

  • Imagine The Possibilities Of Openly Autistic Lawyering

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    Andi Mazingo at Lumen Law, who was diagnosed with autism about midway through her career, discusses how the legal profession can create inclusive workplaces that empower openly autistic lawyers and enhance innovation, and how neurodivergent attorneys can navigate the challenges and opportunities that come with disclosing one’s diagnosis.

  • A Halftime Analysis Of DOJ's Compensation Pilot Program

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    The U.S. Department of Justice appears to consider the first half of its three-year pilot program on compensation incentives and clawbacks to be proceeding successfully, so companies should expect prosecutors to emphasize the program and other compliance-related considerations early in investigations, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Opinion

    Courts Should Nix Conferencing Rule In 1 Discovery Scenario

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    Parties are generally required to meet and confer to resolve a discovery dispute before bringing a related motion, but courts should dispense with this conferencing requirement when a party fails to specify a time by which it will complete its production, says Tristan Ellis at Shanies Law.

  • Perspectives

    How High Court May Rule In First Step Act Resentencing Case

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    U.S. Supreme Court justices grappled with verb tenses and statutory intent in recent oral arguments in Hewitt v. U.S., a case involving an anomalous resentencing issue under the First Step Act, and though they may hold that the statute is unambiguous, they could also decide the case on narrow, practical grounds, say attorneys at Bracewell.

  • Series

    Documentary Filmmaking Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Becoming a documentary filmmaker has allowed me to merge my legal expertise with my passion for storytelling, and has helped me to hone negotiation, critical thinking and problem-solving skills that are important to both endeavors, says Robert Darwell at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Litigation Funding Disclosure Debate: Strategy Considerations

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    In the ongoing debate over whether courts should require disclosure of litigation funding, funders and plaintiffs tend to argue against such mandates, but voluntarily disclosing limited details about a funding arrangement can actually confer certain benefits to plaintiffs in some scenarios, say Andrew Stulce and Marc Cavan at Longford Capital.

  • 2025 May Be A Breakout Year For The Cannabis Industry

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    The cannabis industry faced a slow and frustrating 2024, but consumer trends continue to shift in favor of cannabis, and the new administration may provide the catalyst that the industry needs, says Lynn Gefen at TerrAscend.

  • Understanding Risks Of Celebrities 'Hawking' Crypto Tokens

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    Prominent social media personality Haliey Welch was recently sued over the promotion and sale of the Hawk Tuah cryptocurrency memecoin, underscoring the importance of public figures conducting due diligence to verify they aren't endorsing a token that is in fact a security, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Opinion

    Firing Of Jack Smith's Team Is A Threat To Rule Of Law

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    The acting attorney general’s justifications for firing prosecutors who worked on the criminal cases against President Donald Trump rest on a mischaracterization of legal norms, and this likely illegal move augurs poorly for the rule of law, say Bruce Green at Fordham University and Rebecca Roiphe at New York Law School.

  • Art Fraud Cases Highlight Importance Of Due Diligence

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    Recent high-profile art fraud cases provide a helpful reminder that a healthy skepticism can prevent prospective buyers from becoming victims, and that lawyers can take steps to help safeguard their clients, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

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