Afternoon Briefs: Hackers want $21M from showbiz lawyer; videos of clothed women not a crime
Hackers demand $21M from showbiz lawyer
Hackers are threatening to reveal personal information about the celebrity clients of lawyer Allen Grubman unless he pays them a ransom of $21 million. Grubman’s law firm says it has hired leading experts to address the hack. (Page Six, Variety)
Law doesn’t bar taking video of fully clothed women in public, court says
The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals has ruled state law doesn’t ban recording video of fully clothed women in public without their consent, even if done for sexual gratification. The court ruled in the case of David Eric Lambert, who admitted taking close-up footage of women’s buttocks. “If it was not illegal, it was definitely crossing moral boundaries,” Lambert told police in a statement. (The Knoxville News Sentinel via USA Today)
Ohio suspends lawyer for role in Ponzi scheme
A Cleveland-area lawyer who spent about 16 months in prison for his role in a Ponzi scheme has been suspended indefinitely by the Ohio Supreme Court. The lawyer, Mark George, was accused of facilitating the scheme by promising oil and gas investors he would hold their funds in his lawyer escrow account until the oil products were purchased. George received amounts ranging from $2,500 to $4,000 a month to be the escrow agent; the men who hired George spent the investor money on themselves. (Court News Ohio, Cleveland.com)
