White Collar

  • April 11, 2024

    Crypto Trader Hit With Judgment In SEC's $4.3M Fraud Case

    A cryptocurrency trader has consented to a judgment to end a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission suit accusing him of duping investors out of $4.3 million by falsely claiming the money would be invested in digital assets that could be obtained at a discount.

  • April 11, 2024

    ND Tribe Banishes SD Gov. After Racially Charged Remarks

    A North Dakota tribe has joined two South Dakota Lakota nations in voting to banish South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem from their reservation lands after accusing her of making racially charged public comments about drug cartels allegedly operating on reservations in the state and about Native American parents.

  • April 11, 2024

    Price-Fixing Cartel Self Reporting On 'Steady Uptick,' Panel Says

    U.S. and European antitrust enforcers touted a turnaround Thursday in the number of companies self-reporting price-fixing, bid-rigging and market allocation schemes in the search for "leniency" from financial and criminal penalties over the last three years.

  • April 11, 2024

    Prosecutor Named In Ga. Lt. Gov. 2020 Fake Elector Probe

    Nearly two years after a judge disqualified Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from investigating Georgia Lieutenant Gov. Burt Jones over his alleged role in helping former President Donald Trump overturn the state's 2020 presidential election, a state prosecutor has been appointed to handle the case.

  • April 11, 2024

    JPMorgan Analyst's Acquittal Sinks Stock Tip Case, Man Says

    A Los Angeles man is planning a Ninth Circuit appeal after he was found guilty of trading on privileged information supplied by a childhood friend who was an analyst at JPMorgan Securities LLC, reasoning that he could not be guilty because the friend was acquitted at a separate trial.

  • April 11, 2024

    Odebrecht Exec Details Bribes To Ex-Ecuador Comptroller

    The former director of Odebrecht SA's operations in Ecuador told jurors Thursday that he paid millions in bribes to "Miami" — a code name for Ecuador's former comptroller — related to various infrastructure projects the Brazilian conglomerate was building in the country.

  • April 11, 2024

    Investors Get OK For $111M Ponzi Case Receiver Passed On

    A Colorado federal judge has given the green light for a group of investors to seek over $111 million from a forex-focused financial technology firm in the U.K. and its affiliate, in a lawsuit alleging they played an instrumental role in a scheme that duped investors and drew the attention of U.S. securities regulators and prosecutors.

  • April 11, 2024

    Fla. Restaurateur Gets Prison Time For Dodging Payroll Taxes

    The ex-CEO of a defunct Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain was sentenced to 2½ years in federal prison after pleading guilty earlier this year to willfully failing to pay more than $5 million in payroll taxes.

  • April 11, 2024

    Pro-Trump Mich. Atty Gets New Trial Date After Skipping Court

    A Michigan attorney accused of accessing voting machines after the 2020 presidential election said Thursday her old lawyer was dragging his feet in sharing critical documents as a judge rescheduled her trial for July following her attorney swap and her arrest for failing to appear in court.

  • April 11, 2024

    Prison Racial Gap Narrowing, No Thanks To Reforms, Study Says

    A wide range of changes to criminal sentencing laws that most states have adopted in the last two decades did not play a major role in the reduction of Black-white disparity in imprisonment seen between 2000 and 2020, according to a study released Thursday by the Council on Criminal Justice.

  • April 11, 2024

    Insurer Says Firm Not Covered For Bogus Check Scheme

    An insurance firm has filed a complaint in Washington federal court seeking a declaration that it doesn't owe coverage to a Seattle-area firm and its sole attorney, who are embroiled in litigation with a bank after the firm fell prey to a counterfeit check scheme.

  • April 11, 2024

    FTX Brass, Investors Can't Move Bankruptcy Suit To MDL

    The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation on Thursday denied a bid to move a Delaware bankruptcy proceeding regarding the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX Trading Ltd. to an ongoing multidistrict litigation brought by the company's investors seeking to recoup their losses.

  • April 11, 2024

    OJ Simpson's Jury Was Sequestered. Why Not Trump's?

    Unlike jurors in the murder case of O.J. Simpson, the 12 Manhattanites picked to hear criminal charges against Donald Trump likely won't be sequestered during the trial — easing psychological and financial burdens but potentially exposing them to outside pressures.

  • April 11, 2024

    Ohtani's Ex-Interpreter Charged In $16M Theft From MLB Star

    The former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers player Shohei Ohtani has been charged with stealing around $16 million from the superstar to place illegal sports bets, federal officials in Los Angeles announced Thursday, saying Ohtani was a victim and had no knowledge of his interpreter's gambling.

  • April 11, 2024

    Sen. Menendez's Wife Gets Own Bribery Trial

    A New York federal judge agreed on Thursday to give the wife of U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez her own trial in a sprawling case accusing the couple of accepting bribes for using the New Jersey Democrat's influence to further the interests of three businessmen.

  • April 10, 2024

    No Merit To Autonomy Whistleblower Claims, Auditor Says

    A Deloitte partner testifying in a California criminal trial over claims that former Autonomy CEO Michael Lynch and finance director Stephen Chamberlain duped HP into buying the British tech company for $11.7 billion said Wednesday that auditors concluded that whistleblower allegations by a finance department executive were meritless.

  • April 10, 2024

    DOJ Hits Regeneron With False Claims Act Suit Over Eylea

    The federal government has brought a False Claims Act intervenor complaint in Massachusetts against Regeneron, alleging the pharmaceutical giant fraudulently withheld information from its Medicare reports seeking reimbursement for its drug Eylea, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday. 

  • April 10, 2024

    Deported Man Can't Undo Fraud Conviction After Feds' Error

    A deported Nigerian national who confessed to fraud on promises that prosecutors would submit a letter to immigration authorities supporting his deportation defense couldn't convince the Eighth Circuit to toss his guilty plea after prosecutors mistakenly disavowed the letter.

  • April 10, 2024

    Plastic Surgeon Owes $7.7M From Offshore Scheme, US Says

    A now-retired plastic surgeon owes the Internal Revenue Service more than $7.7 million after he ran an offshore employee leasing scheme and he and his wife transferred nearly all their assets to their then-11-year-old daughter, who is now a lawyer, the government told an Ohio federal court.

  • April 10, 2024

    CFTC Names New Watchdog After Whistleblower Allegations

    The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced Wednesday that it has appointed the Federal Election Commission's inspector general to head its own independent watchdog office, following allegations his CFTC predecessor failed to protect whistleblowers within the agency.

  • April 10, 2024

    Hemp Cos. Win $134K In Investment Spat

    A Colorado federal court has entered final judgment in favor of a hemp processing company sued in an investment dispute, awarding it more than $130,000, following on a judge's findings of fact and conclusions of law last month.

  • April 10, 2024

    'Varsity Blues' Judge Won't Recuse From Bid For Plea Redo

    The Boston federal judge overseeing the waning "Varsity Blues" college admissions case said Wednesday he should be the one to decide whether a parent who pled guilty in the scandal's early days should be able to have the conviction erased, calling her recusal bid "fraught with judge-shopping."

  • April 10, 2024

    Fla. Lawyer Seeks 'Compassion' After Loan Fraud Conviction

    Fresh off a failed bid to have her wire fraud conspiracy conviction nixed, a Florida attorney found guilty of fraudulently obtaining federal COVID-19 relief loans asked a Georgia federal judge for leniency in her upcoming sentencing.

  • April 10, 2024

    DeFi Platform Uniswap Discloses SEC Enforcement Notice

    The firm behind decentralized crypto exchange Uniswap said on Wednesday that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had notified the firm that it may soon face an enforcement case.

  • April 10, 2024

    Trump Fails Again To Halt NY Trial Over Claim Judge Is Biased

    Donald Trump on Wednesday tried and failed for the third time in as many days to delay his upcoming hush-money trial, after arguing the judge should be removed for supposed bias and that the judge's rules were preventing him from defending himself.

Expert Analysis

  • Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.

  • Finding Focus: Strategies For Attorneys With ADHD

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    Given the prevalence of ADHD among attorneys, it is imperative that the legal community gain a better understanding of how ADHD affects well-being, and that resources and strategies exist for attorneys with this disability to manage their symptoms and achieve success, say Casey Dixon at Dixon Life Coaching and Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • A Look At DOJ's New Nationwide Investment Fraud Approach

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    Investment fraud charges are increasingly being brought in unlikely venues across the country, and the rationale behind the U.S. Department of Justice's approach could well be the heightened legal standards in connection with prosecuting investment fraud, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • AI Use May Trigger False Claims Act's Public Disclosure Bar

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    The likely use of publicly available artificial intelligence tools to detect government fraud by combing through large data sets will raise complex questions about a False Claims Act provision that prohibits the filing of claims based on previously disclosed information, say Nick Peterson and Spencer Brooks at Wiley Rein.

  • How 'Safe Harbor' Policy Will Modify M&A Processes

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    Legal practitioners should be aware that the Justice Department's "safe harbor" immunity will change the typical M&A process significantly as acquirers start embedding fraud detection into their due diligence, including a broader scope of examinations and interviews, says Jesse Silvertown at The Ledge.

  • What To Do If Your Client Is Under Congressional Investigation

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    Recent criminal contempt cases against Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon show that there are real consequences for refusing to cooperate with congressional investigations, but attorneys can successfully limit their clients’ exposure by negotiating their obligations and asserting key privileges, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Takeaways From Iran Missile Procurement Advisory

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    Companies should familiarize themselves with the entities and practices highlighted in the recent multiagency Iran Ballistic Missile Procurement Advisory, to avoid falling prey to deceptive practices that help bad actors evade sanctions, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • New CFTC Enforcement Policy May Finally Deter Recidivists

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    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s recently announced policies designed to crack down on market misconduct recidivists may finally raise the stakes enough to motivate institutions to improve their compliance infrastructure, say Dan Chirlin and Marc Armas at Walden Macht.

  • 5th Circ. Ruling May Beget Fraud Jury Instruction Appeals

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    The Fifth Circuit’s recent U.S. v. Greenlaw decision, disapproving disjunctive fraudulent-intent jury instructions, will likely spawn appeals in mail, wire and securities fraud cases, but defendants must show that their deception furthered ends other than taking the victim's property, says Charles Fowler at McKool Smith.

  • How Biden's AI Order Stacks Up Against Calif. And G7 Activity

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    Evaluating the federal AI executive order alongside the California AI executive order and the G7's Hiroshima AI Code of Conduct can offer a more robust picture of key risks and concerns companies should proactively work to mitigate as they build or integrate artificial intelligence tools into their products and services, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • What Can Be Learned From 3M's Iran Sanctions Settlement

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    3M’s recent agreement to pay $9.6 million to resolve potential liability for violation of Iran sanctions provides insight on the complexity of U.S. sanctions compliance, the duration of enforcement actions by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, and the benefits and potential drawbacks of voluntary disclosure, says Thaddeus McBride at Bass Berry.

  • Opinion

    Time To Ban Deferred Prosecution For Fatal Corporate Crime

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    As illustrated by prosecutors’ deals with Boeing and other companies, deferred prosecution agreements have strayed far from their original purpose, and Congress must ban the use of this tool in cases where corporate misconduct has led to fatalities, says Peter Reilly at Texas A&M University School of Law.

  • Questions Awaiting Justices In 'Repugnant' Verdicts Hearing

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    In McElrath v. Georgia, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether the double jeopardy clause bars retrial when a jury reaches a so-called repugnant, or logically contradictory, verdict — with the ultimate resolution resting on how this narrow issue is framed, say Brook Dooley and Cody Gray at Keker Van Nest.

  • Attorneys, Law Schools Must Adapt To New Era Of Evidence

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    Technological advancements mean more direct evidence is being created than ever before, and attorneys as well as law schools must modify their methods to account for new challenges in how this evidence is collected and used to try cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Inside The Current State Of International Crypto Compliance

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    A recent Financial Action Task Force report regarding adoption of international virtual asset compliance standards reflects a fairly grim state of affairs, but a broader look at providers' risk mitigation efforts and developments is encouraging, say Leah Moushey and Franco Jofré at Miller & Chevalier, and Meredith Fitzpatrick at Forensic Risk Alliance.

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