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White Collar
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January 23, 2025
Fla. Court Urged To OK $2.75M For Moving Co. Fraud Victims
Two receivers appointed to recover funds in a moving company Ponzi scheme targeting the Haitian community urged a Florida federal court on Thursday to approve a first-round distribution of $2.75 million to refund losses, although the judge overseeing the case said the amount represents a fraction of what defrauded victims lost.
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January 23, 2025
AI Chatbot Co. CEO, Atty Spouse Indicted On $60M Fraud
Federal prosecutors in California arrested the former CEO of an artificial intelligence company Thursday alongside his lawyer wife, accusing the duo of a $60 million fraud scheme in which they allegedly lied to investors about the company's financial state and diverted funds to pay for their wedding.
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January 23, 2025
Ex-Tribal Chair Seeks High Court Review Of Extortion Verdict
A former tribal chair in Massachusetts told the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday that the First Circuit was wrong and stands alone in ruling that federal extortion laws apply to Native American officials as it reinstated his convictions tied to the development of a casino project.
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January 23, 2025
Madigan's Law Firm Profits Drove Corrupt Acts, Jury Told
Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan's ownership interest in his Chicago law firm and his entitlement to 50% of its profits was behind his efforts to extort property tax business from developers who needed approvals from state and local government for their projects, prosecutors told an Illinois federal jury Thursday.
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January 23, 2025
SEC Cooled On New Crypto Cases During Gensler's Final Year
Despite a brief rise in the number of lawsuits filed against the cryptocurrency industry in the final months that U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler was in office, the agency overall saw a 30% decrease in enforcement actions against the industry last year, according to a newly released report Thursday.
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January 23, 2025
Home Health Agency Operator Gets 12 Years For $100M Fraud
The former operator of a Massachusetts home healthcare agency convicted of fraud last summer has been sentenced to 12 years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $100 million in restitution to the state's Medicaid program.
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January 23, 2025
Corporate Transparency Law Remains Flanked By Threats
The Corporate Transparency Act is facing threats across the branches of government despite the U.S. Supreme Court pausing a nationwide injunction on it Thursday, with another universal injunction in place, other court battles underway and some Republican lawmakers targeting the law.
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January 23, 2025
Combs Lodges $50M Suit Over Supposed Sex Assault Tapes
Sean "Diddy" Combs filed a $50 million defamation suit in New York federal court on Wednesday accusing a grand jury witness, a lawyer and Nexstar Media Inc. of spreading falsities about nonexistent videos that purportedly depict the indicted hip-hop mogul sexually assaulting intoxicated celebrities and minors.
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January 23, 2025
9th Circ. Nixes Attys' Challenge To Arizona Victim Contact Law
A Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday rejected a group of lawyers' constitutional challenge to an Arizona law that requires defense attorneys and their teams to initiate contact with victims through the prosecutor's office.
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January 23, 2025
Conflict Limits 1 Lawyer On Javice Team As Trial Date Slips
A lawyer defending Charlie Javice on charges she swindled JPMorgan Chase into paying $175 million for a financial aid startup she founded will be limited in representing her, a Manhattan federal judge said Thursday, before pushing trial back a week.
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January 23, 2025
Feds Want 14 Years For Fraudster Who Scammed NBA Pros
Prosecutors asked a Manhattan federal judge to sentence a recidivist fraudster who was convicted of swindling two former NBA players out of $8 million to up to 14 years in prison, saying his previous sentences had not deterred him and he'd committed repeated bail violations.
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January 22, 2025
Chutkan Says Trump's Pardon Can't 'Whitewash' Jan. 6 Terror
President Donald Trump's pardon of defendants accused of participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol "cannot whitewash the blood, feces and terror that the mob left in its wake," U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan wrote Wednesday in an order dismissing one such case.
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January 22, 2025
'Unicorn Prosecution' Could Upend Legal Practice, Court Told
Brown & Connery LLP partner William Tambussi told a New Jersey state judge Wednesday that the entire practice of law in the Garden State rests on his impending decision on the charges against him in the state's sweeping racketeering case targeting power broker George E. Norcross III, arguing that a lawyer has never been prosecuted for routine legal work.
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January 22, 2025
Mich. Justices Ask How Old Is Too Young For Life Sentence
A Michigan prosecutor predicted Wednesday that the state's Supreme Court was likely to extend the ban of mandatory life sentences on those who are 18 years old to include at least ages 19 and 20, during oral arguments regarding a trio of cases in which justices asked for guidance on where to draw that line.
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January 22, 2025
Texas Court Asks If $50M Award In Dubai Tower Case Was Fair
A Texas appeals court worked Wednesday to untangle whether executives who are on the hook for $50 million received a fair shot in the United Arab Emirates' court system after they abandoned ambitious tower projects in Dubai.
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January 22, 2025
Trump Pick For Boston US Atty Won't Be 'Afraid To Speak Up'
The selection of Leah Foley as Massachusetts U.S. attorney drew praise from both sides of the aisle, as veterans of the Boston-based office praised her toughness and predicted she would be able to withstand outside political influence.
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January 22, 2025
Miami Official Used Public Funds For Political Gain, Suit Says
Two former Miami city employees have brought a whistleblower lawsuit against District 3 Commissioner Joe Carollo in Florida federal court, alleging that he ousted them for exposing misuse of public funds meant to manage parks that were instead used to pay for his political ventures and personal expenses.
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January 22, 2025
Madigan Used ComEd As 'Personal Piggy Bank,' Jurors Told
Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and his devoted surrogate Michael McClain conspired to enhance and preserve Madigan's power and line his pockets, both by steering business to the ex-speaker's law firm and rewarding his political allies with do-nothing jobs, prosecutors told an Illinois federal jury during closing arguments Wednesday.
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January 22, 2025
Toy Co. Not Covered In Unpaid Judgment Suit, Judge Says
A Berkshire Hathaway insurer has no duty to defend a toy company accused of using legal proceedings to evade payment of an $8.5 million default judgment for false advertising, a Minnesota federal court ruled, finding that abuse of process claims are not covered under the policy.
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January 22, 2025
Billionaire Debtor's Daughter Loses Appeal Over Jet Sale
The daughter of bankrupt billionaire Miles Guo on Tuesday lost her appeal of a Connecticut bankruptcy judge's ruling that the $10 million she reaped from the sale of a private jet is the property of her father's estate because he was the beneficial owner of the plan.
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January 22, 2025
Dubai-Based Exchange Fined $9.2M To End Bank Fraud Probe
A Dubai, United Arab Emirates-based financial services company has agreed to pay $9.2 million to U.S. prosecutors over a U.K. subsidiary's false claims that it was in compliance with anti-money laundering laws, avoiding criminal charges.
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January 22, 2025
Seven Charged In $600 Million COVID Tax Credit Scheme
Seven people have been accused of trying to defraud the federal government of more than $600 million by filing more than 8,000 false tax returns in what the U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday called "the nation's largest COVID-19 tax credit scheme."
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January 22, 2025
Justices Skeptical Of 'Moment Of Threat' Rule In Use Of Force
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared inclined to reject a legal doctrine under which courts looking at a police officer's use of deadly force only need to consider the officer's perception of danger at the precise moment force was used.
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January 22, 2025
Sotomayor Halts 2nd Circ. Ruling In Landmark Graft Case
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor halted a decision from the Second Circuit on Wednesday that would have set up a second trial against four men whose convictions were overturned in a landmark 2023 high court ruling in which the justices narrowed certain types of public corruption cases.
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January 22, 2025
Feds Trim Spine-Implant Kickback Case Ahead Of Trial
A Massachusetts federal judge has granted a motion by prosecutors to drop bribery charges against a maker of spinal implant devices and whittle down the case against two of its former executives.
Expert Analysis
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Trump Faces Uphill Battle If He Tries To Target Prosecutors
On the campaign trail, President-elect Donald Trump promised to go after the state and federal prosecutors who had investigated and prosecuted him, but few criminal statutes would be applicable — to say nothing of the evidence required to substantiate any charges against prosecutors, says William Johnston at Bird Marella.
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Presidential Campaign Errors Provide Lessons For Trial Attys
Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign employed numerous strategies that evidently didn’t land, and trial attorneys should take note, because voters and jurors are both decision-makers who are listening for how one’s case presentation would affect them personally, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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What's Next For The CFTC After The Election
While much of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's enforcement actions in line with its traditional priorities will continue as usual in the near term, postelection leadership changes at the CFTC and new congressional priorities may alter the commission's regulatory framework in 2025 and beyond — particularly its oversight of crypto, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
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Series
Being A Navy Reservist Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Serving this country in uniform has not only been one of the greatest honors of my life, but it has also provided me with opportunities to broaden my legal acumen and interpersonal skills in ways that have indelibly contributed to my civilian practice, says Phillip Smith at Weinberg Wheeler.
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Cos. Should Inventory Issues To Prep For New Congress
As the legislative and oversight agendas of the 119th Congress come into sharper focus, corporate counsel should assess and plan for areas of potential oversight risk — from tax policy changes to supply chain integrity — even as much uncertainty remains, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
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Conservation Easement Cases Weave Web Of Uncertainty
Much of the IRS and Justice Department’s recent success in prosecuting syndicated conservation easement cases can be attributed to the government’s focus on the so-called PropCo ratio, which could indicate treacherous waters ahead for participants and their advisers, even under the incoming Trump administration, say attorneys at Polsinelli.
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Navigating DOJ's Patchwork Whistleblower Regime
In the past few months, the U.S. Department of Justice and several individual U.S. attorney’s offices have issued different pilot programs aimed at incentivizing individuals to blow the whistle on misconduct, but this piecemeal approach may create confusion and suboptimal outcomes, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.
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So You Want To Move Your Law Practice To Canada, Eh?
Google searches for how to move to Canada have surged in the wake of the U.S. presidential election, and if you’re an attorney considering a move to the Great White North, you’ll need to understand how the practice of law differs across the border, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.
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Opinion
Efficiency Dept. Should Consolidate Antitrust Enforcement
President-elect Donald Trump's planned Department of Government Efficiency should transfer the authority of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Competition into the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division, because there is no justification for two federal entities to enforce antitrust and competition laws, says retired judge Susan Braden.
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5 Areas Congress May Investigate After GOP Election Wins
With Republicans poised to take control of Congress in addition to the executive branch next year, private companies can expect an unprecedented uptick in congressional investigations focused on five key areas, including cryptocurrency and healthcare, say attorneys at Cahill Gordon.
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US Intellectual Property-Based Sanctions Could Be Imminent
A recent presidential delegation suggests that regulators may be ready to wield the sanctions authority found in the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act, which has been unutilized for the first 22 months of its life, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Trump's 2nd Term May Be A Boost To Banking Industry
President-elect Donald Trump's personnel appointments could be instrumental in reshaping the financial regulatory landscape during his second administration, likely allowing for greater merger activity and halting or undoing some of the Biden administration's more restrictive financial services policies, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Loper Bright Offers New Materiality Defense To FCA Liability
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bight Enterprises v. Raimondo, ending Chevron deference, may have created a new defense to False Claims Act liability by providing the opportunity to argue that a given regulation is not material to the government's payment decision, says Tanner Cook at Husch Blackwell.
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Why K-Cup Claims Landed Keurig In Hot Water With SEC
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent settlement with Keurig Dr. Pepper for making incomplete statements regarding the recyclability of K-cup pods highlights the importance of comprehensive corporate disclosures, particularly with respect to ESG matters, say attorneys at BCLP.
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2nd Circ. Halkbank Ruling Shifts Foreign Immunity Landscape
Following the Second Circuit’s recent common law immunity ruling in U.S. v. Halkbank, foreign state-owned banks, wealth funds and other entities now must seriously consider the risk of criminal liability for commercial activity that violates U.S. laws, say attorneys at Debevoise.