Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
White Collar
-
April 10, 2024
Chase, Zelle Can Arbitrate Stolen-Funds Reimbursement Case
A Pennsylvania federal judge on Tuesday granted Chase Bank and Zelle's request to arbitrate customer claims they acted negligently and violated consumer protection laws by refusing to refund stolen funds, with the judge saying that relevant virtual terms of service required by Chase are valid, and that Zelle may enforce the agreement as a third-party beneficiary.
-
April 10, 2024
Ex-BigLaw Atty In OneCoin Scam A Flight Risk, Feds Say
A former Locke Lord LLP partner who was convicted of laundering proceeds from the OneCoin cryptocurrency scam has "every incentive" to flee the country, prosecutors told a New York federal judge, arguing he shouldn't be allowed to stay out on bail while his appeal is pending.
-
April 10, 2024
Pot Cos. Say California City Reneged On Fee Waiver Promise
Six cannabis companies are suing the city of Cudahy in California federal court, saying the city breached its contracts by refusing to waive fees accrued during national emergencies and city-caused delays, costing the companies more than $26 million in damages.
-
April 10, 2024
Ropes & Gray Adds DOJ Senior Litigator To DC Team
Ropes & Gray LLP has hired a U.S. Department of Justice litigator who spent the past decade with the agency working on False Claims Act matters and other related disputes, the firm announced Tuesday.
-
April 10, 2024
PCAOB Fines KPMG, Deloitte Units $27M For Cheating Claims
KPMG Netherlands and two Deloitte units will pay a combined $27 million to settle allegations from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board of widespread answer sharing in their internal training programs, with KPMG's $25 million penalty marking the largest fine PCAOB has ever imposed.
-
April 10, 2024
Ex-Trump Finance Chief Weisselberg Jailed For Perjury
A New York state judge on Wednesday sentenced former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg to five months in jail for lying under oath in the attorney general's civil fraud case against Donald Trump and his business associates, imprisoning a close ally of the former president on the eve of his hush-money trial.
-
April 09, 2024
Men Agree To Pay $1M For Robocalls Targeting Black Voters
A pair of conservative conspiracy theorists have agreed to collectively pay $1 million to resolve litigation stemming from their robocall campaign that spread lies about voting by mail to Black voters ahead of the 2020 election, according to a consent decree filed Monday in New York federal court.
-
April 09, 2024
Quinn Emanuel, Davidoff Hutcher Sued Over Mansion Sale
The trustee for a bankrupt entity once owned by HFZ Capital Group has sued Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP and Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, seeking to claw back up to $2 million the firms allegedly fraudulently received from a $45 million Hamptons mansion sale linked to developer Nir Meir.
-
April 09, 2024
'You're Going To Lose These People,' Judge Tells Lynch Atty
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer on Tuesday chided a Steptoe partner representing former Autonomy CEO Michael Lynch in his criminal fraud jury trial, saying that his hourslong questioning of a Deloitte partner shouldn't go on much longer, or "you're going to lose these people."
-
April 09, 2024
Crypto Booster Says $1B SEC Fraud Suit Offends Free Speech
The crypto founder known as Richard Heart told a federal judge in Brooklyn on Tuesday that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission violated his and others' free speech rights when it brought a case accusing him of selling $1 billion worth of unregistered digital asset securities across his projects and misappropriating customer assets.
-
April 09, 2024
Crypto Trader Says $110M Mango Markets Trades Were Legit
An attorney for a crypto trader accused of stealing $110 million from investors on the Mango Markets exchange through a market manipulation scheme told a Manhattan federal jury on Tuesday that his client was executing a legitimate trading strategy and had no intent to defraud anyone.
-
April 09, 2024
Ex-Ohio Utility Chair Dies As Criminal Charges Mount
The onetime chair of Ohio's utility regulator, who was accused of stealing money from FirstEnergy Corp. as part of a bribery scheme behind a controversial $1.3 billion bailout for two nuclear energy plants, died Tuesday in an apparent suicide, the Franklin County Coroner's Office confirmed.
-
April 09, 2024
Calif. AG Backs Bill To Revamp 'Abysmal' Corporate Penalties
California Attorney General Rob Bonta gave his full support Tuesday to a state bill that would increase the cap on criminal penalties for corporate malfeasance from the "abysmal penalty" of $10,000 per felony to $25 million, or twice the value of the inflicted loss, and provide all proceeds to California's crime victim services.
-
April 09, 2024
In Trump Case, Justices Get Reminded Presidents Aren't Kings
Former President Donald Trump's bid for absolute presidential immunity from criminal prosecution flies in the face of a major feature of the U.S. Constitution, and would create novel obstacles for the military and the economy, backers of special counsel Jack Smith have told the U.S. Supreme Court.
-
April 09, 2024
Former Pharma Exec Can't Oust Judge In Contempt Case
A federal judge in Massachusetts on Tuesday denied what he called a "frivolous" motion to recuse himself from a criminal contempt proceeding against a former pharmaceutical executive who has acknowledged using an alias to flout an injunction banning him from working in the securities field.
-
April 09, 2024
StarKist, PE Co. Settle Tuna Price-Fixing Claims For $3.9M
Canned tuna buyers are hoping to settle their long-running price-fixing suit with StarKist and Bumble Bee, asking a California federal judge for preliminary approval of two class action payouts worth a total of $3.87 million.
-
April 09, 2024
White House, Senate Dems Want $1.3B To Fight COVID Fraud
The White House has been working with Senate Democrats on a $1.3 billion plan to expand the federal government's toolkit for going after pandemic fraudsters who took advantage of the influx of aid made available to different facets of the public during the COVID-19 pandemic.
-
April 09, 2024
Ex-LA Deputy Mayor Says Jury's Chats Warrant Mistrial
Former Los Angeles deputy mayor Raymond Chan is calling for a mistrial following his bribery conviction, telling a federal judge the jury foreperson and two other panel members discussed the case outside the jury room, reaching a premature verdict that likely swayed other jurors.
-
April 09, 2024
Crypto Mining CEO's Asset Freeze Fight Axed At 11th Circ.
An Eleventh Circuit panel has rejected a bid to lift an asset freeze by a man accused of running a crypto mining scheme, ruling U.S. financial industry regulators did not have to formally serve him before asking a court to block activity in his financial accounts.
-
April 09, 2024
2nd Circ. Doubts Venue 'Error' In Conn. Malware Convictions
The Second Circuit on Tuesday wondered why a Russian national convicted of providing technical support to a worldwide computer crime network waited until after his trial to argue that a Connecticut federal district court was the wrong venue for the matter, as the convict leaned on testimony from the leader of the Kelihos botnet to make his case during oral argument.
-
April 09, 2024
Ex-Ecuadorian Official Denies Laundering Construction Bribes
Ecuador's former comptroller on Tuesday denied accepting and laundering $10 million in bribes in exchange for eliminating fines imposed against a Brazilian company for constructing a shoddy hydroelectric plant, telling a Florida federal court he was charged with crimes because the project's corrupt manager lied to avoid prison time.
-
April 09, 2024
Trump Opposes NY Monitor Probe After Exec's Perjury
Attorneys for Donald Trump argued against allowing a court-appointed monitor of the Trump Organization to look into supposed discovery lapses in the New York attorney general's civil business fraud case related to a perjury plea by the company's former longtime Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg.
-
April 09, 2024
Former Atlanta CFO Pleads Guilty To Stealing City Funds
The city of Atlanta's former chief financial officer, Jim Beard, has pled guilty in a federal case alleging he obstructed an Internal Revenue Service audit and stole thousands of dollars in city funds to use for personal travel and the purchase of two custom-built machine guns.
-
April 09, 2024
Treasury Renews Call For Tools To Combat Crypto Crime
Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo on Tuesday renewed his call to Congress for additional tools to combat cryptocurrency's use by bad actors as lawmakers floated their own priorities for a cryptocurrency regulatory regime.
-
April 09, 2024
Boies Schiller Attys Face Sanctions Bid Over Epstein Suit
Boies Schiller Flexner LLP's chairman and a co-managing partner are facing a sanctions bid from associates of billionaire and sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein for filing a proposed class action against them despite the attorneys' clients previously signing releases of liability to receive victim compensation.
Expert Analysis
-
5 Gifts That May Run Afoul Of Government Ethics Rules
As the holiday season ramps up, it’s essential to keep in mind that government officials and employees are all subject to specific gift rules, and related violations can lead to consequences far worse than coal in one’s stocking, say Mark Renaud and Rob Walker at Wiley.
-
A Look At FedNow Liability Allocation And A 4th Circ. Toss-Up
Dsu-Wei Yuen and Andrew Lorentz at Davis Wright break down the current legal requirements that are directly applicable to common electronic payment systems like FedNow and Automated Clearing House and how they could be affected by a decision in Studco v. 1st Advantage Credit Union, currently on appeal in the Fourth Circuit.
-
The 4 Top Philadelphia Commerce Court Opinions Of 2023
Four 2023 rulings from the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas — including decisions on judicial privilege, stay requests, sheriff's sales and the appointment of a receiver — highlight the court's commitment to stringent standards and address evolving challenges in commercial litigation, say Jonathan Hugg and Sarah Boutros at Eckert Seamans.
-
A Former Bankruptcy Judge Talks 2023 High Court Rulings
In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued four bankruptcy law opinions — an extraordinary number — and a close look at these cases signals that changes to the U.S. Bankruptcy Code will have to come from Congress, not the courts, says Phillip Shefferly at the University of Michigan Law School.
-
3 Defense Takeaways From The Bankman-Fried Trial
FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s recent fraud conviction offers several key lessons for future white collar defendants, from the changing nature of cross-examination to the continued risks of taking the stand, say Jonathan Porter and Gregg Sofer at Husch Blackwell.
-
Series
Children's Book Writing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Becoming a children's book author has opened doors to incredible new experiences of which I barely dared to dream, but the process has also changed my life by serving as a reminder that strong writing, networking and public speaking skills are hugely beneficial to a legal career, says Shaunna Bailey at Sheppard Mullin.
-
Opinion
What Happens If High Court Rejects Releases In Purdue Ch. 11
Reading the tea leaves following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent arguments in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma, it appears likely that the justices will decide that bankruptcy courts lack the power to release third-party claims against nondebtors, which would result in one of three scenarios, says Gregory Germain at Syracuse University.
-
Lessons From DOJ's Wave Of Labor Market Prosecutions
Attorneys at Patterson Belknap consider lessons learned and future meaningful challenges following the U.S. Department of Justice's first six criminal antitrust cases targeting employee no-poach and wage-fixing agreements, in which just one case resulted in a guilty plea.
-
DOJ Officials' Remarks Signal New Trends In FARA Activity
Three U.S. Justice Department officials' remarks at a recent forum reinforce the department's renewed focus on aggressively enforcing the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which has been transformed into a significant national security and criminal enforcement tool, and its efforts to tightly regulate the activities of foreign agents in the U.S., say attorneys at Covington.
-
3 FinCEN Fraud Alerts To Remember In 2024
With financial fraud now the largest source of illicit proceeds in the U.S., banks should review this year's key Financial Crimes Enforcement Network alerts to ensure their employees know the warning signs of three types of rising scams and understand how to effectively report suspicious activity, says Memrie Fortenberry at Jones Walker.
-
How Clients May Use AI To Monitor Attorneys
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Artificial intelligence tools will increasingly enable clients to monitor and evaluate their counsel’s activities, so attorneys must clearly define the terms of engagement and likewise take advantage of the efficiencies offered by AI, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.
-
7 Enforcement Predictions For US Export Controls, Sanctions
Federal agencies' assertions of coming increases in export-control and sanctions-violations enforcement are not new, but recent improvements in resources and inter-agency cooperation allow for certain predictions about how the administration’s latest approach to enforcement may be applied going forward, say attorneys at Akin.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.