White Collar Crime

Gambling addiction cited by lawyer who says he’s under investigation and will give up law license

A longtime Wisconsin attorney who is considered a leading debt-collection lawyer in Milwaukee says he is winding down his practice due to an investigation over missing client trust money and plans to give up his law license. “I’m actually a very good lawyer; this is sadly the end to a…

Jan 28, 2013 8:35 PM CST

Ex-lawyer accused of stealing $4.5M from clients is now represented by public defender

A once-prominent personal injury attorney in Indiana is now represented by a public defender as he awaits trial in a federal wire fraud case in which he has been accused of stealing $4.5 million from 25 clients. William F. Conour, 65, told a federal judge at a hearing Friday in…

Jan 25, 2013 6:48 PM CST

Lawyer for Michael Jackson’s doctor says another of his lawyers forced her out of jail visiting room

A dispute broke out Tuesday at a Los Angeles jail between two different sets of lawyers for Dr. Conrad Murray, resulting in an ongoing battery investigation by the county sheriff’s department. Valerie Wass, who is representing Conrad Murray on appeal, said she was “forced” by attorney Ryan Flanagan out of…

Jan 24, 2013 6:34 PM CST

Is lawyer ‘a drug dealer, a pimp and a murderer’? Bergrin says he’s innocent, calls witnesses liars

The courtroom in Newark was packed Tuesday, as opening arguments began in the federal trial of a once-prominent New Jersey criminal defense attorney, who is accused of operating his law firm as a racketeering enterprise. Paul Bergrin, 57, used his law firm as a cover for criminal activity he orchestrated…

Jan 23, 2013 5:01 PM CST

Testimony: Lawyers promised then-judge big bucks to ‘make sure things came out OK’

When some local lawyers in South Texas wanted to “make sure things came out OK,” they used to steer their personal injury cases to Abel Limas, the former judge testified in federal court in Brownsville on Thursday. Then a 404th state district court judge, he now admits he ran his…

Jan 18, 2013 7:09 PM CST

Indictment: Now-deceased lawyer helped funnel $8M through secret accounts to win HOA contracts

As two lawyers among the latest 11 defendants federally indicted in a massive Nevada homeowner association corruption case pleaded not guilty in a Las Vegas courtroom on Wednesday, a news report described another local attorney, who died last year, as a key figure in the alleged funneling of $8 million…

Jan 17, 2013 8:35 PM CST

Two lawyers among 11 federally indicted re massive alleged HOA corruption scheme

Two Las Vegas lawyers were among 11 defendants federally indicted Tuesday in an alleged massive scheme to take over area homeowner associations. Keith Gregory and Barry Levinson and the other nine defendants were all charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Some defendants face additional…

Jan 16, 2013 8:29 PM CST

Black market for office supplies? Suspect charged in $376K theft of copy machine toner from law firm

A former 10-year worker in the copy department of Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson is facing felony charges alleging that he stole $376,000 worth of copy machine toner from the law firm’s offices in New York. Adrian Rodriguez is charged with two counts of grand larceny. Prosecutors say he…

Jan 15, 2013 8:44 PM CST

Lawyer takes plea in $30M federal mortgage fraud case

A Las Vegas lawyer has pleaded guilty to a felony bank fraud conspiracy charge concerning his role in a mortgage scheme that cost lenders $30 million, according to federal prosecutors. Gerry Zobrist was accused of participating in a scheme in which federal authorities said banks were persuaded by misrepresentations to…

Jan 15, 2013 6:40 PM CST

Once-defiant research firm chief who nixed FBI wire gets 4 years in insider trading case

The founder of a Portland, Ore.-based independent research firm, John Kinnucan, made headlines in 2010 when he publicly announced that he had refused an FBI request to wear a wire in a national insider-trading probe. On Tuesday, the 55-year-old former Broadband Research chief apologized in federal court in Manhattan for…

Jan 15, 2013 6:09 PM CST

Estate lawyer asks to revoke plea, now wants trial in $30M elder insurance fraud case

A Rhode Island estate planning lawyer is seeking to revoke the plea agreement he made last year near the outset of what was expected to be a lengthy trial in a controversial $30 million fraud case. Supporters said attorney Joseph Caramadre did nothing wrong by using the identities of elderly…

Jan 14, 2013 7:51 PM CST

Indictment: Ex-Mayer Brown CIO helped bilk law firm of $4.8M in vendor billing and kickback scheme

Already accused of teaming up with a vendor to bilk a Chicago-based international law firm of nearly $1 million, the former chief information officer of Mayer Brown is now facing charges that he and the other man stole nearly $5 million from Mayer Brown between 2004 and 2011. The former…

Jan 14, 2013 6:29 PM CST

Internet activist’s suicide spurs criticism of US Attorney

The suicide of “hactivist” Aaron Swartz on Friday is shining a harsh spotlight on prosecution decisions by U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz, who had charged the 26-year-old computer programmer with 13 felonies for allegedly accessing a database of scholarly papers with the intent to make them accessible for free. Swartz, 26,…

Jan 14, 2013 5:17 PM CST

Top Pa. Court Nixes Colleague Justice’s Request for Halt of Campaign-Finance Case Trial

A high-profile criminal trial of a suspended member of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on campaign-corruption charges appears likely to proceed later this month, following a Thursday ruling by Justice Joan Orie Melvin’s colleagues on the state’s top court bench rejecting her petition to stop the trial, reports the Associated Press.…

Jan 10, 2013 11:25 PM CST

Now-Disbarred Lawyer Takes Plea in Fraud Case; Feds Say He Took $2.5M From Worker’s Comp Clients

A longtime Georgia lawyer accused of stealing millions in settlement money from his worker’s compensation clients over a four-year period has taken a plea. Miles Lamar Gammage, 59, pleaded guilty in federal court in Rome on Tuesday to one count of mail fraud, reports the Daily Report. Federal prosecutors say…

Jan 10, 2013 3:56 PM CST