DOJ To Speed Up Review Of Qui Tam Benefits Fraud Claims

By Madeline Lyskawa

The U.S. Department of Justice announced that it's speeding up the agency's review of whistleblower complaints accusing contractors of defrauding state-administered benefits programs that are funded by the federal government, in violation of the False Claims Act. 

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Justices Say First Step Act Not 'Vehicle' For Innocence Claim

By Phillip Bantz

The U.S. Supreme Court held Thursday that judges lack wide discretion to pare down sentences for criminal defendants under the First Step Act based on questions about the validity of a conviction, shutting the door on a potential wave of postconviction relief petitions, experts said.

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Dem Sens. Ask DOJ To Preserve Trump-IRS Settlement Docs

By Jack McLoone

Two Democratic Senate leaders asked the U.S. Department of Justice to preserve any records related to the settlement of President Donald Trump's suit against the IRS in a letter published Thursday, signaling that further investigations may be coming.

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Ex-Prosecutor Wants Trump 'Slush Fund' Payments Blocked

By Hailey Konnath

A former federal prosecutor who worked on Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection cases was among a handful of individuals and groups Thursday who pressed federal courts to issue temporary restraining orders blocking payouts from President Donald Trump's $1.8 billion "slush fund," according to motions filed in Virginia and Washington, D.C.

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Goldstein Says Bad Jury Instructions Warrant New Trial

By Jared Foretek

SCOTUSblog founder Tom Goldstein said that the prosecutors who convicted him on 12 tax and mortgage fraud charges in February are now contradicting arguments they made at the end of his trial in their attempt to deny him a bench acquittal or new trial.

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Ex-TD Bank Worker Admits Role In $3M Customer Fraud Scam

By Dorothy Atkins

A former TD Bank NA financial service representative entered a plea deal in New Jersey federal court Wednesday, admitting to defrauding bank customers and bribing an employee at another financial institution to falsify bank records to facilitate a $3.4 million fraud scheme.

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Justices Revive Mississippi Death Row Inmate's Batson Claim

By Marco Poggio

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a Black Mississippi death row prisoner who argued racial discrimination tainted his jury selection is entitled to habeas corpus relief, finding that Mississippi's courts improperly rejected his challenge to the prosecutor's juror strikes.

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SEC Says AI Crypto Trading Bot Was $12M Ponzi Scheme

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday accused a Texas man of lining his pockets with millions of dollars in investor funds that he falsely promised would be used to trade cryptocurrency using an artificial intelligence-operated bot.

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Financial Adviser Gets 2 Years For $3.7M Investment Fraud

By Gina Kim

A Pennsylvania financial adviser was sentenced to more than two years in prison in federal court Thursday after copping to wire fraud stemming from a scheme where he transferred over $3.7 million from the bank account of a fund he managed to another client's account, to recoup investment losses.

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Detroit Ex-Mayor Can't Prevent Seizure Of Bank Account

By Susan Smiley

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick will have 100% of the funds in a bank account tied to him garnished by the U.S. government for distribution in accordance with his criminal judgment, a Michigan federal judge ordered Thursday.

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Man Who Used 'God And Ga. Football' For Fraud Gets 4 Years

By Kelcey Caulder

A federal judge in Atlanta sentenced a man who defrauded would-be investors and college football fans out of more than $940,000 to four years in prison on Thursday, saying he "took advantage of God and Georgia football" to carry out the schemes. 

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4th Circ. Rules IRS 'Cooperation' Doesn't Sink Tax Convictions

By Hayley Fowler

The Fourth Circuit on Thursday affirmed the convictions of two software executives found guilty at trial of failing to pay employment taxes to the Internal Revenue Service, rejecting the notion that their alleged cooperation with the IRS somehow undermined the charges.

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Series

Studying Foreign Languages Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Studying Italian and Japanese has shown me that learning a new language can benefit a legal career in several ways, including by demonstrating the importance of approaching problems from a fresh perspective and the value of practicing patience with colleagues and clients, says Anna King at Genworth Financial.

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Brief

Davis Polk Adds A&O Shearman Antitrust Partner In NY

By Andrea Keckley

Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP has hired a former A&O Shearman partner, who joined its antitrust and competition practice in New York.

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Bonus Spotlight

Selendy Gay Doles Out Spring Associate Bonuses

By Aebra Coe

New York litigation boutique Selendy Gay PLLC paid its associates spring bonuses of as much as $25,000 this week, according to the firm.

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Ex-Calif. Appellate Judge To Take Over As Law School Dean

By Rose Krebs

A former California appellate justice, who was the first Muslim to serve as a Court of Appeal justice in the U.S., has been named Western State College of Law at Westcliff University's next dean.

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Dems Say DOJ Blocked Bondi On Trump Questions

By Courtney Bublé

Democrats were incensed on Friday that the U.S. Department of Justice attorneys who accompanied former Attorney General Pam Bondi to her committee interview stopped her from answering questions about President Donald Trump.

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Civil Rights Icon Clarence B. Jones Dies At 95

By Andrea Keckley

Civil rights icon Clarence B. Jones, a speechwriter and personal attorney to Martin Luther King Jr., died on Friday at an assisted living facility in the Santa Clara County city of Cupertino, California, his family confirmed earlier this week. He was 95.

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Roundup

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Megan Norcott

The past week in London has seen the billionaire who donated £5 million ($6.7 million) to Nigel Farage sue Ben Habib, the leader of far-right party Advance UK, for defamation; Mashreqbank bring claims against three subsidiaries of dissolved private equity giant Abraaj Group for commercial fraud; and the property and investment vehicle of the State of Kuwait be targeted by four real estate figures who filed a miscellaneous claim. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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Titan Of The Plaintiffs Bar: Boies Schiller's Matthew Schwartz

By Sarah Jarvis

Matthew L. Schwartz oscillated among many career aspirations as a kid, from astronaut to mayor of New York. When it was time to head off to college, the man who would go on to handle the prosecution of employees tied to Bernie Madoff and become chair of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP set his sights on science, earning an undergraduate degree in physics.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Phillips Black Inc., Hogan Lovells and Watkins & Eager PLLC lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a Black Mississippi death row prisoner who argued racial discrimination tainted his jury selection is entitled to habeas corpus relief.

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DLA Piper Hires Real Estate, Construction Partner In Seattle

By Nate Beck

DLA Piper said it has added a Seattle-based real estate partner with experience advising a range of construction projects including data centers, mixed-use projects, schools and renewable energy facilities.

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

Kirkland & Ellis says it's investing a half billion dollars into developing its own artificial intelligence platform to better serve clients. And Law360 looks at the general counsel who is guiding BP through its latest leadership crisis after the company abruptly dismissed its board chair.

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Baker McKenzie Asks Judge Not To Toss Suit Against Ex-Atty

By Alison Knezevich

A lawyer for Baker McKenzie on Friday urged a Washington, D.C., judge not to dismiss the BigLaw firm's defamation suit against a former tax associate who accused a firm office leader of sexual assault, telling the court the accusations were false and made with "malice."

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Fla. Panel Revives Firm's Suit Over Tobacco Case Referrals

By David Minsky

A Florida state appellate court revived a law firm's complaint alleging tortious interference against a widow over a contingency fee agreement involving tobacco injury case referrals, finding that the lower court wrongly tossed the lawsuit based on extraneous information even though there was sufficient evidence to support a claim.

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NY Judge Doubts Nussbaum-Linked Firms Belong In Ch. 11

By Emily Lever

A New York bankruptcy judge on Friday questioned whether his court was the proper venue to wind down two commercial real estate law firms headed by Mark J. Nussbaum as the debtors sought to ditch an assignment for the benefit of creditors process in New York state court.

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