White Collar

  • August 08, 2024

    McElroy Deutsch Seeks To Ax Former CFO's Ch. 11 Case

    McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP urged a New Jersey bankruptcy court Thursday to throw out a Chapter 11 filing from its former chief financial officer, who has been sent to prison for stealing over $1 million from the firm, slamming it as a bad faith "tactical maneuver" to stall ongoing civil litigation.

  • August 08, 2024

    Willis Defends Staying On Trump's Ga. Election Case

    Georgia prosecutors have pushed back against former President Donald Trump's request for appellate intervention in his election interference case, arguing District Attorney Fani T. Willis doesn't have a conflict of interest and Trump failed to persuade the trial court that she had a conflict due to a relationship with a former outside counsel.

  • August 08, 2024

    50 Cent Beats Liquor Consultant's 'Ridiculous' Wiretap Claim

    A frustrated New York state judge on Thursday tossed a former Beam Suntory Inc. sales contractor's reworked wiretapping allegations against rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson in a $3 million embezzlement dispute, calling the claims "ridiculous" and an "obvious" delay tactic.

  • August 08, 2024

    Exec Admits Price-Fixing $100M Of Rebar For Storm Rebuild

    The U.S. Department of Justice announced the guilty plea Wednesday of a former Puerto Rico steel distributor executive who admitted to fixing prices on rebar used for post-hurricane reconstruction, in a conspiracy that impacted more than $100 million in his company's sales.

  • August 08, 2024

    Rising Star: Akin's Thomas Moyer

    Thomas Moyer of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP represented a multinational bank caught in a legal and political crossfire between then-President Donald Trump and two congressional committees and led his firm's pro bono work in a high-profile case involving the Lafayette Square protesters in Washington, earning him a spot among the white collar law practitioners under 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • August 07, 2024

    FTX, Alameda Agree To Pay $12.7B To Resolve CFTC's Action

    A New York federal judge Wednesday signed off on a consent order requiring FTX Trading Ltd. and its affiliated trading firm to pay back $8.7 billion to those duped by disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and disgorge an additional $4 billion.

  • August 07, 2024

    Exec Unlikely To Get New Trial In SEC's 'Shadow Trading' Suit

    A California federal judge said at a hearing Wednesday that he wasn't inclined to grant a new trial in a novel SEC "shadow trading" case, saying "there's no question" that a former executive of Medivation, a pharmaceutical company, knew that he was using inside information from his company when he purchased a rival's stock.

  • August 07, 2024

    'Something Sketchy Was Going On,' Girardi Client Tells Jury

    A man horribly injured in a gas explosion told a Los Angeles federal jury Wednesday that Tom Girardi lied to him for years about the true details of his civil settlement and withheld millions he was owed, but it took him years to figure out "something sketchy was going on."

  • August 07, 2024

    4th Circ. Approves Payout Plan In $550M Ponzi Case

    Investors defrauded in a $550 million Ponzi scheme can't reverse a receiver's asset distribution plan on the basis of arguments that the plan unfairly divides up recovered funds among claimants, the Fourth Circuit has determined.

  • August 07, 2024

    DOD Contractor Wants No Prison For Parts Sales From Turkey

    A Florida defense contractor who admitted to using a front company to supply critical military components that were made in Turkey asked Tuesday for a non-prison sentence, arguing that her participation in the scheme to defraud the U.S. Department of Defense was driven by financial desperation and a misplaced trust in those who ran the operation.

  • August 07, 2024

    Bank Dropped From Suit Over Alleged $100M Ponzi Scheme

    Washington-based First Fed Bank and its brass have been dropped from a lawsuit claiming they aided a $100 million Ponzi scheme to defraud would-be investors in a water-vending machine company.

  • August 07, 2024

    Santos, Feds Agree Jurors' Identities Should Be Secret

    Expelled congressman George Santos wants jurors' identities protected for his trial next month on theft and identity theft charges, telling a New York federal judge on Tuesday that prosecutors feel the same given the "astounding" media attention on the case.

  • August 07, 2024

    6th Circ. Backs 20 Years For Chinese Spy Who Targeted GE

    The Sixth Circuit upheld a 20-year prison sentence for a Chinese spy convicted of espionage for trying to steal trade secrets from General Electric's GE Aviation unit, noting in an opinion unsealed Wednesday the punishment was reasonable as he continuously pursued the confidential information using sophisticated tradecraft processes for several years.

  • August 07, 2024

    Pipe Co. Exec Says Criminal Antitrust Charges Unconstitutional

    A former executive of an aluminum pipe company defending the Fourth Circuit's reversal of his bid-rigging conviction has told the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that all criminal antitrust prosecutions under Section 1 of the Sherman Act are unconstitutional, claiming they violate "fundamental constitutional principles" of nondelegation and objectivity.

  • August 07, 2024

    SEC Accuses Urban Commons REIT Founders Of $70M Fraud

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has accused the founders of the Urban Commons real estate investment trust of running a pair of fraud schemes involving investments in U.S.-based hotels that the regulator said collectively cost investors $70 million.

  • August 07, 2024

    6th Circ. Voids Man's Death Penalty Over 'Judicial Malfunction'

    The Sixth Circuit on Wednesday granted a capital defendant's habeas petition based on a trial court's decision to recruit the prosecutor to ghostwrite a "corrupt opinion" issuing the death penalty and refusing to allow the defendant to proffer relevant mitigating evidence at his re-sentencing, in violation of his constitutional rights.

  • August 07, 2024

    Ex-Pharma Exec Gets 20 Months In SEC Contempt Case

    A former pharmaceutical executive who used an alias to flout a 2016 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission consent judgment barring him from the securities industry was sentenced Wednesday to 20 months in prison by a judge who called him "incorrigible."

  • August 07, 2024

    Ripple Ordered To Pay $125M Penalty In SEC Case

    A New York federal judge ordered Ripple Labs Inc. to pay a $125 million civil penalty on Wednesday in a long-awaited order addressing remedies for the blockchain company's failure to register institutional sales of its XRP token with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

  • August 07, 2024

    Young Thug Decries 'Horror' Of Working With Prosecutors

    Atlanta rapper Young Thug launched another bid to boot prosecutors from his long-running gang trial, citing various episodes of alleged misconduct and arguing that prosecutors' inability to provide "the simplest and most basic fundamental fairness" requires their disqualification.

  • August 07, 2024

    Rising Star: Cohen & Gresser's Sri Kuehnlenz

    Sri Kuehnlenz of Cohen & Gresser LLP was instrumental in securing the dismissal of six out of 13 criminal counts leveled against Sam Bankman-Fried for fraud related to the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, and she helped an engineer avoid prosecution who was swept up in the U.S. Department of Justice's China Initiative, earning her a spot among the white collar law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • August 07, 2024

    Logistics Co. CEO Denies Role In NJ Racketeering Scheme

    The chief executive officer of logistics firm NFI Industries on Wednesday denied that he played a role in an alleged scheme led by a New Jersey power broker accused of reaping millions in tax credits by using extortion to acquire waterfront property in the distressed city of Camden.

  • August 06, 2024

    Ex-US Atty, Mayor Poised To Face Off In Wash. AG Race

    Seattle's former U.S. attorney and an Eastern Washington mayor who's also a gun rights advocate were leading the statewide primary Tuesday night to become the state's next attorney general.

  • August 06, 2024

    Convicted Mango Markets Crypto Trader Wants Acquittal

    The crypto trader who was convicted of fraudulently draining more than $100 million from trading platform Mango Markets told a Manhattan federal judge that he should be fully acquitted on the grounds that federal prosecutors failed to prove at trial that he violated the law. 

  • August 06, 2024

    Pakistani Man Plotted To Kill US Officials, Feds Say

    A Pakistani man with ties to Iran is in custody Tuesday as the U.S. Department of Justice says it foiled his plans to assassinate U.S. government officials, which one Republican House member said included former President Donald Trump.

  • August 06, 2024

    Girardi Used Client Funds As 'Personal Piggy Bank,' Jury Told

    The prosecution and defense painted starkly different portraits of Tom Girardi during opening statements Tuesday in the disbarred attorney's criminal fraud trial, with a California federal prosecutor saying Girardi stole millions from vulnerable clients while his lawyer described him as an "old man" losing his memory and exploited by an underling.

Expert Analysis

  • High Court's Jan. 6 Rioter Case May Have Wide Ripple Effects

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    The U.S. Supreme Court will soon hear oral arguments in Fischer v. United States, a case that will determine whether a law enacted after the Enron scandal can be used to prosecute Jan. 6 rioters, and could affect the government’s ability to charge those who impede a range of official proceedings, say Brook Dooley and Sara Fitzpatrick at Keker Van Nest.

  • Bankruptcy Courts' Role In Shaping Crypto's Legal Framework

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    Massive financial and criminal liability has led to the recent collapse of major cryptocurrency companies and put bankruptcy courts in the spotlight, underscoring the urgent need for a comprehensive regulatory framework, say Tara Pakrouh and Eric Monzo at Morris James.

  • Trump's NY Civil Fraud Trial Spotlights Long-Criticized Law

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    A New York court’s recent decision holding former President Donald Trump liable for fraud brought old criticisms of the state law used against him back into the limelight — including its strikingly broad scope and its major departures from the traditional elements of common law fraud, say Mark Kelley and Lois Ahn at MoloLamken.

  • Intent-Based Theory Of Liability In Hwang Creates Ambiguity

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    A case against Archegos Capital founder Bill Hwang alleging that he participated in a securities manipulation scheme, which goes to trial next month in New York federal court, highlights the need for courts to clarify the legal standard defining "market manipulation," says Edward Imperatore at MoFo.

  • How A Motion Before Justices May Help Trump Beyond Court

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    Even if Donald Trump loses his presidential immunity claim before the U.S. Supreme Court, the delay created by the motion may mean a trial can't be completed before the November election, says Paul Tuchmann at Wiggin and Dana.

  • Opinion

    $175M Bond Refiled By Trump Is Still Substantively Flawed

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    The corrected $175 million bond posted by former President Donald Trump on Thursday to stave off enforcement of the New York attorney general's fraud judgment against him remains substantively and procedurally flawed, as well as inadequately secured, says Adam Pollock of Pollock Cohen.

  • Opinion

    Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea

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    A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.

  • 4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best

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    As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.

  • Defense Attys Must Prep For Imminent AI Crime Enforcement

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    Given recent statements by U.S. Department of Justice officials, white collar practitioners should expect to encounter artificial intelligence in federal criminal enforcement in the near term, even in pending cases, say Jarrod Schaeffer and Scott Glicksman at Abell Eskew.

  • Lessons For Nursing Facilities From DOJ Fraud Settlement

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recent settlement with the owner of skilled nursing and assisted living facilities in Florida provides a cautionary tale of potential fraud risks, and lessons on how facilities can mitigate government enforcement actions, say Callan Stein and Rebecca Younker at Troutman Pepper.

  • How Purdue Pharma High Court Case May Change Bankruptcy

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling in Purdue Pharma may be the death of most third-party releases in Chapter 11 cases, and depending on the decision’s breadth, could have much more far-reaching effects on the entire bankruptcy system, say Brian Shaw and David Doyle at Cozen O'Connor.

  • 5 Takeaways From SAP's Foreign Bribery Resolutions

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    German software company SAP’s recent settlements with the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, resolving allegations of foreign bribery, provide insights into government enforcement priorities, and how corporations should structure their compliance programs to reduce liability, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

  • Series

    Serving As A Sheriff's Deputy Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    Skills developed during my work as a reserve deputy — where there was a need to always be prepared, decisive and articulate — transferred to my practice as an intellectual property litigator, and my experience taught me that clients often appreciate and relate to the desire to participate in extracurricular activities, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

  • Perspectives

    Context Is Everything In Justices' Sentencing Relief Decision

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    In the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Pulsifer v. U.S. decision, limiting the number of drug offenders eligible for sentencing relief, the majority and dissent adopted very different contextual frames for interpreting the meaning of “and” — with the practical impact being that thousands more defendants will be subject to severe mandatory minimums, says Douglas Berman at Moritz College of Law​​​​​​​.

  • Opinion

    The SEC Is Engaging In Regulation By Destruction

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent use of regulation by enforcement against digital assets indicates it's more interested in causing harm to crypto companies than providing guidance to the markets or protecting investors, says J.W. Verret at George Mason University.

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