White Collar Crime

SCOTUS considers reach of insider trading law; what if tipster derives no financial benefit?

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday considered whether insider trading includes tips on material, nonpublic information passed between relatives and friends, without any financial benefit to the insider providing the tip. Prosecutors argued that an insider who provides confidential information as a gift has received a personal benefit that can…

Oct 6, 2016 12:56 PM CDT

Lawyer sends $1,000 to jury duty scammers who are refining their craft

Jury duty scammers are growing so sophisticated that a Houston lawyer believed their claim that he would be arrested if he didn’t pay up. Lawyer Keith Woods paid $1,000 to the scammers, report the Houston Chronicle and Click2Houston. The scammers left a message on Woods’ phone when he wasn’t home,…

Sep 28, 2016 10:09 AM CDT

Municipal-bond fraud verdict against Miami could cause increase in SEC enforcement actions

After a federal jury Wednesday found that the city of Miami committed fraud when it sold more than $150 million in municipal debt, it’s likely that the Securities and Exchange Commission will bring similar actions against other cities, Reuters reports. The SEC accused the Florida city and Michael Boudreaux, its…

Sep 16, 2016 2:45 PM CDT

Judge tosses charges against pharmacy chain owner, says prosecutors’ actions ‘shock the conscience’

A federal judge in Maryland blasted prosecutors for actions that “shock the conscience” when he dismissed fraud charges last week against the owner of a pharmacy chain. U.S. District Judge George Russell III accused prosecutors of allowing the destruction of evidence, failing to turn over evidence, and presenting false evidence…

Sep 9, 2016 7:00 AM CDT

Federal prosecutors will drop case against former Virginia governor after SCOTUS loss

Federal prosecutors said on Thursday that they will not seek to retry former Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell, whose bribery conviction was overturned in June by the U.S. Supreme Court. Prosecutors will also drop the corruption case against McDonnell’s wife, Maureen, according to a statement by the U.S. Justice Department. The…

Sep 8, 2016 2:26 PM CDT

Lawyer gets prison time for using trust accounts to transfer $12 million in client cash

A San Diego lawyer has been sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty last year to using lawyer trust accounts to hide the source of $12 million later sent to international destinations. Lawyer Richard Medina Jr., 40, was sentenced on Tuesday, report the San Diego Union-Tribune and the…

Sep 7, 2016 11:24 AM CDT

Lawyer snagged in FBI sting pleads guilty to money laundering conspiracy

A former shareholder at Becker & Poliakoff in Florida targeted in an FBI sting pleaded guilty on Thursday to a federal charge of money-laundering conspiracy. Lawyer Alan Koslow, 62, faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for taking $8,500 to launder money, the Sun Sentinel reports.…

Aug 26, 2016 11:25 AM CDT

Former BigLaw partner is indicted for alleged insider trading

Updated: A former partner at Hunton & Williams has been indicted along with an investment adviser for alleged insider trading. The lawyer, 58-year-old Robert Schulman, was a patent lawyer at Hunton & Williams at the time of the alleged wrongdoing in 2010, Reuters reports. He was indicted along with Tibor…

Aug 10, 2016 12:31 PM CDT

Former Illinois Gov. Blagojevich apologizes, but his new sentence is the same as the old one

A federal judge in Chicago was apparently unmoved by the apology from former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich during his resentencing for political corruption on Tuesday. U.S. District Judge James Zagel sided with prosecutors who recommended a sentence of 14 years in prison, the Chicago Tribune reports. It is the same…

Aug 9, 2016 12:32 PM CDT

7th Circuit judge has ‘penchant for confabulation,’ losing law prof alleges in law review article

A retired University of Chicago law professor who represented former Illinois Gov. George Ryan is striking out at a respected federal appeals judge for an alleged “penchant for confabulation,” “questionable” rulings and “bullying” of lawyers on both sides of the case. The former law professor, Albert Alschuler, unsuccessfully represented Ryan…

Jul 28, 2016 7:30 AM CDT

Lawyer goes on trial for alleged false oil-spill claims; prosecutors drop several counts

Prosecutors dropped 22 of 95 counts against a Texas lawyer and six co-defendants as their trial began Monday for allegedly falsifying claims in the BP Gulf oil spill. Prosecutors dropped 22 identity document fraud charges against San Antonio lawyer Mikal Watts and six associates, the Biloxi Sun Herald and the…

Jul 19, 2016 10:23 AM CDT

Lawyer making routine list discovered law-firm partner didn’t have law license; she gets prison time

Updated: If Greg Jackson hadn’t taken his routine paperwork seriously, a former county bar president might not be facing prison time for the unauthorized practice of law. Jackson had been assigned to compile a list of the two dozen members of the Huntingdon County Bar Association in Pennsylvania shortly before…

Jul 19, 2016 8:30 AM CDT

11th Circuit references Vulcans and bourbon in tossing convictions in alleged ‘bar girls’ scheme

In a colorfully written opinion, a federal appeals court has tossed the convictions of nightclub operators accused of using enticing “bar girls” to lure drunken customers to pay tens of thousands of dollars for overpriced drinks. The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said jurors should have been instructed…

Jul 13, 2016 7:30 AM CDT

Soccer star Lionel Messi gets suspended sentence for tax fraud

A court in Barcelona has given soccer star Lionel Messi and his father suspended sentences of 21 months in prison for tax fraud. Messi and his father, Jorge, were sentenced for using shell companies to avoid taxes on income from Messi’s image rights, report the Associated Press, Reuters, the Washington…

Jul 6, 2016 9:25 AM CDT

Supreme Court tosses conviction of former Virginia governor, clarifies reach of bribery law

The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned the conviction of former Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell in a decision interpreting the meaning of “official action” in the federal bribery law. The decision (PDF) was unanimous. In his opinion for the court, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said jurors received faulty instructions…

Jun 27, 2016 9:37 AM CDT