White Collar

  • March 27, 2024

    Hunter Biden Judge Doubts Tax Charges Politically Motivated

    A California federal judge Wednesday appeared unpersuaded by Hunter Biden's claim that the special counsel's decision to file criminal tax charges after a plea deal collapsed was motivated by pressure from Republican lawmakers, remarking that "there really is no evidence to support that contention."

  • March 27, 2024

    No New Trial For Hedge Fund Boss In Forex Rigging Case

    A New York federal judge on Friday refused to acquit or call for a new trial for a U.K.-based hedge fund chief convicted of illegally manipulating a currency exchange rate, rejecting his argument that his alleged conduct lacked sufficient ties to the United States.

  • March 27, 2024

    9th Circ. Revives Claims Against Apple In Crypto Theft Row

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday partially reinstated a putative class action accusing Apple of misrepresenting the safety of its App Store after users' cryptocurrency was stolen from an app, finding that while a federal tech immunity law shielded Apple from an array of fraud and wiretapping claims, three consumer protection claims could move forward. 

  • March 27, 2024

    Evidence On Ex-Mozambique Official Stays In $2B Fraud Suit

    A former Mozambique finance minister can't keep evidence from his phone out of a case alleging his involvement in a $2 billion scheme to siphon government-backed project funds from that country after a federal judge in Brooklyn on Wednesday backed the phone's seizure and search.

  • March 27, 2024

    DOJ, SEC Looking At Chemours After Internal Accounting Probe

    The Chemours Co. said on Wednesday that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice have launched a probe into the chemical company after an internal review revealed that former executives engaged in unethical accounting practices.

  • March 27, 2024

    Merger News Boosts Rivals, 'Shadow Trading' Jury Told

    Medivation's 2016 sale announcement would have an expected positive "spillover effect" on rival Incyte's stock price, a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission expert testified Wednesday in a "shadow trading" trial over claims an ex-Medivation executive exploited confidential news of his company's imminent acquisition to buy shares in the competitor.

  • March 27, 2024

    Minor League Players Charged With Insider Trading

    California federal prosecutors have hit current and former minor league baseball players with claims they made profits totaling over $162,000 trading off insider information about burger chain Jack in the Box's $575 million acquisition of its fellow chain Del Taco.

  • March 27, 2024

    Justices Poised To Expand Repeat Offenders' Jury Trial Rights

    The U.S. Supreme Court appeared likely Wednesday to agree with the Biden administration and the criminal defense bar that repeat offenders have a constitutional right to let a jury decide if past offenses were sufficiently distinct to trigger lengthy prison terms under a prominent sentencing enhancement.

  • March 27, 2024

    SD Gov. Seeks Federal Funds Audit Of Tribal Law Enforcement

    South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has asked President Joe Biden's administration to conduct a thorough audit of federal funding for the state's nine Native American tribes, saying additional law enforcement resources are urgently needed on reservation lands.

  • March 27, 2024

    SEC Wins Nearly $1M Against Penny Stock Influencer

    A California man who used his large social media following to manipulate penny stock prices has been ordered to pay more than $917,000 by a federal judge who said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proved the influencer committed fraud by failing to tell his followers he was selling off the very same stocks he was urging them to buy. 

  • March 27, 2024

    Energy Co. Origis Exits Investor Suit Over Devalued Shares

    Renewable energy company Origis USA Inc. has escaped a suit by former shareholders after a New York federal judge concluded that the plaintiffs failed to show that the company was privy to an alleged scheme by its now-former CEO to induce them to sell their stakes for considerably less than the $1.4 billion they were later sold for.

  • March 27, 2024

    Cannabis Cmte. Reps. Urge Garland To Restore Pot Protections

    The two Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives' Congressional Cannabis Caucus blasted Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday for not reissuing "overdue" protections for marijuana businesses acting in compliance with state and tribal law.

  • March 27, 2024

    The Ohtani-Shaped Cloud Looming Over The MLB Season

    Major League Baseball opens its season in an awkward position Thursday, with Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani at the margins of a still-unfolding gambling scandal that may have limited legal blowback, but will nevertheless present existential questions for the league.

  • March 27, 2024

    Sotomayor 'Annoyed' By Supreme Court's Focus On History

    U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor seemed to release some pent-up frustration Wednesday over the court's increasing focus on history and tradition when reviewing constitutional disputes, suggesting the method frequently used by the court's more conservative members isn't foolproof.

  • March 27, 2024

    PwC Hiding Key Details Of Tax Scandal, Aussie Senate Says

    PwC is hiding key details from investigators about its partners marketing confidential drafts of tax laws to top U.S. firms, waited years to review the matter internally and does not appear capable of making substantive reforms, an Australian Senate committee said Wednesday.

  • March 27, 2024

    Imprisoned Bitcoin Fraudster Fights Loss Amount At 7th Circ.

    A Nigerian man serving eight years in prison for carrying out an $8 million bitcoin fraud scheme told the Seventh Circuit on Wednesday that he should be resentenced because a lower court incorrectly considered $46 million in intended losses while determining his sentencing range.

  • March 27, 2024

    Ex-NJ Corrections Officer Admits To Scamming $600K

    A former New Jersey corrections officer has admitted to orchestrating two fraud schemes, including an alleged cryptocurrency scam that resulted in losses of more than $600,000, the U.S. attorney for New Jersey has announced.

  • March 27, 2024

    Coinbase Denied Early Victory Over SEC Enforcement Action

    A Manhattan federal judge on Wednesday rejected crypto exchange Coinbase's bid to defeat the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's claims that it operated as an unregistered securities exchange, broker and clearing agency.

  • March 27, 2024

    Ex-Mich. AG Hopeful Can't Show Bias In Criminal Election Case

    A Michigan attorney who advanced baseless 2020 election conspiracy claims must face charges he tampered with voting machines, after a judge said Wednesday that the lawyer's previous failed suit against the state demanding an election audit did not make prosecutors biased.

  • March 27, 2024

    Feds Say Murdaugh Lied, Broke Plea Deal Over $9M Fraud

    Alex Murdaugh, the South Carolina attorney serving a life sentence for killing his wife and son, was dishonest with the government and should potentially face a harsher prison sentence than the one proposed in a plea agreement on federal charges of stealing at least $9 million from clients, prosecutors said. 

  • March 27, 2024

    Misconduct In 'Fat Leonard' Case Sinks 3 More Guilty Pleas

    Alleged prosecutorial misconduct has set up three more defendants charged in relation to the U.S. Navy's "Fat Leonard" scandal to yank their original guilty pleas so they can plead guilty to much less serious charges.

  • March 27, 2024

    Rosen Tells Ethics Panel Jeffrey Clark Was 'Out Of Bounds'

    Former acting U.S. Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen testified Wednesday that his onetime subordinate, former U.S. Department of Justice attorney Jeffrey Clark, went far beyond the scope of his duties in the final days of the Trump administration, as Clark faces disciplinary charges from a Washington, D.C., attorney ethics panel.

  • March 27, 2024

    Advice-Of-Counsel Defense Curbed From NC Tax Fraud Trial

    Two St. Louis attorneys and a North Carolina insurance agent can't fall back on advice-of-counsel defenses during their upcoming tax fraud trial after a federal judge found that they had failed to follow court orders requiring them to hand over information about the advice they sought.

  • March 27, 2024

    Real Estate Exec Asks To Toss Shareholder's Self-Dealing Suit

    The president of a real estate management and investment firm asked a California federal court to toss a derivative shareholder suit accusing him of misusing nearly $35 million of company revenue in various ways, including hiring a business he owned with his mistress.

  • March 27, 2024

    Jury Convicts Ex-LA Official Chan In City Hall Bribery Scandal

    A California federal jury on Wednesday convicted former Los Angeles deputy mayor Raymond Chan of racketeering conspiracy, honest services wire fraud and bribery stemming from his role linking corrupt public officials with wealthy developers in the so-called CD-14 Enterprise.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    DOJ Press Office Is Not Fulfilling Its Stated Mission

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    The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs’ apparent practice of issuing press releases when someone is indicted or convicted, but not when a defendant prevails, undermines its stated mission to disseminate “current, complete and accurate” information, and has negative real-world ramifications, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.

  • Reducing Risk While DOJ Plans New Whistleblower Rewards

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    In light of the Department of Justice's newly announced plan to create a comprehensive whistleblower reward program to fill the gaps in the current patchwork of federal incentives, companies should mitigate their risk of external claims now by implementing internal systems where employees can confidently and anonymously report concerns, say Caleb Hayes-Deats and Walter Hawes at MoloLamken.

  • Series

    Spray Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My experiences as an abstract spray paint artist have made me a better litigator, demonstrating — in more ways than one — how fluidity and flexibility are necessary parts of a successful legal practice, says Erick Sandlin at Bracewell.

  • DOJ's Safe Harbor Policy May Quietly Favor M&A Enforcement

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    In a change that has received little attention, the U.S. Justice Department's recently codified safe harbor policy essentially reads the Antitrust Division's criminal enforcement out of the policy entirely, and now appears to favor merger enforcement in antitrust, rather than criminal enforcement, as originally intended, say Daniel Oakes and James Attridge at Axinn.

  • Takeaways From The 2023 DOJ Fraud Section Report

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    Attorneys at Wiley discuss notable trends from the U.S. Department of Justice's recently reported Fraud Section activity last year and highlight areas of enforcement to watch for in the future, including healthcare fraud and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations.

  • Securing A Common Understanding Of Language Used At Trial

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    Witness examinations in the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump illustrate the importance of building a common understanding of words and phrases and examples as a fact-finding tool at trial, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Why Individual Officers Are BSA-AML Enforcement Targets

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    Banking compliance professionals should use recent enforcement actions against individual officers at both Sterling Bank and the New York State Employees Credit Union to assess whether they are equipped with the tools and authority necessary to avert deficient Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering compliance, says Sam Finkelstein at Volkov Group.

  • 5 Issues To Consider When Liquidating Through An ABC

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    Assignments for the benefit of creditors continue to grow in popularity as a tool for an orderly wind-down, and companies should be considering a number of issues before effectuating the assignment, including in which state it should occur, obtaining tail coverage and preparing a board creditor mailing list, says Evelyn Meltzer at Troutman Pepper.

  • Opinion

    Judicial Independence Is Imperative This Election Year

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    As the next election nears, the judges involved in the upcoming trials against former President Donald Trump increasingly face political pressures and threats of violence — revealing the urgent need to safeguard judicial independence and uphold the rule of law, says Benes Aldana at the National Judicial College.

  • How Harsher Penalties For AI Crimes May Work In Practice

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    With recent pronouncements from the U.S. Department of Justice that prosecutors may seek sentencing enhancements for crimes committed using artificial intelligence, defense counsel should understand how the sentencing guidelines and statutory factors will come into play, says Jennie VonCannon at Crowell & Moring.

  • 2nd Circ.'s Binance Locus Test Adds Risk For Blockchain Cos.

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    The Second Circuit’s recent use of the irrevocable liability test to rule a class action may proceed against decentralized crypto exchange Binance heightens the possibility that other blockchain-based businesses with domestic customers and digital infrastructure will find themselves subject to U.S. securities laws, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Series

    Riding My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Using the Peloton platform for cycling, running, rowing and more taught me that fostering a mind-body connection will not only benefit you physically and emotionally, but also inspire stamina, focus, discipline and empathy in your legal career, says Christopher Ward at Polsinelli.

  • NY Bond, Enforcement Options As Trump Judgment Looms

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    In light of former President Donald Trump's court filing this week indicating that he can't secure a bond for the New York attorney general's nearly $465 million judgment against him, Neil Pedersen of Pedersen & Sons Surety Bond Agency and Adam Pollock of Pollock Cohen explore New York state judgment enforcement options and the mechanics of securing and collateralizing an appellate bond.

  • Compliance Steps After ABA White Collar Crime Conference

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    Senior law enforcement officials’ statements this month at the American Bar Association's white collar crime conference suggest government enforcement efforts this year will increasingly focus on whistleblower incentives, artificial intelligence and data protection, and companies will need to update their compliance programs accordingly, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Opinion

    Justices' Trump Ballot Ruling May Spark Constitutional Crisis

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling that former President Donald Trump must be reinstated to Colorado’s primary ballot endorses an unnecessarily broad legal theory of disqualification from federal office, raising constitutional questions that will only become more urgent as the next presidential election nears, says Devon Ombres at the Center for American Progress.

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