White Collar Crime

Paul Bergrin, Accused Attorney in RICO Law Firm Case, Seeks Hearing Re Claimed Misconduct By Feds

A prominent New Jersey defense attorney who has spent the last several years jailed without bail, awaiting trial in a federal case that accuses him of running his Newark law firm as a criminal racketeering enterprise is now claiming it’s the feds whose conduct needs to be scrutinized. Before Paul…

Aug 24, 2012 1:16 PM CDT

Prosecutors Say Indicted PI Lawyer Kept Settlements, Stonewalled 3 Clients, Sent Fake Letters

A New York personal injury lawyer has been indicted on charges including grand larceny and forgery for allegedly settling three clients’ cases and keeping the money. Prosecutors at the Manhattan District Attorney’s office say John Ioannou, 57, stonewalled clients after taking their money and even sent fake client letters to…

Aug 23, 2012 4:00 PM CDT

Too Much Evidence Cited as Reason for Dropping Drug Charges Against Fugitive Doctor

A federal judge in Iowa has dropped charges against a fugitive doctor because it’s become too costly for federal officials to maintain evidence in the massive online pharmacy case. The case against Miami doctor Armando Angulo, the nation’s largest prosecution of online pharmacies, involves more than 400,000 documents, computers, servers…

Aug 17, 2012 1:03 PM CDT

5th Circuit Upholds Conviction of Lawyer, Two Judges in Miss. Corruption Case

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the sentences of two Mississippi judges and a former lawyer who prosecutors said backed loans for the judges in exchange for favorable rulings. In an opinion released Wednesday (PDF), the New Orleans-based court affirmed sentences for one-time plaintiff’s lawyer Paul Minor…

Aug 16, 2012 12:16 PM CDT

Customers Targeted by Workers at Big-Name Banks in Multimillion Dollar ID Theft Schemes

Employees of some of the nation’s biggest banks have reportedly been stealing customers’ identities in multimillion dollar fraud schemes. A federal judge in Minneapolis on Monday sentenced two claimed leaders of a $50 million bank fraud conspiracy to well over 20 years in prison, the Associated Press reports. Julian Okeayaninneh…

Aug 15, 2012 7:02 PM CDT

Attorney Facing Felony Embezzlement Trial Is Jailed Without Bond After DWI Arrest

A Texas lawyer scheduled to be tried next month in a felony case in which she is charged with embezzling over $500,000 from her own grandmother is now being held without bond after a drunken-driving arrest last week. Prosecutors who requested that bond be revoked for Michelle Lorenz Valicek, 54,…

Aug 14, 2012 4:14 PM CDT

Lawyer Gets 18 Months in Claimed Scheme to Steal and Sell Corporate Identities

One of two Texas lawyers convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud by a federal jury in Florida concerning a claimed scheme to steal the identities of dormant publicly traded companies has been sentenced to prison time. Roger Lee Schoss, 68, got 18 months followed by 36 months of home…

Aug 13, 2012 8:09 PM CDT

Former GC for Teamsters Local Gets Prison Time in $184K Expense Reimbursement Scheme

A former general counsel for a Teamsters local has been sentenced to prison time for a $184,000 expense-reimbursement scheme. Kevin Clor, 40, was given a term of between 32 months and eight years Wednesday by a Manhattan Supreme Court judge after pleading guilty in June to 34 counts of grand…

Aug 8, 2012 10:02 PM CDT

DOJ Civil Fraud Penalties Rise, While Few Individuals Face Charges

Corporations this year will likely pay as much as $8 billion to settle charges of defrauding the U.S. government, the New York Times reports, and that is twice as much as what was assessed last year by the Justice Department. However, some question the lack of charges against executives running…

Aug 7, 2012 7:32 PM CDT

Texas Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Misusing $600K of Children’s Personal Injury Awards

A Texas lawyer appointed to represent children in personal injury cases pleaded guilty Friday to using their legal awards for personal use, rather than directly placing the funds in court registries. The registries are meant to hold the children’s money until they reach the age of 18, the Austin American-Statesman…

Aug 7, 2012 3:26 PM CDT

Ex-Judge Pleads to Misdemeanor in Criminal Case Over Altered Conviction Dates in DWI Cases

A former North Carolina judge tearfully took a misdemeanor plea Monday in a controversial case involving altered conviction dates in drunk-driving cases heard before other judges. Kristin Ruth, 55, said she had been too trusting of a defense attorney she has known since they were classmates at Campbell University’s law…

Jul 31, 2012 10:12 PM CDT

Calif. Lawyer Gets 4 Months, Is Fined $10K, for Using Another Attorney’s ID on Passport Application

A longtime California family lawyer has been sentenced to four months in federal prison and fined $10,000 for using another lawyer’s social security number and a fake state identification card in a 2009 effort to get a U.S. passport. Warren David Camp, 47, is a Canadian citizen. A family law…

Jul 31, 2012 7:14 PM CDT

Ex-BigLaw Associate Sentenced to Record 12 Years Says ‘Excitement’ Drove $37M Insider-Trading Scheme

Sentenced to a record 12-year prison term for insider trading, a former BigLaw associate–who admittedly revealed to his partners in white-collar crime confidential information from four of the six law firms at which he worked–says he carried on with the long-running scheme largely for the thrills he got from it.…

Jul 31, 2012 5:28 PM CDT

2 NY Lawyers Convicted in $25M Mortgage-Fraud Case

Two New York lawyers have each been convicted of 10 felony counts and acquitted of one felony count in what federal prosecutors described as a $25 million mortgage-fraud scheme. Aaron Rabinowitz and Matthew Burstein, both 40, could get a maximum of 30 years when they are sentenced in November. However,…

Jul 30, 2012 4:11 PM CDT

Law Prof, a Former Judge, Is Criminally Charged in Claimed Sex-for-Grades Corruption Case

A law professor at National University of Singapore is facing six criminal corruption counts, accused of giving a student better grades in exchange for sex. The student also allegedly gave Tey Tsun Hang, 41, an expensive Mont Blanc pen and taillor-made shirts and paid a four-figure bill for him, according…

Jul 27, 2012 5:43 PM CDT