White Collar

  • September 19, 2024

    Mich. Atty Gets 1 Year For Inflating Apartment Values

    A Michigan attorney and real estate executive was sentenced Thursday to one year and a day in prison for inflating how profitable his company's apartments were, allowing him to sell them for more than $500 million. 

  • September 19, 2024

    Florida Banker Denies Laundering Money For Father

    A Florida banker pled not guilty Thursday to federal charges connected to laundering money for his father, who was convicted for his role in a corruption scandal involving canceling fines for a defective hydroelectric dam in exchange for millions in bribes while he served as Ecuador's comptroller.

  • September 19, 2024

    Convicted Drexel Professor Won't Get New Tax Evasion Trial

    A Drexel University accounting professor was denied a new trial after being convicted on tax evasion charges for failing to report $3.3 million in income from a Trenton pharmacy, a New Jersey federal judge has ruled, reasoning that the professor's case was not prejudiced by keeping accounting records related to his tax returns from the jury.

  • September 19, 2024

    Senate Panel Holds Steward CEO In Contempt After No-Show

    A U.S. Senate committee voted unanimously Thursday to hold Steward Health Care CEO Ralph de la Torre in civil and criminal contempt after he defied a subpoena to testify about the bankrupt health system's downfall.

  • September 19, 2024

    'Biblical Values' Firm To Pay $300K For Misleading Investors

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday order Idaho-based investment adviser Inspire Investing LLC to pay a $300,000 fine on allegations it made misleading statements and failed to institute compliance measures related to the firm's execution of its "biblically responsible investing" strategy.

  • September 19, 2024

    Scammers Bilked At Least $230M In Bitcoin, Feds Say

    Two people were arrested and charged with conspiring to steal and launder at least $230 million in bitcoin, allegedly using online monikers like "Anne Hathaway" and "VersaceGod," federal prosecutors said Thursday.

  • September 19, 2024

    Ex-Williams Sonoma Worker Bilked $11M In Scam, Feds Say

    A former Williams Sonoma employee was indicted in California federal court over a yearslong scheme in which he allegedly defrauded the company out of $11 million after submitting fraudulent invoices for work that was never performed by a fictitious staffing business he secretly owned, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

  • September 19, 2024

    Outcome Exec Who Flipped Gets 7 Months For $1B Fraud Role

    A former Outcome Health sales chief who was charged with helping to carry out a $1 billion fraud, but cooperated early and testified against his co-defendants, received seven months in prison Thursday for his role in the scheme.

  • September 19, 2024

    Macquarie Unit To Pay $80M To End SEC's Overvaluation Claims

    A subsidiary of Australian financial services company Macquarie Group Ltd. agreed Thursday to pay the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nearly $80 million to settle charges it overvalued largely illiquid mortgage-backed securities and carried out cross-trades that favored certain clients over others.

  • September 19, 2024

    Ex-La. Assistant DA Indicted In Bribery, Laundering Case

    A former assistant district attorney in Lafayette, Louisiana, has been indicted on allegations he conspired to solicit kickbacks and accept bribes while overseeing the 15th Judicial District Attorney's Office's pretrial intervention program. 

  • September 19, 2024

    Filing After Bar Lapse Was Honest Mistake, Prosecutor Says

    A Texas surgeon facing criminal charges for giving patient data to a media outlet regarding gender-affirming care provided to minors accused the government's lead prosecutor of taking the case while she had a suspended law license, a blunder the attorney called an unintentional error on Thursday.

  • September 19, 2024

    NJ Atty Tapped To Lead Embattled County Prosecutor's Office

    New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Thursday nominated a senior assistant Hunterdon County prosecutor specializing in human trafficking and other major crimes to take charge of the Warren County Prosecutor's Office, which has been roiled since April by a fraud investigation into its former leader.

  • September 19, 2024

    Feds Say Menendez Retrial Bid Ignores 'Overwhelming' Proof

    Prosecutors urged a Manhattan federal judge to reject former Sen. Bob Menendez's request for a new trial on corruption and bribery charges, arguing that evidence of his guilt was "overwhelming."

  • September 19, 2024

    AT&T Exec's Bribery Trial Ends With Hung Jury

    An Illinois federal judge declared a mistrial in a key corruption case after jurors told him twice Thursday they could not reach a unanimous verdict on any of the charges against an AT&T executive accused of illegally influencing former Illinois House speaker Michael Madigan.

  • September 19, 2024

    Alaska Man Accused Of Death Threats Against Justices

    An Alaska man has been indicted on charges of sending hundreds of hate-filled messages that included death, kidnap and assault threats to six unnamed U.S. Supreme Court justices, according to court documents.

  • September 19, 2024

    Feds Oppose Overturning Guilty Verdict For Crypto Trader

    Federal prosecutors told a New York federal judge that the crypto trader convicted of fraudulently draining more than $100 million from platform Mango Markets is wrongly attempting to recast factual issues as legal questions in his bid for acquittal.

  • September 19, 2024

    Federal Judicial Picks For 3 States Advance To Full Senate

    The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee sent four judicial nominations to the full Senate on Thursday, including that of a former U.S. attorney nominee whose confirmation was blocked by Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, before he became a vice presidential nominee.

  • September 18, 2024

    AI Musician Denies Purported $10M Streaming Scam

    A North Carolina man facing a novel fraud case alleging he used artificial intelligence on platforms like Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube to generate around $10 million in illegal revenues denied wrongdoing at his initial court appearance Wednesday in New York.

  • September 18, 2024

    SEC Files Its 1st Suits Over 'Pig Butchering' Crypto Scams

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed two first-of-their-kind suits against a series of entities and individuals behind a pair of so-called pig butchering schemes that allegedly solicited investments in fake crypto platforms by gaining people's trust over social media only to scam them out of nearly $3 million.

  • September 18, 2024

    Tax Chiefs Eye Crypto Payment Cos., OTC Traders, IRS Says

    Tax investigators in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia and the Netherlands are preparing guidance on red flags for cryptocurrency payment providers and over-the-counter trading desks following a joint operation this week, a special agent with the Internal Revenue Service said Wednesday.

  • September 18, 2024

    SEC Settles Latest Covington Info Theft Case For $33K

    A New Jersey man will pay a $33,000 civil penalty to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for insider trading on confidential merger tips that his cousin stole from a Covington & Burling LLP lawyer, according to a settlement filed in New York federal court on Wednesday.

  • September 18, 2024

    Combs Denied Bail, Feds Cite 'Massive' Trafficking Evidence

    A Manhattan federal judge on Wednesday denied bail for Sean "Diddy" Combs, upholding an earlier detention order despite a pitch by the hip-hop mogul accused of violent sex trafficking to be released to his luxe Miami Beach island home while awaiting trial.

  • September 18, 2024

    Staffing Co. Ex-CEO Gets Prison Time For $6M Billing Scheme

    The former CEO of a purported Georgia-based staffing company was sentenced to nearly eight years in federal prison after pleading guilty to fraud-related charges in a $6 million scheme using fake payroll invoices he sent to a financing business in Florida while pretending to be someone else.

  • September 18, 2024

    Harvard Rips Morgue Theft Appeal's Immunity Claim

    Harvard University told Massachusetts' intermediate-level appeals court that litigation over the alleged theft and sale of cadaver body parts from its medical school's morgue relies on a "crabbed" reading of an immunity law related to anatomical gifts.

  • September 18, 2024

    Jury Finds Eatery Owner Guilty Of COVID Fraud, Tax Crimes

    A San Diego restaurant owner who worked with food delivery services during the pandemic and saw his business improve was convicted by a California federal jury of tax crimes and lying on loan applications to obtain more than $1.7 million in COVID-19 funds meant for struggling businesses.

Expert Analysis

  • New Russia Sanctions Law: Bank Compliance Insights

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    Financial institutions must familiarize themselves with the new reporting obligations imposed by the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians Act, a recent law that authorizes seizures of Russian sovereign assets under U.S. jurisdiction, say attorneys at Seward & Kissel.

  • 3 Healthcare FCA Deals Provide Self-Disclosure Takeaways

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    Several civil False Claims Act settlements of alleged healthcare fraud violations over the past year demonstrate that healthcare providers may benefit substantially from voluntarily disclosing potential misconduct to both the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, say Brian Albritton and Raquel Ramirez Jefferson at Phelps Dunbar.

  • Menendez Corruption Ruling Highlights Attorney Proffer Risks

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    The recent admission of slides used in a preindictment presentation as evidence during U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez’s corruption trial highlights the potential pitfalls of using visual aids in attorney proffers, and the increasing importance of making disclaimers regarding information presented at the outset of proffers, say Carrie Cohen and Savanna Leak at MoFo.

  • Opinion

    Expert Witness Standards Must Consider Peer Review Crisis

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    For nearly two decades, the so-called replication crisis has upended how the scientific community views the reliability of peer-reviewed studies, and it’s time for courts to reevaluate whether peer review is a trustworthy proxy for expert witness reliability, say Jeffrey Gross and Robert LaCroix at Reid Collins.

  • Heading Off Officials' Errors When Awarded A Gov't Contract

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    Government contractors awarded state or local projects funded through federal programs should seek clarification of their compliance obligations, documenting everything, or risk having to defend themselves when they seek reimbursement months later, with only their word for support, says George Petel at Wiley.

  • Justices' Intent Witness Ruling May Be Useful For Defense Bar

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    At first glance, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Diaz v. U.S. decision, allowing experts to testify to the mental state of criminal defendants in federal court, gives prosecutors a new tool, but creative white collar defense counsel may be able to use the same tool to their own advantage, say Jack Sharman and Rachel Bragg at Lightfoot Franklin.

  • How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market

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    Faced with fierce competition and rising operating costs, firms are feeling the pressure to build a well-oiled marketing and business development team that supports strategic priorities, but they’ll need to be flexible and creative given a tight talent market, says Ben Curle at Ambition.

  • High Court's Expert Ruling May Help Health Fraud Defendants

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Diaz v. U.S. appears to give the government a powerful new tool in calling its own agents as expert witnesses, but it could also benefit defense counsel in criminal healthcare fraud and other white collar criminal cases that arise in complex legal or regulatory environments, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Jarkesy's Impact On SEC Enforcement Will Be Modest

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    Though the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy decision found that fraud defendants have a constitutional right to a jury trial, the ruling will have muted impact on the agency’s enforcement because it’s already bringing most of its cases in federal court, say Jeremiah Williams and Alyssa Fixsen at Ropes & Gray.

  • New FARA Letters Offer Insight Into DOJ's Approach

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recently released batch of 15 advisory opinions from the Foreign Agents Registration Act Unit provides important guidance on FARA registration triggers and exemptions, underscoring the breadth of FARA's scope, says Tessa Capeloto at Wiley.

  • Series

    Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step

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    From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Recent Settlement Shows 'China Initiative' Has Life After Death

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    Though the U.S. Department of Justice shuttered its controversial China Initiative two years ago, its recent False Claims Act settlement with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation demonstrates that prosecutors are more than willing to civilly pursue research institutions whose employees were previously targeted, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • DOJ Innovasis Settlement Offers Lessons On Self-Disclosure

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    The recent $12 million settlement with Innovasis and two of its executives demonstrates the U.S. Department of Justice's continued prioritization of Anti-Kickback Statute enforcement amid the growing circuit split over causation, and illustrates important nuances surrounding self-disclosure, say Denise Barnes and Scott Gallisdorfer at Bass Berry.

  • Opinion

    OFAC Sanctions Deserve To Be Challenged Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision opens the door to challenges against the Office of Foreign Assets Control's sanctions regime, the unintended consequences of which raise serious questions about the wisdom of what appears to be a scorched-earth approach, says Solomon Shinerock at Lewis Baach.

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