White Collar

  • November 27, 2024

    Congressional Dems Urge Biden For More Cannabis Reform

    Congressional Democrats are urging President Joe Biden to use his executive authority to take further action on marijuana reforms during the waning weeks of his administration.

  • November 26, 2024

    Ex-Cleveland Politician Charged With Defrauding Nonprofits

    A former Cleveland city councilor has been charged with conspiring to scam multiple nonprofits out of hundreds of thousands of dollars that he and his romantic partner ended up pocketing through real estate transactions he arranged under the guise of revitalizing the district he represented, Ohio federal prosecutors announced Monday.

  • November 26, 2024

    Developer Accuses Fla. Attys Of 'Fraudulent Billing' Scheme

    A real estate developer embroiled in a dispute with Conrad & Scherer LLP over unpaid legal fees has filed a new lawsuit against two of the firm's partners, claiming they operated a "bait and switch" scheme to overbill him for their work in litigation over a loan to finance construction of a $76 million Aspen home.

  • November 26, 2024

    Prosecutors Want Full Karen Read Media Interviews

    Massachusetts prosecutors set to retry Karen Read over the death of her police officer boyfriend asked a judge Tuesday to order the handover of a Boston Magazine reporter's full records of interviews with Read, calling them "some of the most crucial, damning evidence in this case."

  • November 26, 2024

    Man Admits Conspiring To Ship To Blacklisted Chinese Co.

    The founder of a California-based logistics and freight forwarding company pled guilty in Texas federal court to a conspiracy-related charge linked to a scheme to illegally ship goods to a blacklisted Chinese company, which changed its name after being added to the U.S. Department of Commerce's Entity List, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

  • November 26, 2024

    Ukrainian Man Admits To $25M Staffing, Tax Scheme

    A Ukrainian man who was recently extradited to the U.S. to face charges that he helped illegally employ immigrants in Florida hotels pled guilty to tax crimes that prosecutors say caused $25 million in tax losses, according to Florida federal court filings.

  • November 26, 2024

    Madigan Pushed Land Transfer After Law Biz Pitch, Jury Told

    A former Chicago alderman testifying against ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan told jurors Tuesday he connected prospective developers to Madigan, who lobbied to take on their legal work and soon after pushed legislation that would clear the way for their project.

  • November 26, 2024

    Gilead Gets $31.8M In Calif. Case Over Counterfeit HIV Drugs

    Gilead Sciences Inc. has won nearly $32 million in a case involving a scheme to wrongfully repackage HIV treatments and sell them off as counterfeit Gilead products, a California federal judge has ruled.

  • November 26, 2024

    Insys Founder Kapoor Dropped From Del. Opioid Harm Suit

    A Delaware state court has dropped Insys Therapeutics Inc. founder John N. Kapoor from a 6-year-old lawsuit that originally sought damages from Insys, Kapoor and several Delaware opioid prescribers and suppliers, ruling that the state lacked jurisdiction to pursue him for alleged harm to three state residents, two of them pain management patients.

  • November 26, 2024

    NC Basketball Scout Admits To Role In COVID Funds Scheme

    A North Carolina basketball scout has pled guilty to participating in a COVID-19 relief funds scam that prosecutors say netted him $300,000, the latest of more than 30 guilty pleas from the nationwide scheme to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program.

  • November 26, 2024

    Officials Must Face Claims From Pot Farm Raid, Grower Says

    A farmer whose Oklahoma property was razed by state drug enforcers, allegedly causing the destruction of crops and agriculture equipment worth millions of dollars, is pushing back on efforts by law enforcement to escape his suit, saying they shouldn't get qualified immunity.

  • November 26, 2024

    Surgeon Acquitted Of Wire Fraud In Case Over $60M Fla. Hotel

    A Florida federal jury has acquitted a Colombian surgeon of wire fraud conspiracy following a trial over the government's allegations that he defrauded investors through a Ponzi-like scheme involving a $60 million luxury hotel project in one of Miami-Dade County's high-end neighborhoods.

  • November 26, 2024

    Indicted Ex-Conn. Budget Official May Ask To Delay Trial

    Ex-Connecticut budget official Konstantinos "Kosta" Diamantis is considering a bid to delay his February trial on 22 charges that he coerced contractors to pay him kickbacks on school construction jobs, according to a Tuesday motion by prosecutors seeking to postpone certain deadlines.

  • November 26, 2024

    Fox News Host Beats Biden Associate's Defamation Suit

    A New York federal judge has spiked a defamation suit filed against a Fox News analyst by Anthony Bobulinski, a former business associate of Hunter Biden's, finding that an on-air erroneous comment "does not impact Bobulinski's reputation meaningfully more" than his own decisions already have.

  • November 26, 2024

    Court Asked To Halt DEA's Pot Rescheduling Hearing

    The Drug Enforcement Administration's plan to hold administrative hearings on a proposal to reclassify marijuana must be stopped, a psychedelics researcher argued, telling a Washington federal judge that the DEA is not giving a voice to small entity researchers and tribal stakeholders.

  • November 26, 2024

    Fulton County DA Seeks To Reinstate Trump Election Charges

    The Fulton County District Attorney's Office told the Georgia Court of Appeals on Monday that six criminal charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others should be reinstated as they have an "abundance" of information to prepare their defense against allegations of trying to subvert the results of the November 2020 election.

  • November 26, 2024

    Nadine Menendez's Atty Seeks Trial Delay Due To Jan. 6 Case

    Counsel for Nadine Menendez in a bribery case that toppled her husband, former U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, asked a New York federal judge to delay her January trial date because it would likely conflict with the trial of another client facing charges in March in the 2021 Capitol insurrection.

  • November 26, 2024

    Victim Shares Blame For $1.4M Scam, Connecticut Atty Says

    A New Jersey real estate development company is at least partly to blame after it transferred more than $1.4 million to a fraudster without taking proper precautions, a Connecticut attorney said Tuesday in response to a federal lawsuit that accuses her of involvement in the scam.

  • November 26, 2024

    Pa. Nursing Home Eying Sale Seeks Fraud Sentencing Delay

    The parent company for a troubled Western Pennsylvania nursing home asked a federal court to postpone a sentencing for defrauding state and federal healthcare programs so the company can keep trying to sell the facility, or at least relocate its residents over a longer period of time.

  • November 25, 2024

    Ex-Wamco Exec Charged In 'Criminal Cherry-Picking Scheme'

    Federal prosecutors have accused Ken Leech, the former chief investment officer of Western Asset Management Co., of participating in a $600 million "criminal cherry-picking scheme" in which he favored certain clients at the expense of others, according to an indictment unsealed Monday in New York federal court.

  • November 25, 2024

    Native Corp. Faces Default In $3.4M Stock Scam Suit

    A Native American microcap company has until Dec. 6 to tell a federal district court judge why it shouldn't face a default judgment in a $3.4 million stock scam lawsuit after the Securities and Exchange Commission said its chief executive officer's "willful disobedience" warrants such a ruling.

  • November 25, 2024

    Mich. Atty's Voting Machine Criminal Trial Delayed Again

    A Michigan state judge on Monday yet again delayed the criminal trial of an attorney accused of accessing 2020 voting machines after reiterating that he would not disqualify special prosecutors from arguing the case, giving more time for others similarly charged to chime in about newly discovered evidence.

  • November 25, 2024

    Fla. IT Worker Gets 4 Years In Chinese Spying Case

    An information technology worker who pled guilty to working as a "cooperative contact" for the Chinese government was sentenced in Florida federal court Monday to four years behind bars, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

  • November 25, 2024

    SEC Secured Historic $8.2B Enforcement Haul In 2024

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission obtained $8.2 billion in civil penalties and disgorgement via successful enforcement actions in 2024, the highest amount in the history of the agency despite a significant decline in total enforcement actions, the SEC has announced. 

  • November 25, 2024

    Texas AG Loses 'Unserious' Bid For Jack Smith Doc Order

    A Texas federal judge refused Monday to enter an emergency order preserving special counsel Jack Smith's records, saying there is no reason to think the U.S. Department of Justice will not follow document retention laws and slamming Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's allegations to the contrary as "unserious."

Expert Analysis

  • Presidential Campaign Errors Provide Lessons For Trial Attys

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    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.

  • What's Next For The CFTC After The Election

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    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.

  • Series

    Being A Navy Reservist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    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.

  • Cos. Should Inventory Issues To Prep For New Congress

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    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.

  • Conservation Easement Cases Weave Web Of Uncertainty

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    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.

  • Navigating DOJ's Patchwork Whistleblower Regime

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    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.

  • So You Want To Move Your Law Practice To Canada, Eh?

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    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.

  • Opinion

    Efficiency Dept. Should Consolidate Antitrust Enforcement

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    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.

  • 5 Areas Congress May Investigate After GOP Election Wins

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    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.

  • US Intellectual Property-Based Sanctions Could Be Imminent

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    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.

  • Trump's 2nd Term May Be A Boost To Banking Industry

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    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.

  • Loper Bright Offers New Materiality Defense To FCA Liability

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    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.

  • Why K-Cup Claims Landed Keurig In Hot Water With SEC

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    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.

  • 2nd Circ. Halkbank Ruling Shifts Foreign Immunity Landscape

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    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.

  • Justices Must Weigh Reach Of Civil RICO In Cannabis Case

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    Oral arguments in Medical Marijuana Inc. v. Horn suggest that a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court may agree that a truck driver's losing his job after unknowingly ingesting THC and failing a drug test does not merit a racketeering claim — but the court may not buy the other side's theory of the case either, say attorneys at Lewis Baach.

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