White Collar Crime

More arrests and charges in FIFA corruption probe should be expected, says AG Lynch

Expect more arrests and indictments in connection with the U.S.-led FIFA corruption probe, the U.S. attorney general has announced. During a speech in Zurich on Monday, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said that the final whistle had yet to blow on the U.S. Department of Justice’s investigation of world soccer’s…

Sep 14, 2015 12:25 PM CDT

Lawyer gets 48 months for defrauding estate of $2.3M

A suburban Philadelphia lawyer who diverted more than $2.3 million from a $6 million estate into his law firm accounts was sentenced Thursday to 48 months in federal prison. Randall Scott, 72, pleaded guilty earlier this year to mail fraud and tax charges. Between December 2005 and October 2011 he…

Sep 11, 2015 9:20 AM CDT

Justice Department releases guidelines to foster pursuit of individuals in corporate wrongdoing

Attorney General Loretta Lynch has approved a new policy that aims to hold individuals accountable for corporate wrongdoing. The policy, outlined in a memo to federal prosecutors, says settlement agreements won’t give companies credit for cooperating with the government unless they turn over evidence against employees involved in wrongdoing, report…

Sep 11, 2015 8:15 AM CDT

Leak of discipline case against Pennsylvania AG taints jury trial in criminal case, her counsel says

After confirmation this week of earlier news reports that lawyer disciplinary authorities in Pennsylvania are seeking to suspend the law license of the state attorney general, her counsel is blasting the public revelation of a process that is supposed to be confidential. “The leaks about a disciplinary proceeding to suspend…

Sep 10, 2015 11:45 AM CDT

Ex-prosecutor indicted over alleged text offer to pay $20K to get opponent to exit judicial campaign

A now-former longtime prosecutor in Davidson County, North Carolina, was indicted Tuesday, accused of texting an offer to pay $20,000 to get an opponent to drop out of an election for a superior court seat. Wendy Joyce Terry, 43, was placed on administrative leave after the alleged July 23 incident…

Sep 9, 2015 5:15 PM CDT

Dewey prosecution was based on ‘fantasy fraud,’ lawyer says in closing argument

A lawyer for the former chairman of Dewey & LeBoeuf told Manhattan jurors Tuesday that the prosecution case against his client was a “fantasy fraud” based on accounting adjustments that were proper or, at worst, debatable. There is “not one shred of evidence” that former chairman Steven Davis acted in…

Sep 9, 2015 9:32 AM CDT

Lawyer accused of stealing over $2M from clients’ estates and heirs

A suburban Chicago attorney was charged Wednesday with stealing more than $2 million from the estates and heirs of clients. Authorities say Robert Beck, 48, of Wheaton, began stealing in 2011, taking $1 million from the estates of seven clients. He allegedly shifted another $1.26 million between trust accounts in…

Sep 8, 2015 3:00 PM CDT

Lawyer is charged with contempt after allegedly lying to client to persuade him to take a plea deal

A Wisconsin defense lawyer accused of lying to a client to persuade him to accept a plea deal is now facing a misdemeanor contempt case. Attorney Michael Petersen, 32, allegedly told the unidentified client and his father last year that the client should plead guilty to attempted armed robbery, because…

Sep 4, 2015 12:40 PM CDT

Without calling any witnesses, defense plans to rest in case against former Dewey & LeBoeuf leaders

Earlier this week, a judge overseeing the jury trial of three former leaders of Dewey & LeBoeuf accused of cooking the law firm’s books denied a motion to dismiss the case. But defense lawyers nonetheless plan to rest on Tuesday without calling a single witness and renew the motion to…

Sep 3, 2015 4:20 PM CDT

Indicted lawyer accused of stealing $6M from clients

A California lawyer has been federally indicted on 25 counts, accused of misappropriating a total of nearly $6 million from three clients in South Korea. Stephen Young Kang, 46, was arrested by federal agents last month as he tried to board a flight to South Korea at Los Angeles International…

Sep 2, 2015 4:20 PM CDT

Lawyer gets 4 months for stealing from law firm, is ordered to pay $160K

A Virginia attorney who reportedly stole from his law firm was sentenced Tuesday to serve four months in federal prison and ordered to pay $160,647 to his former employer. Tony Michael Hutchinson, 52, had previously pleaded guilty to wire fraud in the Abingdon case, WJHL reports. Hutchinson, a bankruptcy practitioner,…

Sep 1, 2015 4:40 PM CDT

California state bar launches a new effort to fight notario fraud

In 2013, a deal on immigration reform seemed imminent in Congress. So imminent, in fact, that law enforcement in California started noticing an uptick in immigration law scams. "One of the examples of what we saw was attorneys who are publicizing that if you give us $500 now, ... we…

Sep 1, 2015 6:45 AM CDT

Lawyers acquitted of coaching witnesses to lie; case a ‘scary attack’ on defense bar, counsel says

A little over a year after the feds raided the law office of two Chicago defense attorneys, then charged them with perjury for allegedly coaching witnesses to lie, both have been acquitted by a federal judge at a bench trial. Law partners Beau Brindley and Michael Thompson got the good…

Aug 31, 2015 11:55 AM CDT

Prosecution says improper Dewey adjustments boosted revenue by 10 percent, assets by 1,000 percent

As the prosecution case against three former leaders accused of cooking the books at Dewey & LeBoeuf nears its conclusion, witnesses are providing an overview of claimed financial wrongdoing that led to the law firm’s demise. Attempting to stay in compliance with the terms of $250 million in debt and…

Aug 27, 2015 11:00 AM CDT

Lawyer in federal perjury case takes stand, insists he didn’t coach witnesses to lie

A Chicago lawyer facing felony obstruction and perjury charges in federal court for allegedly coaching witnesses to lie took the stand Tuesday in his own defense. Beau Brindley, 37, insisted that he hadn’t done so, the Chicago Tribune (reg. req.) reports. “When they are on the stand under oath, the…

Aug 25, 2015 4:05 PM CDT