Government

15 Madoff Investors in Mass. to Share $8M Fairfield Settlement

Fairfield Greenwich Group has agreed to pay $8 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the Massachusetts Secretary of State over serving as a feeder fund to Bernard Madoff’s massive Ponzi scheme. Under today’s settlement, all 15 of the identified investors in Massachusetts who put money into Madoff’s $65 billion…

Sep 8, 2009 10:39 PM CDT

N.Y. AG Calls Bank’s Privilege Claims ‘Indiscriminate,’ Seeks Waiver

Stymied in his efforts to determine whether the Bank of America and executives complied with disclosure requirements concerning its merger with Merrill Lynch by what he terms an “indiscriminate” use of attorney-client privilege, the New York attorney general is calling for the bank to make its inside and outside counsel…

Sep 8, 2009 9:45 PM CDT

After Chevron Posts YouTube Video, Ecuador Judge Steps Down in $27B Case

Saying that he did nothing wrong but doesn’t want to impede an ongoing investigation, a judge in Ecuador has recused himself in a $27 billion environmental case following a claim by Chevron Corp. that he discussed his planned upcoming ruling in the ongoing litigation with two businessmen. In a highly…

Sep 4, 2009 8:58 PM CDT

Accused Lawyer ‘Hung Out to Dry’ By Ex-Detroit Mayor, Expert Witness Says

A lawyer accused of violating legal ethics rules while representing then-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick in police whistle-blower litigation did nothing wrong, says a former Michigan state bar president. Testifying today for attorney Samuel McCargo at an attorney disciplinary trial, expert witness Thomas Cranmer said McCargo “was hung out to dry…

Sep 4, 2009 7:00 PM CDT

There Ought to Be a Law ... Against Body Odor and Being Loaded While Loaded?

Despite a plethora of laws already on the books, there’s still plenty of bad behavior that hasn’t yet been banned. But officials in New York and Hawaii are proposing laws to close two such loopholes. Noting that there is no law making it criminal to carry a loaded weapon while…

Sep 3, 2009 10:24 PM CDT

Definition of ‘Service Animal’ a Hot Issue in Pet-Friendly Portland, Ore.

It may seem like a no-brainer that dogs don’t belong in a supermarket. But in pet-friendly Portland, Ore., the question is controversial enough to require state officials to weigh in with a new campaign intended to educate the public about what is and is not a service animal, reports the…

Sep 3, 2009 7:32 PM CDT

Madoff Thought Jig Was Up in 2006, But SEC Didn’t Check Trades

Questioned by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2006, Bernard Madoff gave the feds his account number at the Depository Trust Co. independent clearing agency and figured he was only hours away from being exposed as the architect of a massive investment fraud. “I thought it was the end,…

Sep 3, 2009 6:12 PM CDT

Study: US Government Will Need to Go on Hiring Binge, Legal Jobs Included

A study by a think tank says the federal government needs to hire more than 270,000 workers in “mission-critical” jobs, and the legal sector is one of five fields where more workers are needed. The study by the Partnership for Public Service says hiring will need to be beefed up,…

Sep 3, 2009 11:31 AM CDT

Pfizer Whistle-Blower’s $51.5M Payday Could Spark More Qui Tam Suits

Five whistle-blowers will share $102 million as part of a record-breaking $2.3 billion settlement by Pfizer Inc. of a federal criminal probe and civil qui tam litigation over the company’s drug-marketing practices. Among those expecting a hefty payday under the False Claims Act is a former Texas sales representative for…

Sep 3, 2009 12:09 AM CDT

Credit Card Co. Amends Policy After Telling Vision-Impaired Woman to Fill Out Form

A national credit card company whose workers told a vision-impaired woman that she had to fill out a written form to make a complaint about merchandise she says she was charged for but never received has promised to change its policies. In an agreement announced yesterday by New York Attorney…

Sep 2, 2009 11:25 PM CDT

SEC Never Did ‘Thorough & Competent’ Madoff Probe, Internal Report Says

Despite at least six complaints over a period of nearly a decade that Bernard Madoff was running a Ponzi scheme under the guise of a hedge fund, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission never did a “thorough and competent” investigation into what turned out to be a record-breaking $65 billion…

Sep 2, 2009 7:59 PM CDT

Stanford Receiver Defends $27M Bill Against SEC’s ‘Shrill Objections’

In an unusual public battle over a court-appointed receiver’s $27 million bill, attorney Ralph Janvey is telling the feds that cleaning up an alleged $7 billion bank Ponzi scheme of which Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford is the accused mastermind costs money. In a filing last night in federal district…

Sep 2, 2009 6:22 PM CDT

Pfizer to Pay Record $2.3B, Subsidiary to Plead to Felony in Drug Marketing Case

A $2.3 billion global settlement by Pfizer Inc. detailed by federal authorities today reportedly includes a number of record payments to resolve both a federal criminal probe and a pharmaceutical whistle-blower case. The case concerns the company’s alleged illegal off-label marketing of multiple drugs and related claimed Medicare/Medicaid fraud, according…

Sep 2, 2009 5:41 PM CDT

CIA Resists Disclosure of Additional Interrogation Documents

The CIA has told a federal court that disclosure of additional documents about its interrogation of terrorism detainees could jeopardize national security. The CIA outlined its position in a court filing in a freedom of information suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union. The CIA said the documents, including…

Sep 2, 2009 11:49 AM CDT

DOJ to Hire 50 More Lawyers, Gear Up for Civil Rights Enforcement Drive

The U.S. Department of Justice is gearing up for a renewed emphasis on traditional civil rights enforcement after a shift in focus during the administration of former President George W. Bush to a greater emphasis on religious rights, human trafficking and individual cases in which there was evidence of intentional…

Sep 1, 2009 10:04 PM CDT