White Collar

  • November 14, 2024

    Bitfinex Hacker Gets 5 Years For Laundering Stolen Crypto

    A hacker was sentenced in Washington, D.C., federal court on Thursday to five years in prison for laundering hundreds of thousands of bitcoins now worth more than $10 billion that he stole from cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex.

  • November 14, 2024

    Ex-DC Homeland Security Official Cops To $844K PPP Scam

    A former D.C. Homeland Security commissioner on Thursday pled guilty to a scheme in which prosecutors say she fraudulently secured about $844,000 in Paycheck Protection Program funds, according to a plea agreement filed in District of Columbia federal court.

  • November 14, 2024

    Defense Attys Urge Justices To Narrow False Statement Law

    The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is supporting ex-Burke Warren MacKay & Serritella PC attorney and former Chicago alderman Patrick Thompson's bid to convince the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn his conviction for lying to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., arguing that the government's "broad" reading of the relevant statute infringes on constitutional rights.

  • November 14, 2024

    'Undead' NFT Maker Cites Discord Messages In New Trial Bid

    The developer of the "Undead" series of non-fungible tokens who was convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud urged a Florida federal court to grant him a new trial, saying that messages from the Discord social media messaging platform undermine allegations that he intended to scam investors.

  • November 14, 2024

    Supposed AI Fund's Manager Accused Of Wire, Securities Fraud

    A manager of a hedge fund that purported to use artificial intelligence has been indicted by a New York federal grand jury on charges of wire fraud and securities fraud after allegedly lying to investors and stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars for his own personal use, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.

  • November 14, 2024

    MDL Counsel Present Deal With FTX Estate To Fla. Court

    Counsel for plaintiffs in the multidistrict litigation over the collapse of cryptocurrency trading platform FTX Trading Ltd. told a Florida federal judge Thursday that they have reached a deal with the FTX estate in bankruptcy.

  • November 14, 2024

    Judge Floats Musk Hypo As AT&T Exec Seeks Acquittal

    An Illinois federal judge posed a hypothetical to federal prosecutors Thursday asking whether it would be a bribery violation if Elon Musk donated heavily to support a presidential candidate who would likely reward him if he wins, as he weighs a former AT&T executive's attempt to avoid a retrial on charges he bribed ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

  • November 14, 2024

    Man Found Guilty Of Scamming NBA Players Seeks New Trial

    A Georgia businessman and recidivist fraudster is seeking a retrial after being convicted of swindling former NBA players Dwight Howard and Chandler Parsons out of a combined $8 million, in a scheme under which the pro basketball players believed their money was going toward legitimate investments.

  • November 14, 2024

    Takeda Rips Cert. Order's 'Whale Of Assumption' At 9th Circ.

    Takeda Pharmaceutical urged the Ninth Circuit on Thursday to reverse a ruling certifying a class of third-party payors who allege Takeda and Eli Lilly & Co. hid their anti-diabetes drug's bladder-cancer risks, arguing the lower court erroneously made a "whale of an assumption" that 56.7% of prescriptions wouldn't have been written with disclosures.

  • November 14, 2024

    Trump Names Solicitor General, SDNY Picks

    President-elect Donald Trump announced on Thursday he is tapping for solicitor general the lawyer who represented him before the U.S. Supreme Court and will name his former chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to be U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

  • November 14, 2024

    Trump Taps His Criminal Defense Lawyer For Deputy AG

    President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday picked his personal defense attorney Todd Blanche to serve as second-in-command at the U.S. Department of Justice as deputy attorney general.

  • November 14, 2024

    DOJ Deputy Says Biden Stance Led To Fewer Harmful Mergers

    The deputy head of the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division offered a full-throated defense Thursday of the Biden administration's aggressive competition enforcement record, arguing, with a Republican takeover imminent, that "more demanding standards" for transaction remedies prompted real change by merging companies seeking to avoid a merger challenge.

  • November 14, 2024

    Federal Drug Ban Moots Psilocybin Access Suit, Ore. Says

    Oregon's health regulator has told a federal judge in the state that a suit brought under a federal anti-discrimination law seeking to broaden access for homebound patients to the state's regulated psilocybin program should be dismissed because the drug is federally illegal.

  • November 14, 2024

    Gaetz's Slim Legal Resume Raises Concerns Over AG Role

    Having never served as a prosecutor and with minimal experience practicing law, Matt Gaetz would have the thinnest legal resume of any attorney general in recent history and would face a steep learning curve, including daunting leadership challenges, if he were to take up the reins of the U.S. Department of Justice, experts say.

  • November 14, 2024

    Fake Bear, Real Fraud: Calif. Arrests 4 In Insurance Scheme

    Four Los Angeles area residents were charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy after claiming that over $141,000 in damages to luxury autos were caused by a bear, though videos submitted to their insurers showed a person in a bear costume wreaking havoc, a California Department of Insurance spokesperson said.

  • November 14, 2024

    Judiciary Chair Calls For Release Of Gaetz Ethics Report

    A day after President-elect Donald Trump announced former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz as his pick for attorney general, questions linger on whether the potentially damaging House Ethics Committee report on his alleged sexual misconduct will see the light of day now that he resigned.

  • November 14, 2024

    Ex-US Atty Hops To Foley Hoag In Boston From Verrill Dana

    Foley Hoag LLP has expanded its white collar group with the addition of former U.S. attorney David Lazarus, who got "bit by the prosecution bug" when he found himself in the back of an unmarked observation van during a law school internship.

  • November 14, 2024

    ADM Compliance Head To Depart Amid Co. Accounting Woes

    Archer-Daniels-Midland's head of compliance will leave the food and animal nutrition company, a spokesperson has confirmed, in a year that has seen the company grappling with regulatory probes into its accounting practices and related investor litigation.

  • November 14, 2024

    Duo Charged With Hacking Tax Firms In Refund Fraud Scheme

    Boston federal prosecutors have unsealed charges against two men who allegedly used information hacked and stolen from Massachusetts tax preparation firms to pocket more than $1.3 million from fraudulent tax returns.

  • November 14, 2024

    NY Contractor Cops To Aiding Theft In Commercial Bribe Case

    A New York contractor pled guilty on Thursday in the Manhattan district attorney's commercial bribery case alleging dozens of construction industry defendants conspired to steal from developers in a sprawling kickback scheme involving $100 million in contracts.

  • November 14, 2024

    European Police Detain 43 Suspects In €520M VAT Fraud

    European police detained 43 suspects linked to a value-added tax fraud scam valued at €520 million ($550 million) in a cross-border operation against organized crime, law enforcement agencies said Thursday.

  • November 13, 2024

    Chinese Hackers Stole Call Data From Telecom Cos., Feds Say

    The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency announced Wednesday that they have identified individuals associated with the Chinese government who have hacked into the networks of multiple telecommunications companies in search of private communications of people involved in government and political activity.

  • November 13, 2024

    Ex-Oil Products Co. VP Admits To Stealing Trade Secrets

    A former executive at a New Jersey-based producer of oil products and proprietary flavors admitted possessing and conspiring to possess stolen trade secrets, the U.S. attorney for New Jersey announced Wednesday.

  • November 13, 2024

    Judge Cites 'Deterrence' In Attys' Tax Scheme Prison Sentence

    Two St. Louis tax attorneys and a North Carolina insurance agent's pleas for leniency were largely ignored Wednesday by a federal judge sentencing them for their role in a multimillion-dollar tax avoidance scheme, with the judge declaring that the need for public deterrence was too great to let them off the hook without prison time.

  • November 13, 2024

    Feds Seek FTX Assets Used For Alleged China Bribes

    U.S. prosecutors have asked a New York federal judge to help secure millions of dollars worth of digital assets held at cryptocurrency exchange Binance, alleging the tokens are tied to what they described as bribes that former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried paid to Chinese law enforcement officials.

Expert Analysis

  • 7 Takeaways For Companies After Justices' Bribery Ruling

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court’s Snyder v. U.S. decision this summer, holding that a federal law does not criminalize after-the-fact gratuities made to public officials, raises some key considerations for companies that engage with state, local and tribal governments, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • Why Now Is The Time For Law Firms To Hire Lateral Partners

    Author Photo

    Partner and associate mobility data from the second quarter of this year suggest that there's never been a better time in recent years for law firms to hire lateral candidates, particularly experienced partners — though this necessitates an understanding of potential red flags, say Julie Henson and Greg Hamman at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

  • Considering Possible PR Risks Of Certain Legal Tactics

    Author Photo

    Disney and American Airlines recently abandoned certain litigation tactics in two lawsuits after fierce public backlash, illustrating why corporate counsel should consider the reputational implications of any legal strategy and partner with their communications teams to preempt public relations concerns, says Chris Gidez at G7 Reputation Advisory.

  • Perspectives

    DC Circ. Seizure Ruling Deepens 4th Amendment Circuit Split

    Author Photo

    The D.C. Circuit’s recent Asinor v. District of Columbia decision, holding that the government’s continued possession of seized property must be reasonable, furthers a split among circuit courts and portends how the text, history and tradition method might influence Fourth Amendment cases, say Ty Howard and Wayne Beckermann at Bradley Arant.

  • Integrating ESG Into Risk Management Programs

    Author Photo

    Amid increasing regulations and reporting requirements for corporate sustainability in the European Union and the U.S., companies might consider how to incorporate environmental, social and governance factors into more formalized risk management, say directors at Alvarez & Marsal.

  • It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers

    Author Photo

    Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.

  • Vertex Suit Highlights Issues For Pharma Fertility Support

    Author Photo

    Vertex Pharmaceuticals' recent lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' interpretation of the Anti-Kickback Statute is influenced by a number of reproductive rights and health equity issues that the Office of Inspector General should address more concretely, including in vitro fertilization and fertility preservation programs, says Mary Kohler at Kohler Health Law.

  • 5 Lessons From Consulting Firm's Successful DOJ Disclosure

    Author Photo

    The Boston Consulting Group recently received a rare declination of prosecution from the U.S. Department of Justice after self-disclosing a foreign bribery scheme, and the firm’s series of savvy steps after discovering the misconduct provides useful data points for white collar defense attorneys, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • 5 Credibility Lessons Trial Attys Can Learn From Harris' Run

    Author Photo

    In launching a late-stage campaign for president, Vice President Kamala Harris must seize upon fresh attention from voters to establish, or reestablish, credibility — a challenge that parallels and provides takeaways for trial attorneys, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.

  • 7 Takeaways For Investment Advisers From FinCEN AML Rule

    Author Photo

    With a new FinCEN rule that will require covered investment advisers to implement anti-money laundering programs and comply with extra recordkeeping requirements by 2026, companies should begin planning necessary updates to their policies and procedures by focusing on seven of the rule’s key requirements, identified by attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • A Look At UK, EU And US Cartel Enforcement Trends

    Author Photo

    The European Union, U.K. and U.S. competition agencies' recently issued joint statement on competition risks in generative artificial intelligence demonstrates increased cross-border collaboration on cartel investigations, meaning companies facing investigations in one jurisdiction should anticipate related investigations in other jurisdictions, say lawyers at Latham & Watkins.

  • Navigating A Potpourri Of Possible Transparency Act Pitfalls

    Author Photo

    Despite the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's continued release of guidance for complying with the Corporate Transparency Act, its interpretation remains in flux, making it important for companies to understand potentially problematic areas of ambiguity in the practical application of the law, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • A Preview Of AI Priorities Under The Next President

    Author Photo

    For the first time in a presidential election, both of the leading candidates and their parties have been vocal about artificial intelligence policy, offering clues on the future of regulation as AI continues to advance and congressional action continues to stall, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • How Companies Are Approaching Insider Trading Policies

    Author Photo

    An analysis of insider trading policies recently disclosed by 49 S&P 500 companies under a new U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rule reveals that while specific provisions vary from company to company, certain common themes are emerging, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • How Methods Are Evolving In Textualist Interpretations

    Author Photo

    Textualists at the U.S. Supreme Court are increasingly considering new methods such as corpus linguistics and surveys to evaluate what a statute's text communicates to an ordinary reader, while lower courts even mull large language models like ChatGPT as supplements, says Kevin Tobia at Georgetown Law.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the White Collar archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!