Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
White Collar
-
November 12, 2024
'I Had A Dream': NJ Ponzi Schemer Gets 12 Years
A New Jersey federal judge on Tuesday sentenced the operator of a defunct real estate investment fund to 12 years in prison, the maximum term under his plea deal for a $658 million Ponzi scheme, after considering his emotional plea for leniency that drew upon his admiration for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
-
November 12, 2024
'Pig Butchering' Crypto Ploy Launderer Cops To $73M Scheme
A dual citizen of China and Saint Kitts and Nevis pled guilty in Los Angeles federal court on Tuesday to internationally laundering more than $73 million worth of criminal proceeds obtained through so-called "pig butchering" cryptocurrency investment scams.
-
November 12, 2024
Fed Bans Ex-Bank Leaders Over Alleged COVID Relief Fraud
The Federal Reserve Board of Governors announced Tuesday that it has prohibited two former top brass with Nano Banc from future participation in the banking industry, alleging they fraudulently obtained loans and grants through the federal CARES Act.
-
November 12, 2024
Huawei Urges Judge To Toss US IP Theft, Fraud Charges
China's Huawei Technologies and its affiliates have asked a Brooklyn federal judge to dismiss the majority of a criminal indictment, slamming allegations that it tried to steal intellectual property from U.S. rivals and deceived banks and the U.S. government about its business dealings with sanctioned countries.
-
November 12, 2024
Ex-ComEd Exec Asked If Madigan Hires Truly An 'Exchange'
Defense attorneys got their chance Tuesday to grill an ex-Commonwealth Edison executive who testified the utility hired people who did little to no work at the behest of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, asking if it truly traded those jobs for Madigan's action on ComEd legislation or if the company was just building goodwill with a key decision-maker.
-
November 12, 2024
Trump Ally Bannon Seeks Delay Of 'We Build The Wall' Trial
Former Trump administration strategist Stephen Bannon on Tuesday sought to delay his criminal trial on New York state charges stemming from an alleged scheme to con donors seeking to fund a southern U.S. border wall, two weeks after he wrapped up his federal prison sentence for contempt of Congress.
-
November 12, 2024
After Bribery Conviction, Insurance Mogul Cops To $2B Fraud
An insurance mogul convicted on bribery and wire fraud charges turned himself into the U.S. Marshals Service on Tuesday in North Carolina after pleading guilty to separate charges stemming from a $2 billion scheme to defraud insurance companies, regulators and policyholders.
-
November 12, 2024
Fla. Man Guilty In $1M Cash-To-Bitcoin Laundering Scheme
A Boston federal jury has convicted a Florida resident of helping launder drug proceeds and enabling transfers of funds from fraud victims to romance scammers by converting more than $1 million in cash to bitcoin through his unlicensed "no questions asked" money transfer business.
-
November 12, 2024
Crime Of Inaction Leaves Justices Mulling Legal 'Absurdities'
The U.S. Supreme Court grappled Tuesday with whether an alleged mobster can be guilty of a murder-for-hire scheme if he did not physically participate in the botched hit job, with one justice remarking that both parties' interpretations of a "violent" crime of inaction could produce absurd results.
-
November 12, 2024
Freshfields Adds Ex-DOJ Atty To Co-Lead Investigations Team
Freshfields has added the former associate deputy attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice as the firm's new co-chair of its congressional investigations team, according to an announcement Tuesday.
-
November 12, 2024
Former FTX Top Atty Joins Lowenstein Sandler In NY
Lowenstein Sandler LLP announced Tuesday that the former general counsel at crypto exchange FTX will join the firm's New York office as a partner and chair of its new commodities, futures and derivatives practice group.
-
November 12, 2024
Ex-National Guardsman Gets 15 Years For Top Secret Leaks
A former Massachusetts Air National Guardsman who leaked top secret Pentagon documents on the social media network Discord was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison for a breach that federal prosecutors have said caused "exceptionally grave and long-lasting damage" to national security.
-
November 12, 2024
Teen Says Judge Not Immune After 'Scared Straight' Trial
A Michigan state judge can't claim judicial immunity from a lawsuit alleging he abused his power when he streamed a mock "Scared Straight" trial against a teen after she nodded off during a field trip to the courthouse because the judge had no jurisdiction over her with a fake proceeding, the teen and her mother argued Monday.
-
November 12, 2024
Ex-Snell & Wilmer Group Head, DOJ Atty, Joins Saul Ewing
The former co-chair of Snell & Wilmer LLP's white collar defense and investigations practice group, an ex-prosecutor known in part for securing the conviction of the surviving Boston Marathon bombing perpetrator, has joined Saul Ewing LLP, the firm announced Tuesday.
-
November 12, 2024
Trump's NY Case Paused As DA Weighs Impact Of Election
A New York state judge agreed to a joint motion to freeze the proceedings in Donald Trump's hush money case following his electoral victory last week, allowing the Manhattan district attorney time to brief the court on "appropriate steps going forward."
-
November 12, 2024
Justices Won't Review Mark Meadows' Ga. Case Removal Bid
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows' petition to review an Eleventh Circuit ruling that he couldn't move his Georgia election interference case to federal court because the federal officer removal statute doesn't apply to former federal officers.
-
November 12, 2024
Justices Won't Take On Tossed Bid-Rigging Conviction
The U.S. Supreme Court refused Tuesday to look at a Fourth Circuit decision that upended the bid-rigging conviction of a government contractor's former executive, rejecting U.S. Department of Justice concerns that the ruling could make it harder to prosecute when contractors have a subcontracting relationship.
-
November 10, 2024
High Court Bar's Future: Arnold & Porter's Allon Kedem
Allon Kedem is a familiar face at the U.S. Supreme Court, with a baker's dozen arguments and the rare distinction of two clerkships, and his face is usually smiling when cases end, thanks to a laudable 10-3 record. All that, plus a resume chock-full of bipartisan bona fides, is why he's among 12 leading attorneys in the Supreme Court's next generation of sought-after oral advocates.
-
November 08, 2024
Combs Suggests $50M Bail As He Loses Bid For Gag Order
Sean "Diddy" Combs on Friday again asked a New York federal court to release him ahead of his trial, suggesting an updated, "far more robust" $50 million bail package the same day the court rejected the hip-hop mogul's push for a gag order forbidding his sexual assault accusers from speaking out.
-
November 08, 2024
'Extraordinary Person' Gets 12½ years For Crypto Laundering
Roman Sterlingov, the Russian and Swedish citizen convicted of money laundering for operating the world's largest cryptocurrency mixing service, was sentenced to 12½ years in prison Friday, even though the D.C. federal judge said it was "painful to see" an "extraordinary person" in such circumstances.
-
November 08, 2024
Judiciary Advisers Back Development Of AI Evidence Rules
The federal judiciary's advisory panel for evidentiary issues agreed Friday to develop rules aimed at strengthening scrutiny of testimony and materials derived from artificial intelligence systems, saying AI-generated information should meet the same reliability standards that apply to expert witnesses.
-
November 08, 2024
Telefónica Venezuela Unit To Pay $85.3M To End FCPA Probe
A Telefónica SA's Venezuela subsidiary has agreed to pay $85.26 million to resolve a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act criminal investigation alleging the Spanish telecommunications giant bribed Venezuelan officials with cash, a Caribbean vacation and expensive jewelry to fix an auction swapping local currency for stronger U.S. dollars, prosecutors announced.
-
November 08, 2024
Up Next At High Court: Self-Deportation Deadlines & Murder
The U.S. Supreme Court will be closed Monday for Veterans Day, but the justices will return to the bench Tuesday to consider whether a 60-day deadline for immigrants to voluntarily leave the country has a grace period and what evidence is needed to allege securities fraud.
-
November 08, 2024
'Life Ain't Fair': Trump's Ga. Co-Defendants Still May Get Trial
President-elect Donald Trump's victory at the polls will likely result in the Georgia election interference case against him being frozen until after he leaves office, but attorneys for his co-defendants told Law360 that the same is not necessarily true for their clients.
-
November 08, 2024
Pawn Shop Must Face CFPB's Military Law Claims, Judge Says
In a matter of first impression, a Texas federal judge has ruled that national pawn shop company FirstCash Inc. cannot use a "bona fide error" defense to argue that its alleged violation of the Military Lending Act was an unintentional mishap, saying the defense only applies to private borrower claims, not federal agency suits.
Expert Analysis
-
Lessons From Recent SEC Cyber Enforcement Actions
The recent guidance by the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance is helpful to any company facing a cybersecurity threat, but just as instructive are the warnings raised by the SEC's recent enforcement actions against SolarWinds, R.R. Donnelley and Intercontinental Exchange, say attorneys at O'Melveny.
-
Trump's Best Hush Money Appeal Options Still Likely To Fail
The two strongest potential arguments former President Donald Trump could raise in appealing his New York hush money conviction seem promising at first, but precedent strongly suggests they will still ultimately fail — though, of course, Trump's unique position could lead to surprising results, says former New York Supreme Court Justice Ethan Greenberg, now at Anderson Kill.
-
2 Vital Trial Principles Endure Amid Tech Advances
Progress in trial technologies in the last 10 years has been transformative for courtroom presentations, but two core communication axioms are still relevant in today's world of drone footage evidence and 3D animations, say Adam Bloomberg and Lisa Walters at IMS Legal Strategies.
-
Inside OCC's Retail Nondeposit Investment Products Refresh
In addition to clarifying safe and sound risk management practices generally, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's revised booklet on retail nondeposit investment products updates its guidance around certain sales practices in light of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's adoption of Regulation Best Interest, say attorneys at Debevoise.
-
5 Defense Lessons From Prosecutors' Recent Evidence Flubs
The recent dismissal of Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter charges, and the filing of an ethics complaint against a former D.C. prosecutor, both provide takeaways for white collar defense counsel who suspect that prosecutors may be withholding or misrepresenting evidence, say Anden Chow at MoloLamken and Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
-
Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Is My Counterclaim Bound To Fall?
A Pennsylvania federal court’s recent dismissal of the defendants’ counterclaims in Morgan v. Noss should remind attorneys to avoid the temptation to repackage a claim’s facts and law into a mirror-image counterclaim, as this approach will often result in a waste of time and resources, says Matthew Selmasska at Kaufman Dolowich.
-
Why The SEC Is Targeting Short-And-Distort Schemes
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent crackdown on the illegal practice of short-and-distort trades highlights the urgent need for public companies to adopt proactive measures, including pursuing private rights of action, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.
-
6 Factors That Can Make For A 'Nuclear' Juror
Drawing from recent research that examines the rise in nuclear verdicts, Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies identifies a few juror characteristics most likely to matter in assessing case risk and preparing for jury selection — some of which are long-known, and others that are emerging post-pandemic.
-
DOJ Paths To Limit FARA Fallout From Wynn's DC Circ. Win
After the D.C. Circuit’s recent Attorney General v. Wynn ruling, holding that the government cannot compel retroactive registration under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, the U.S. Department of Justice has a few options to limit the decision’s impact on enforcement, say attorneys at MoFo.
-
Series
Playing Dungeons & Dragons Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Playing Dungeons & Dragons – a tabletop role-playing game – helped pave the way for my legal career by providing me with foundational skills such as persuasion and team building, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.
-
Unpacking Executive Privilege, Contempt In Recent Cases
The U.S. House of Representatives’ recent move to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress is the latest example in a growing trend of executive privilege disputes, and serves as a warning to private citizens and corporate leaders who are in communication with the president, says Kristina Moore at Womble Bond.
-
Bankruptcy Trustees Need More FinCEN Guidance
Recent FinCEN consent orders in two North Carolina bankruptcy cases show that additional guidance is necessary for most types of fiduciaries overseeing bankruptcy estates or other insolvency vehicles, say Brian Shaw and David Doyle at Cozen O’Connor.
-
Jarkesy Ruling May Redefine Jury Role In Patent Fraud
Regardless of whether the U.S. Supreme Court’s Jarkesy ruling implicates the direction of inequitable conduct, which requires showing that the patentee made material statements or omissions to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the decision has created opportunities for defendants to argue more substantively for jury trials than ever before, say attorneys at Cadwalader.
-
3 Leadership Practices For A More Supportive Firm Culture
Traditional leadership styles frequently amplify the inherent pressures of legal work, but a few simple, time-neutral strategies can strengthen the skills and confidence of employees and foster a more collaborative culture, while supporting individual growth and contribution to organizational goals, says Benjamin Grimes at BKG Leadership.
-
The OIG Report: DOJ's Own Whistleblower Program Has Holes
A recent Office of the Inspector General memo found that the U.S. Department of Justice’s whistleblower program failed to protect federal employees whose security clearances were allegedly suspended in retaliation — a serious cause for concern that could have a potential chilling effect on would-be whistleblowers, says Diana Shaw at Wiley.