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White Collar
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April 24, 2024
Kwok Jurors To Be Anonymous Amid Harassment Concerns
Jurors who will decide the criminal fraud and racketeering case against exiled Chinese billionaire Ho Wan Kwok will be anonymous and partially sequestered, a New York federal judge said on Wednesday, ruing that if their identities are revealed they could face the same harassment that befell Kwok's bankruptcy trustee.
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April 24, 2024
Tax Fraud Case Skewed By Prosecutors' Spin, NC Jury Told
Prosecutors and defense attorneys in a tax fraud trial against two lawyers and an insurance agent traded final barbs Wednesday in a North Carolina courtroom before sending the jury to deliberate, with the defendants again defending the tax plan at the center of the government's case and accusing prosecutors of making up facts.
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April 24, 2024
Crypto Mixer Execs Arrested Over $2B In Illicit Transactions
New York federal prosecutors announced Wednesday that they have arrested the co-founders of crypto mixing service Samourai Wallet over their operation of a crypto service that authorities say executed over $2 billion in unlawful transactions.
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April 24, 2024
DEA's Upcoming Decision On Cannabis Likely To Be Litigated
The potential loosening of federal restrictions on marijuana is likely to be litigated for years, and the pro-legalization camp would do well to pool resources to build the most persuasive evidentiary record it can, a leading cannabis advocate said Wednesday.
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April 24, 2024
Backpage Execs Win Partial Acquittal In Prostitution Ad Retrial
An Arizona federal judge has partially overturned jury retrial convictions against two former Backpage.com executives and the now-defunct classifieds website's co-founder, but she refused to acquit the trio of all charges or grant a second retrial in a sprawling criminal case alleging they facilitated Backpage's $500 million prostitution scheme.
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April 24, 2024
Instagram Star Gets 7 Years For Multiple Fraud Schemes
A Brooklyn federal judge on Wednesday imposed a seven-year prison term on a former Instagram influencer who admitted to defrauding members of his Muslim community and others out of over $8 million via a bogus investment fund and Bitcoin theft, saying the crime probably should be featured on the television show "American Greed."
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April 24, 2024
Seagram's Heiress Can't Cut NXIVM Prison Sentence
An heir to the Seagram's liquor fortune has been denied a reduction in her nearly seven-year prison term for her role in the alleged sex cult NXIVM.
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April 24, 2024
Ill. Woman Gets 18 Months For Role In $16M COVID Aid Theft
An Illinois federal judge sentenced a woman to 18 months in prison on Wednesday for her "supporting role" in a scheme to fraudulently obtain at least $16 million in federal coronavirus-relief small business loans, saying that while she wasn't the ringleader of the fraud, she still committed a "crime of greed."
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April 24, 2024
Meet The Attorneys Arguing Trump's Immunity At High Court
A Missouri solicitor general-turned-law firm founder will square off Thursday against a U.S. solicitor general's office veteran who is a member of an elite group of U.S. Supreme Court bar attorneys in a special oral argument session over former President Donald Trump's bid for immunity from federal criminal charges alleging he interfered in the 2020 presidential election.
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April 24, 2024
Feds File Conspiracy Charges In $1M La. 'Romance' Fraud
U.S. prosecutors in Louisiana have charged three Atlanta-area individuals of running "romance scams" to defraud victims of more than $1 million, according to a recently unsealed indictment in Pelican State federal court.
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April 24, 2024
Mass. Golf Course Manager Gets 13 Months For Tax Fraud
A Massachusetts golf course manager was sentenced to 13 months in prison after pleading guilty to tax charges, following prosecutors' accusations that he manipulated contracts with a home developer to deflate their value.
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April 24, 2024
Forex Trader Must Pay $11.8M For Ponzi-Like Scheme
A Michigan federal judge on Tuesday said a purported forex commodity pool operator and its agent must pay more than $11.8 million in penalties and restitution for bilking participants in a Ponzi-like scheme, after the defendants ignored a Commodity Futures Trading Commission suit.
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April 24, 2024
Metals Firm To Pay $66M Over Retirement Coin Scam
A California federal judge has ordered a metals trading firm to pay $66 million and each of its owners to pay between $1 million and $3 million to settle claims that they defrauded hundreds of investors by convincing them to sell their retirement securities to buy gold and silver coins at inflated prices.
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April 24, 2024
Binance Founder Should Get 3 Years, Not Probation, Feds Say
Federal prosecutors asked a Washington federal judge to sentence Binance founder Changpeng Zhao to three years over his failure to implement an effective anti-money laundering program at his crypto exchange, but the founder said jail time isn't necessary since he's already paid "massive" fines and comparable cases haven't resulted in prison sentences.
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April 24, 2024
Bill To Repeal 'Zombie' 1864 Abortion Ban Clears Ariz. House
Legislation that would repeal an 1864 law banning almost all abortions in Arizona narrowly cleared the state House on Wednesday after a handful of Republican lawmakers crossed party lines to help Democrats muscle the measure through following a bruising debate.
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April 24, 2024
Chicago Museum Accuses New York DA Of Art Seizure Overreach
The Art Institute of Chicago has urged a New York criminal court to give back an Egon Schiele drawing seized by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, saying the artwork was never looted by Nazis and prosecutors have no business litigating a civil ownership dispute.
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April 24, 2024
Trump Considered 'Co-Conspirator' In Mich. Elector Probe
Donald Trump and his former lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis are considered unindicted co-conspirators in an alleged plot to cast Michigan's electoral votes for the former president following the 2020 election, a witness revealed Wednesday in criminal proceedings against the so-called false electors.
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April 24, 2024
DEA Agent Who Sold Info To Private Detective Gets 4 Years
A Manhattan federal judge hit a suspended U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent with a four-year prison sentence Wednesday after a jury convicted him of taking bribes from a Florida private investigator in exchange for spilling secrets about criminal investigations of narcotics dealers.
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April 24, 2024
Student Gets 9 Mos. For Stalking China Democracy Activist
A Boston federal judge on Wednesday sentenced a Chinese national to nine months in prison for threatening a fellow student at the Berklee College of Music who had posted a pro-democracy flier on campus, citing a desire to deter other foreigners from engaging in criminal conduct to suppress speech.
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April 24, 2024
Senate OKs Testimony And Evidence For Menendez Trial
U.S. senators and current and former staff members have received approval to testify at the bribery trial of Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, which begins in federal court in New York on May 13.
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April 24, 2024
Baldwin Alleges 'Rust' Prosecutors Abused Justice System
Alec Baldwin is accusing New Mexico prosecutors of committing a "mountain of misconduct" in pursuing a "wildly out of control" involuntary manslaughter case against the "Rust" actor-producer.
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April 24, 2024
Feds Nab Latest OneCoin Plea On $35M Laundering Charge
An eighth defendant has been charged by federal prosecutors over the global OneCoin cryptocurrency scam and has pled guilty to laundering about $35 million in illicit proceeds through bank accounts he controlled in China and Hong Kong.
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April 24, 2024
Trump Says 1890s Ruling Nixes Ga. False Filing Charges
Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday told a Georgia court a 134-year-old U.S. Supreme Court case requires the court to dismiss state charges that he made false filings in federal court in an alleged attempt to overturn the results of the last presidential election.
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April 24, 2024
Trump Can't Subpoena Daniels For Alleged Bias In NY Trial
A New York state judge rejected Donald Trump's "overbroad" subpoena seeking records that the former president said would show bias by adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of her testimony about an alleged hush money payment in 2016.
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April 24, 2024
Ohio Law Formally Excuses Nursing Moms From Jury Duty
Prospective jurors who are nursing infants can avoid jury duty in Ohio, according to a bill Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law this week.
Expert Analysis
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SDNY Ruling Warns Parties To Heed Amended Disclosure Rule
A Manhattan federal court’s recent ruling in U.S. v. Mrabet forewarns both prosecutors and defense counsel that amended expert witness disclosure obligations will be rigorously enforced by judges, and gives some insight into how courts may deal with related constitutional challenges, say John Siffert and Brandon Davis at Lankler Siffert.
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8 Ways To Negotiate Improved Disgorgement Outcomes
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's nearly $3.4 billion collected in disgorgements in 2023 shows that substantial disgorgement claims from regulators and law enforcement are the new norm, but corporations may be able to dramatically reduce what they owe by using eight strategies to argue for reduced net profit calculations, say experts at AlixPartners.
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How The NY AG Leads Investigations In Civil Securities Fraud
Although investigating white collar fraud can put significant strain on state and local resources, the New York Attorney General's Office has continued to use its expansive statutory authority to take a leading role in bringing civil enforcement actions in highly complex financial matters, say Carrie Cohen and Nathan Reilly at MoFo.
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Series
The Pop Culture Docket: Judge D'Emic On Moby Grape
The 1968 Moby Grape song "Murder in My Heart for the Judge" tells the tale of a fictional defendant treated with scorn by the judge, illustrating how much the legal system has evolved in the past 50 years, largely due to problem-solving courts and the principles of procedural justice, says Kings County Supreme Court Administrative Judge Matthew D'Emic.
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Navigating Asset Tracing Challenges In Bankruptcy
A Virginia court’s recent ruling in Health Diagnostic Laboratory Inc.'s bankruptcy highlights the heightened demand for asset tracing and the strategic use of the lowest intermediate balance rule in recovering funds from commingled accounts, says Daniel Lowenthal at Patterson Belknap.
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Series
Performing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer
The discipline of performing live music has directly and positively influenced my effectiveness as a litigator — serving as a reminder that practice, intuition and team building are all important elements of a successful law practice, says Jeff Wakolbinger at Bryan Cave.
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Reverse Proffers In Federal Criminal Cases Can Be A Win-Win
The increasingly popular reverse proffer — in which prosecutors disclose evidence to targets of a criminal investigation — can help the government test its case and persuade witnesses to cooperate, and can help defendants sharpen their strategies and obtain favorable deals by choosing to cooperate, say Jeffrey Martino and Byron Tuyay at Baker McKenzie.
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Aviation Watch: Pilots Face Mental Health Catch-22
The recent case of an Alaska Airlines pilot who attempted to crash an airliner in flight highlights the dilemma facing federally licensed cockpit personnel who need psychological help, yet could lose their jobs if they seek it — but a long-running program may provide a solution, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.
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Breaking Down High Court's New Code Of Conduct
The U.S. Supreme Court recently adopted its first-ever code of conduct, and counsel will need to work closely with clients in navigating its provisions, from gift-giving to recusal bids, say Phillip Gordon and Mateo Forero at Holtzman Vogel.
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Trump NY Fraud Trial Shows Civil, Criminal Case Differences
Former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial currently unfolding in New York provides a reminder that civil bench trials can be just as damaging, if not more so, than criminal prosecutions, due to several key elements of civil litigation procedure, says retired attorney David Moskowitz.
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How Purdue High Court Case Will Shape Ch. 11 Mass Injury
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent arguments in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma, addressing the authority of bankruptcy courts to approve nonconsensual third-party releases in Chapter 11 settlement plans, highlight the case's wide-ranging implications for how mass injury cases get resolved in bankruptcy proceedings, says George Singer at Holland & Hart.
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How New Expert Rules Are Already Changing Court Decisions
Though not formally effective until last week, some courts have been relying for several years on amended federal rules clarifying judges’ gatekeeping role, so counsel should be prepared to justify their expert witnesses’ methodologies and expect additional motion practice on expert testimony admissibility, say Colleen Kenney and Daniel Kelly at Sidley.
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Opinion
Legal Profession Gender Parity Requires Equal Parental Leave
To truly foster equity in the legal profession and to promote attorney retention, workplaces need to better support all parents, regardless of gender — starting by offering equal and robust parental leave to both birthing and non-birthing parents, says Ali Spindler at Irwin Fritchie.
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1 Year In, Money Laundering Law Tweak May Have Big Impact
Despite receiving little attention, Congress' quiet extension of the statute of limitations for money laundering offenses involving foreign bribery offenses is a powerful prosecutorial tool that defense counsel can nevertheless counter by using certain pretrial challenges, says attorney Andrew Feldman.
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New Regs Will Strengthen Voluntary Carbon Offset Market
Voluntary carbon offsets are a vital tool for organizations seeking to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions — and recent efforts by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the state of California and others are essential to enhancing the reliability and authenticity of carbon credits, says David Smith at Manatt.