Swiss lawyer is accused of helping Americans evade taxes on income from offshore accounts

A Swiss lawyer who is also licensed in New York is being accused of helping Americans hide money in overseas accounts. An indictment in Manhattan federal court describes lawyer Edgar Paltzer as a partner in a Swiss law firm. He is charged with one count of conspiracy, report the Wall…

Apr 17, 2013 1:37 PM CDT

Law firm fell victim to phishing scam, precipitating $336K overseas wire transfer, bank suit alleges

A North Carolina bank claims in a lawsuit that it isn’t responsible for a $336,600 wire transfer to Russia from a law firm account. The suit by Charlotte-based Park Sterling Bank claims the law firm of Wallace & Pittman fell victim to a phishing scam that began with a click…

Apr 4, 2013 10:40 AM CDT

Foreclosure attorney wins prize for uncovering ‘robosigning’

Apr 1, 2013 9:10 AM CDT

‘Extreme home takeover’: Company uses poorly punctuated ‘deeds’ to claim title to foreclosed homes

It seems obvious that Presscott Rosche may not actually hold legitimate title to the dozen or so foreclosed homes to which the company has claimed ownership rights through poorly punctuated “deeds” and other documents filled with legalistic jargon filed by an “attorney in fact.” But South Florida authorities have shown…

Mar 26, 2013 6:31 PM CDT

New government-issued debit cards impose many fees, may raise privacy issues

Government entities in California and Illinois have come up with a novel way to cut costs and, potentially, even raise money. New cards being issued to individuals—to pay transit fares, in Chicago, and for identification, in Oakland—will have an optional dual feature. Those who wish to can also use them…

Mar 20, 2013 6:41 PM CDT

Accused ringleader in scam that bilked $70M from law firms has taken plea

A foreign citizen accused of acting as a ringleader in a scheme in which prosecutors say U.S. and Canadian law firms were scammed out of some $70 million has pleaded guilty in federal court in Harrisburg, Pa. Emmanuel Ekhator, 42, pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiracy to commit mail…

Mar 15, 2013 4:24 PM CDT

Judge axes ex-partners’ suit saying Citibank misled them about Howrey finances when making loans

A California judge has dismissed a lawsuit by two former Howrey partners who contended that Citibank misled them and should have disclosed more to them about their own law firm’s dismal financial situation before they took out loans to make capital contributions. Judge Peter Busch on Friday declined to give…

Mar 12, 2013 3:55 PM CDT

Prosecutorial misconduct allegations get huge ‘robo-signing’ case dismissed

A massive mortgage fraud case against two California title officers has been dismissed over allegations of prosecutorial misconduct by the Nevada attorney general’s office. Lawyers for the two defendants claimed that prosecutors in the attorney general’s office gave a grand jury an improper definition of what constitutes forgery and threatened…

Feb 28, 2013 6:57 PM CST

Sued by bank, lawyer says he was also victimized by client’s $297K check scam

An Ohio lawyer is now embroiled in litigation after apparently being victimized in an overseas check scam perpetrated by a purported client. F. Stephen Chamberlain says he deposited a $297,500 cashier’s check into his Union Bank trust account and, after being assured by a JPMorgan Chase Bank representative that the…

Feb 27, 2013 6:58 PM CST

Student debtor who lost fair debt case loses again in Supreme Court

Corrected: A collection agency that wins dismissal of a federal fair debt collection case can collect costs without a showing of bad faith or harassment by the plaintiff, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a 7-2 decision. The decision is a loss for student debtor Olivea Marx, who had…

Feb 26, 2013 5:46 PM CST

Claimed bank loan for $540K Dewey capital payment a ‘fabrication,’ says ex-partner in suit

Sued in the United Kingdom for allegedly defaulting on a Barclays Bank loan to finance his $540,000 capital contribution to Dewey & LeBoeuf, a former partner of the now-bankrupt law firm has fired back by filing a federal lawsuit in New York. In it, Londell McMillan, who was in charge…

Feb 20, 2013 4:57 PM CST

DOJ toughens its Wall Street strategy, but critics see only a ‘symbolic reprimand’

The U.S. Justice Department has a new, slightly tougher strategy in its pursuit of Wall Street wrongdoers. Rather than settling for deferred prosecution agreements, the department is seeking criminal guilty pleas from bank subsidiaries, the New York Times DealBook blog reports. The model was used against UBS and the Royal…

Feb 20, 2013 11:30 AM CST

Robosigning law has unintended consequences, Nevada Realtors say

Some Nevada Realtors believes a 2011 robosigning law is to blame for a drop in foreclosures that is keeping abandoned homes off the market. The law requires lenders to sign an affidavit saying they have personal knowledge of a property’s document history before they can foreclose. The Nevada Association of…

Jan 25, 2013 11:30 AM CST

Morgan Stanley lawyer had joke names for toxic assets sold overseas, including ‘subprime meltdown’

Internal Morgan Stanley documents revealed in a lawsuit show one of its lawyers had a low opinion of toxic assets sold to overseas banks. Lawyer Philip Blumberg suggested joke names for the assets in a March 2007 email, Pro Publica reports. They included: Subprime Meltdown, ShitBag and Nuclear Holocaust. The…

Jan 24, 2013 1:35 PM CST

Ex-Dewey partner’s fraud claim re Citibank capital loan gets green light from federal judge

A former partner of Dewey & LeBoeuf has won a round in an unusual legal case against the bank that made him a personal loan to finance his capital contribution to the now-defunct law firm. A federal judge in New York on Wednesday nixed a summary judgment motion by Citibank…

Jan 17, 2013 4:42 PM CST