White Collar

  • April 23, 2025

    Ex-Rep Should Pay $25K For 'Sham' Lawsuit, Fla. Judge Told

    A real estate holding company owner told a Florida state court judge Wednesday that he's owed about $25,000 in legal fees for defending against a "sham" contract breach lawsuit alleging he assisted officials investigating possible foreign agent crimes against a former congressman, saying the agreements at issue were declared invalid.

  • April 23, 2025

    Feds Seek At Least 6½ Years For Mango Markets Trader

    A cryptocurrency trader convicted on claims he took $110 million out of shuttered decentralized finance platform Mango Markets should spend at least six and a half years in prison, federal prosecutors have argued, while the DeFi protocol itself asked that he pay $47 million in restitution.

  • April 23, 2025

    CEOs Urge SEC To Ban Political Activists' Proxy Proposals

    The Business Roundtable on Wednesday urged the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Congress to quickly reform the shareholder proposal process for public companies, including by banning activists' proposals relating to environmental, social and political issues, saying proxy statements have become "battlegrounds for political debates."

  • April 23, 2025

    Citron Research Founder Can't Escape SEC Fraud Suit

    The founder of trading advice website Citron Research and his investment advisory firm cannot escape the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's suit alleging they raked in $20 million by manipulating trading prices, a California federal judge ruled Tuesday, saying the complaint adequately alleges fraud.

  • April 23, 2025

    Ex-Sprinter Turned Track Coach Cops To Olympic Doping Rap

    A onetime world-class sprinter from Georgia on Wednesday admitted to illegally providing banned performance-enhancement drugs while training athletes to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

  • April 23, 2025

    Feds Oppose Ex-Conn. Official's 'Troubling' Greece Trip Plan

    Federal prosecutors on Wednesday opposed a twice-indicted ex-Connecticut budget official's request to spend six weeks in Greece visiting family as he awaits twin corruption trials, citing a skipped deadline to relinquish guns and the risk that he might use Greek citizenship to evade justice.

  • April 23, 2025

    DC Judges Doubt Feds' Rationale For Orders Against Firms

    Two D.C. federal judges on Wednesday expressed skepticism toward the Trump administration's justifications for targeting WilmerHale and Perkins Coie LLP with executive orders, with one judge invoking a comparison to the Red Scare.

  • April 23, 2025

    UMich Says It's Immune From Ex-Coach Hacking Suits

    The University of Michigan has said it is immune from claims brought by student athletes who allege the university failed to protect them from a former assistant football coach's alleged hacking of their sensitive information, encouraging a federal judge to reject the students' request for speedy discovery until a conference next month. 

  • April 23, 2025

    Ex-CIA Official Cops To Secretly Lobbying For Foreign Clients

    A former CIA official-turned-contractor pled guilty on Wednesday to surreptitiously using his high-level security clearance to lobby for foreign national clients, including an individual seeking a U.S. visa despite terrorism financing allegations, according to a U.S. Department of Justice announcement.

  • April 23, 2025

    6th Circ. Calls Compassionate Release Change A 'Power Grab'

    The U.S. Sentencing Commission overstepped by telling prisoners serving unusually long sentences that they can seek early release due to changes in sentencing law, the Sixth Circuit ruled Tuesday, deeming the move "a heavy-handed and unseemly power grab by the commission." 

  • April 23, 2025

    Ex-Rabobank Exec Seeks $5M To Cover OCC Fight Legal Bill

    A former Rabobank chief compliance officer has asked the Ninth Circuit to award her more than $5 million in attorney fees and expenses to cover both her defense of a now-discontinued Office of the Comptroller of the Currency enforcement action and her unsuccessful lawsuit to get the matter expunged.

  • April 23, 2025

    Genetic Testing Co., Marketer Settle FCA Case For $6M

    A genetic testing company, marketing firm, and their top executives have agreed to pay $6 million to resolve the government's allegations that they billed Medicare for unnecessary medical tests, in violation of the False Claims Act.

  • April 23, 2025

    SCOTUSblog Sold Amid Goldstein's Criminal Case

    SCOTUSblog has been sold to digital media company The Dispatch, according to announcements from both publications Wednesday, marking a new chapter for the U.S. Supreme Court-focused legal publication while its co-founder Tom Goldstein faces criminal charges.

  • April 23, 2025

    Mich. Judge Faces Ethics Complaint After Criminal Plea

    Michigan's judicial watchdog on Tuesday filed a complaint against the chief judge of a Michigan state district court who pled guilty to domestic violence charges for hitting his spouse, alleging that the jurist violated ethical codes for the criminal case and for disrespecting officers during the investigation.

  • April 23, 2025

    Weinstein Challenges Accusers' Credibility As Retrial Begins

    Harvey Weinstein's attorney told a majority-women jury in his sexual assault retrial Wednesday that the "casting couch is not a crime scene" and that he merely had "mutually beneficial" relationships with aspiring actresses who later accused him of rape and sexual violence.

  • April 23, 2025

    Judge Exits Allied Wallet Exec's Trial Over Plea Interference

    A Massachusetts federal judge agreed to step aside Wednesday from the criminal bank fraud case of a former Allied Wallet executive after acknowledging that he had improperly inserted himself into plea negotiations.

  • April 23, 2025

    Dems Demand DOJ Explain Marshals Sent To Ex-Official

    A group of Democrats are pressing the U.S. Department of Justice for answers on why U.S. marshals were sent to the home of the fired U.S. pardon attorney days before she was to appear before a congressional hearing.

  • April 23, 2025

    Ex-Chief Of SDNY Fraud Unit Joins Fenwick White Collar Team

    The former co-chief of the Southern District of New York's illicit finance and money laundering unit has returned to private practice at Fenwick & West LLP, where the firm said Wednesday he'll focus on white collar crime and fraud matters.

  • April 23, 2025

    Bernstein Litowitz Looks To Hire SEC's Ex-Top Crypto Cop

    Investor-side firm Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP has disclosed in a court filing that it is seeking to hire Jorge Tenreiro, the former head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's crypto enforcement unit as well as the onetime chief of the agency's entire litigation team.

  • April 23, 2025

    AI Entrepreneur In Talks To Resolve $10M Fraud Case

    The founder of an education-based artificial intelligence company accused of fleecing investors of $10 million is in talks with prosecutors to resolve the case, according to a Wednesday letter.

  • April 22, 2025

    Girardi's Son-In-Law Wants Chicago Client Theft Case Tossed

    Disbarred attorney Tom Girardi's son-in-law Tuesday urged an Illinois federal court to toss a superseding indictment accusing him of helping steal millions from clients of the now-defunct Girardi Keese, saying prosecutors created confusion around the charged offenses by highlighting California legal ethics rules without explaining their relevance, "if any."

  • April 22, 2025

    Feds Say Crypto Exec Spent Investors' $57M On Lamborghinis

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Virginia federal prosecutors have launched parallel cases against the founder of a cryptocurrency trading company, alleging that he misappropriated over $57 million of investor funds after orchestrating a type of multilevel-marketing scheme that brought in about $200 million to the company.

  • April 22, 2025

    Kan. Tribe Fights Sheriff's Authority In Tribal Jurisdiction Suit

    The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation is disputing a county sheriff's bid in Kansas federal court to toss the Native American tribe's latest complaint in its suit claiming that he has repeatedly overstepped his authority by interfering with activities on reservation land.

  • April 22, 2025

    Judge Prods DOJ For Proof Of Bias In Colo. Clerk Prosecution

    A Colorado federal judge on Tuesday was dubious of the state's claim that a statement of interest filed by the U.S. Department of Justice in a convicted county clerk's habeas case amounts to a "threat" against state prosecutors and the rule of law, but pressed the federal government on whether it has evidence state prosecutors were politically motivated.

  • April 22, 2025

    Ga. Woman Gets 12 Years In $156M FEMA Fraud Case

    A Georgia woman convicted of defrauding the Federal Emergency Management Agency in a case involving nearly $156 million in fraudulent contracts related to Hurricane Maria relief has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Expert Analysis

  • UK Refusal Of US Extradition Request May Set New Standard

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    The recent U.K. Supreme Court ruling in El-Khouri v. U.S., denying a U.S. extradition request, overturns a long-held precedent and narrows how U.K. courts must decide such requests, potentially signaling a broader reevaluation of U.K. extradition law, say lawyers at Dechert and Kingsley Napley.

  • Why A Rare SEC Dismissal May Not Reflect A New Approach

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    While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's pending dismissal of its case against Silver Point is remarkable to the extent that it reflects a novel repudiation of a decision made during the prior commission, a deeper look suggests it may not represent a shift in policy approach, say attorneys at Weil.

  • Deficiency Trends In National Futures Association Exams

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    A recent notice from the National Futures Association outlining the most common deficiencies uncovered during exams gives member firms an opportunity to review prior guidance, particularly regarding the hot topic of implementing procedures governing the use of outsourced service providers, say attorneys at Akin.

  • A Judge's Pointers For Adding Spice To Dry Legal Writing

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    U.S. District Judge Fred Biery shares a few key lessons about how to go against the grain of the legal writing tradition by adding color to bland judicial opinions, such as by telling a human story and injecting literary devices where possible.

  • A Closer Look At Money Laundering Sentencing Issues

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    Federal money laundering cases are on the rise, often involving lengthy prison sentences for defendants who have little to no criminal history, but a closer look at the statistics and case law reveal some potentially valuable arguments that defense attorneys should keep in their arsenal, says Sarah Sulkowski at Gelber & Santillo.

  • How To Create A Unique Jury Profile For Every Case

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    Instead of striking potential jurors based on broad stereotypes or gut feelings, trial attorneys should create case-specific risk profiles that address the political climate, the specific facts of the case and the venue in order to more precisely identify higher-risk jurors, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.

  • Why NY May Want To Reconsider Its LLC Transparency Law

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    Against the backdrop of the myriad challenges to the federal Corporate Transparency Act, it may be prudent for New York to reconsider its adoption of the LLC Transparency Act, since it's unclear whether the Empire State's "baby-CTA" statute is still necessary or was passed prematurely, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Considerations As Trump Admin Continues To Curtail CFPB

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    Recent sweeping moves from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new leadership have signaled a major shift in the agency's trajectory, and regulated entities should prepare for broader implications in both the near and long term, say attorneys at Pryor Cashman.

  • How Foreign Cos. Should Prep For New UK Fraud Law

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    As the U.K. prepares to hold companies criminally liable for failing to prevent fraudulent acts of their associates, U.S. and global companies should review their compliance measures against the broad language of this new offense, which could permit prosecution of acts committed entirely abroad, say attorneys at Latham & Watkins.

  • What's Potentially In Store For CFTC Under New Leadership

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    Under the leadership of acting U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Caroline Pham, and with the nomination of former commissioner Brian Quintenz to serve as permanent chair, the commission is set to widely embrace digital assets and event contracts, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • Recent Cases Clarify FCA Kickback Pleading Standards

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    Two recently resolved cases involving pharmaceutical manufacturers may make it more difficult for False Claims Act defendants facing kickback scheme allegations to get claims dismissed for lack of evidence, say Li Yu at Bernstein Litowitz, Ellen London at London & Noar, and Gregg Shapiro at Gregg Shapiro Law.

  • 2 Practical Ways For Banks To Battle Elder Financial Abuse

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    Federal regulators' recent statement raising awareness of elder financial exploitation provides a useful catalog of techniques that banks can employ to fight fraud, particularly encouraging older account holders to establish trusted contacts and sharing timely warnings about the latest scams with customers, say attorneys at Nutter.

  • 3 Ways Civil Plaintiffs Could Fill An FCPA Enforcement Gap

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    While the Department of Justice recently announced it would deprioritize Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations into U.S. businesses without obvious ties to international crime, companies should stay alert to private plaintiffs, who could fill this enforcement void — and win significant civil damages — through several legal channels, says Eric Nitz at MoloLamken.

  • Examining Trump Meme Coin And SEC's Crypto Changes

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    While the previous U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission tended to view most crypto-assets as securities, the tide is rapidly changing, and hopefully the long-needed reevaluation of this regulatory framework is not tarnished by an arguable conflict of interest due to President Donald Trump's affiliation with the $Trump meme coin, say attorneys at Thompson Coburn.

  • Opinion

    State FCAs Should Cover Local Fund Misuse, State Tax Fraud

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    New Jersey and other states with similar False Claims Acts should amend them to cover misappropriated municipal funding, and state and local tax fraud, which would encourage more whistleblowers to come forward and increase their recoveries, says Kenneth Levine at Stone & Magnanini.

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