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White Collar
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May 28, 2024
FTX Exec Who Acted As Bankman-Fried 'Tool' Gets 7½ Years
A Manhattan federal judge hit cryptocurrency finance expert and former FTX executive Ryan Salame with a 7½-year sentence Tuesday for duping a bank to authorize $1.5 billion of illegal transfers and making fraudulent campaign contributions for the exchange's convicted founder, Sam Bankman-Fried.
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May 24, 2024
5 Themes That Could Determine Trump's NY Criminal Trial
With closing arguments set for Tuesday morning in Donald Trump's New York hush money case and deliberations on the horizon, here's a look at the themes that have dominated the historic, monthlong trial so far.
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May 24, 2024
SD Tribe Says Feds Won't Give Up Info Amid Safety Crisis
The Crow Creek Sioux Tribe is suing the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Office of Justice Services, asking a federal district court to order the agency to hand over five years of budget records in an effort to combat a public safety crisis on its reservation.
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May 24, 2024
Carhartt Heiress Atty Can't Get Mistrial Over Own Witness
A Michigan attorney can't get a mistrial in a criminal case accusing him of embezzling millions from his wealthy Carhartt heiress client after his own witness discussed the heiress' $37 million potential loss during cross-examination, with a state judge saying Friday he was mystified why the witness was even called but that the defense had insisted on it.
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May 24, 2024
Fla. Lab Owner Will Pay $27M To End False Billing Suit
A Florida medical lab owner who pled guilty to charges related to accusations he billed Medicare for $53 million in unnecessary genetic cancer screening tests has agreed to pay more than $27 million to resolve three whistleblower suits over the same conduct, according to an announcement Friday from the U.S. Department of Justice.
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May 24, 2024
Alec Baldwin Must Face 'Rust' Shooting Charges
A New Mexico state judge on Friday denied Alec Baldwin's motion to dismiss his indictment on involuntary manslaughter charges in the fatal on-set shooting of a cinematographer during the filming of "Rust" in Santa Fe, rejecting the actor's claims of prosecutorial misconduct before the grand jury.
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May 24, 2024
Biden's Judicial Impact And What's Left On The Wish List
President Joe Biden secured confirmation of his 200th federal judge Wednesday and has transformed the judiciary by picking more women and people of color than any other president. But the upcoming election season could derail his hopes of confirming many more judges.
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May 24, 2024
Exiled Chinese Businessman Is No $1B Fraudster, Jury Told
Exiled Chinese businessman and purported billionaire Guo Wengui ran legitimate companies in support of a broad movement that opposed the Chinese Communist Party, his attorney told a Manhattan federal jury Friday, rather than what prosecutors say was a multifaceted $1 billion fraud.
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May 24, 2024
Weinstein Atty Trying To Chill Retrial Testimony, DA Says
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office has argued that a lawyer for Harvey Weinstein violated ethics rules by publicly accusing one of the movie mogul's alleged rape victims of perjury in an "obvious" attempt to dissuade her from testifying again at an upcoming retrial.
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May 24, 2024
Foley & Lardner Given All-Clear To Exit SEC Suit
A North Carolina federal judge permitted Foley & Lardner LLP on Friday to exit as counsel for a Malta-based registered investment adviser that is defending claims in a $75 million lawsuit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, despite the judge's previous concerns about the firm's withdrawal.
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May 24, 2024
Burn Charity Bookkeeper Did Not Steal Money, Estate Says
The estate of a Connecticut burn care charity's longtime bookkeeper has denied that she stole more than $655,000 before her death in August 2023, pushing back on claims in a state court lawsuit that seeks nearly $2 million in damages.
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May 24, 2024
Fulton DA Appeals Nixing Of Six Counts In Ga. Elections Case
The Fulton County District Attorney's Office said it is appealing a ruling that dismissed six counts from the Georgia election interference indictment of former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants.
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May 24, 2024
McElroy Deutsch Seeks Win Against Ex-CFO After Guilty Plea
McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP is urging a New Jersey state court to order its former chief financial officer to pay roughly $1.5 million damages for "unauthorized compensation" he paid himself and force him to disgorge $5.4 million in pay he received from the firm.
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May 24, 2024
Menendez, Kasowitz Firm Spar Over Subpoena To Cooperator
Amid his bribery trial, U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey is urging a Manhattan federal judge to order a government cooperator to turn over communications involving his current counsel at Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP and his former attorneys.
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May 23, 2024
Ex-Autonomy CEO Lynch Takes Stand In 'Surreal' Fraud Trial
Autonomy founder Michael Lynch took the stand Thursday in a criminal trial in California federal court over claims he lied to HP about his software company's financial health before the tech giant paid $11.7 billion for it in 2011, saying the trial has been "surreal" and he didn't set out to defraud HP.
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May 23, 2024
Ex-Bank CEO Cops To Embezzling $47M To Pay Crypto Scam
Heartland Tri-State Bank's former chief executive pled guilty Thursday in Kansas federal court to embezzling $47 million that he wired to cryptocurrency accounts controlled by fraudsters after falling victim to a "pig butchering" scam, which led to the bank's collapse and subsequent shutdown last summer.
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May 23, 2024
SD Governor Now Banned By All Nine Of State's Tribes
The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe is asking South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to clarify and apologize for her repeated statements that tribal leaders are working with drug cartels after its executive council voted to ban her from their lands, becoming the last of the state's nine tribes to take such action.
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May 23, 2024
Charges Tossed For Army Doc, Wife In Russia Data Leak Case
A Maryland federal judge dismissed all charges against a U.S. Army physician and her wife who were accused of trying to leak military patients' medical information to Russia, finding the government violated the Speedy Trial Act and bungled the defense's request for access to classified information.
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May 23, 2024
FTX Judge Declines To Undo Ch. 11 Digital Claim Estimation
The judge overseeing the Chapter 11 case of cryptocurrency exchange FTX Trading Ltd. on Thursday denied a request to vacate an earlier ruling allowing the debtor to estimate the claims of creditors holding digital assets based on their petition date value, saying the party seeking to undo the order had not provided any new evidence to justify the action.
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May 23, 2024
Mich. Atty Convicted For Arranging Murder Of Jeweler Client
A Michigan attorney was one of two convicted by an Oakland County jury Thursday of first-degree premeditated murder and conspiracy for their role in a plot to kill his client, a well-known jeweler, to gain access to millions of dollars in the jeweler's trust.
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May 23, 2024
Big Banks Hit With Claims Of Turning Man Into 'Money Mule'
A wealthy Texas entrepreneur says Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Charles Schwab and Deutsche Bank turned him into a "money mule" by using his accounts to launder billions of dollars over multiple decades, alleging a conspiracy also involving his family and a prominent lawyer that cost him millions.
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May 23, 2024
Ex-Physical Therapy Clinics Owner Gets 2 Yrs. In Billing Scam
The former owner of eight physical therapy clinics in the Boston area was sentenced Thursday in Massachusetts federal court to just over two years in prison for a years-long scheme to bill insurance companies for nonexistent treatments, including for himself.
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May 23, 2024
Wiz Khalifa Settles Suit Over Cannabis Venture
Rapper Wiz Khalifa has settled a lawsuit filed by the co-owner of his cannabis enterprise who claimed he was cut out of a $20 million deal to license the artist's name and likeness to promote cannabis products.
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May 23, 2024
Feds Score Discovery Pause In SEC Suit Against CoinDeal
A Michigan federal judge on Thursday granted the federal government's motion to intervene and stay discovery in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission suit alleging a group of individuals and businesses duped investors out of more than $45 million through a CoinDeal investment fraud scheme.
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May 23, 2024
Ex-Fund Manager Settles SEC's $264M Offering Fraud Claims
A former private fund manager has agreed to pay $250,000 to resolve U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission claims he violated securities fraud laws by making promises that funds he handled would invest almost $264 million that they did not actually have on hand in issuers, including two special purpose acquisition vehicles.
Expert Analysis
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A Look Into How Jurors Reach High Damages Awards
In the wake of several large jury awards, Richard Gabriel and Emily Shaw at Decision Analysis shed light on challenges that jurors have in deciding them, the nonevidentiary and extra-legal methods they use to do so, and new research about the themes and jury characteristics of high-damages jurors.
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What New Calif. Strike Force Means For White Collar Crimes
The recently announced Central District of California strike force targeting complex corporate and securities fraud — following the Northern District of California's model — combines experienced prosecutorial leadership and partnerships with federal agencies like the IRS and FBI, and could result in an uptick in the number of cases and speed of proceedings, say attorneys at MoFo.
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Managing Competing Priorities In Witness Preparation
There’s often a divide between what attorneys and witnesses want out of the deposition process, but litigation teams can use several strategies to resolve this tension and help witnesses be more comfortable with the difficult conditions of testifying, say Ava Hernández and Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.
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Reimagining Law Firm Culture To Break The Cycle Of Burnout
While attorney burnout remains a perennial issue in the legal profession, shifting post-pandemic expectations mean that law firms must adapt their office cultures to retain talent, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
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Understanding And Working With The Millennials On Your Jury
Every trial attorney will be facing a greater proportion of millennials on their jury, as they now comprise the largest generation in the U.S., and winning them over requires an understanding of their views on politics, corporations and damages, says Clint Townson at Townson Litigation Consulting.
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Grant Compliance Takeaways From Ga. Tech's FCA Settlement
Georgia Tech’s recent False Claims Act settlement over its failure to detect compliance shortcomings in a grant program was unique in that it involved a voluntary repayment of funds prior to the resolution, offering a few key lessons for universities receiving research funding from the government, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
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Series
Competing In Dressage Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My lifelong participation in the sport of dressage — often called ballet on horses — has proven that several skills developed through training and competition are transferable to legal work, especially the ability to harness focus, persistence and versatility when negotiating a deal, says Stephanie Coco at V&E.
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Opinion
White Collar Plea Deals Are Rarely 'Knowing' And 'Voluntary'
Because prosecutors are not required to disclose exculpatory evidence during plea negotiations, white collar defendants often enter into plea deals that don’t meet the U.S. Supreme Court’s “knowing” and “voluntary” standard for trials — but individual courts and solutions judges could rectify the issue, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.
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CFTC Moves May Boost Interest In Voluntary Carbon Markets
As companies try to reduce their net greenhouse gas emissions, many have been cautious about embracing voluntary carbon credit markets — but recent moves by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to regulate this sector may address some of its well-known challenges, say Deborah North and Laura Daugherty at Cleary.
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Sentencing Shift Might Not Help Most White Collar Defendants
Many have lauded the new zero-point offender adjustment in the U.S. sentencing guidelines, which may provide a pathway for noncustodial sentences for first-time offenders — but given the types of cases federal prosecutors often pursue, it likely won't offer much relief to white collar defendants, says Saurish Appleby-Bhattacharjee at BCLP.
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2 SEC Orders Illuminate Bribery Risks For US-China Cos.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s foreign bribery-related resolutions with 3M and Clear Channel offer important takeaways on compliance risks for companies with operations in China, from the role of traditionally low-risk vendors to gaps in internal accounting controls, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.
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Opinion
High Court's Gifts Problem Taints Public Corruption Cases
A history of U.S. Supreme Court justices failing to disclose luxurious gifts from wealthy donors coincides with a troubling line of court precedent overturning jury convictions in public corruption cases, indicating that perhaps justices aren't presently fit to be making these decisions, says Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.
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The Legal Industry Needs A Cybersecurity Paradigm Shift
As law firms face ever-increasing risks of cyberattacks and ransomware incidents, the legal industry must implement robust cybersecurity measures and privacy-centric practices to preserve attorney-client privilege, safeguard client trust and uphold the profession’s integrity, says Ryan Paterson at Unplugged.
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As Promised, IRS Is Coming For Crypto Tax Evaders
The IRS is fulfilling its promise to crack down on those who have neglected to pay taxes on cryptocurrency earnings, as demonstrated by recently imposed prison sentences, enforcement initiatives and meetings with international counterparts — suggesting a few key takeaways for taxpayer compliance, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.
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5 Reasons Associates Shouldn't Take A Job Just For Money
As a number of BigLaw firms increase salary scales for early-career attorneys, law students and lateral associates considering new job offers should weigh several key factors that may matter more than financial compensation, say Albert Tawil at Lateral Hub and Ruvin Levavi at Power Forward.