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Category Archives: indictment

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Judgment of Acquittal and Dismissal of Charges Against Seven Members of Hutaree Militia

Posted in Acquittal, indictment

Last week, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan granted a judgment of acquittal in favor of seven members of the Hutaree militia, dismissing all charges against the defendants following the conclusion of the government’s case against them at trial, as reported by the Detroit Free Press. Tina Stone; David Stone, Jr.;… Continue Reading

Chinese-American Former Motorola Employee Acquitted on Espionage Charge

Posted in Acquittal, indictment, Noteworthy Cases

Image source: World Military Forum On February 28, 2007, Hanjuan Jin, a Chinese-American and engineer for Motorola, attempted to board a one-way flight for Beijing, China, at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. She was stopped by Federal agents before she could board the flight and found to be carrying a computer and other electronic storage devices… Continue Reading

Atlanta Man Indicted in New York for Securities Fraud, Insider Trading

Posted in Fraud, indictment, Securities Fraud

Image source: www.google.com/imgres Scott Allen, of Atlanta, was charged last week with securities fraud and insider trading in the U.S. District Court Southern District of New York, according to the Wall Street Journal. The government alleges that Mr. Allen and John Bennett of Norwalk, Connecticut, conspired to make more than $2.6 million in profits on insider trades… Continue Reading

Fayetteville Man Indicted on Federal Charges for Defrauding Colleges and Universities

Posted in Arraignment, Fraud, indictment

The season for college sports is upon us once again and what better way to honor the occasion than with a bit of news from 7th Space Interactive that Dale Brannan, of Fayetteville, Georgia, has been indicted in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia for defrauding various universities and colleges, including… Continue Reading

Associate of Former Arizona Representative Rick Renzi Sentenced to 3 Years’ Probation for Conspiracy and Embezzlement; Follows Acquittal of Mr. Andrew Beardall on All Charges

Posted in Acquittal, Corporate Crimes, indictment

Yesterday, Dwayne Lequire, a former accountant at an insurance firm run by former Republican U.S. Representative for Arizona Rick Renzi was sentenced to three years probation in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, according to KTAR.com. Representative Renzi represented Arizona’s 1st Congressional District until declining to seek re-election in 2008. He is alleged… Continue Reading

Utah Man and Canadian Citizen Indicted In Georgia for Conspiracy, Mail and Wire Fraud, May Have Been Conned by Their European Contacts

Posted in Fraud, indictment

As reported in the Salt Lake Tribune, Thomas Repke of Holladay, Nevada, has been indicted in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on 22 counts of conspiracy, mail fraud and wire fraud. The charges are based on allegations that Mr. Repke, through the companies Coadum Capital and Mansell Acquisition Co., allegedly defrauded… Continue Reading

Six Indicted for Alleged Medicare Fraud in South Georgia; Augusta Man Indicted for Alleged Fraud from Federally-Funded Meals for Children Program

Posted in Fraud, indictment

Federal criminal activity has been brisk in the Southern District of Georgia. First, six defendants were charged with conspiracy to defraud Medicare and money laundering, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The charges were the result of a nationwide investigation which included the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of… Continue Reading

Georgia Piano Importer Charged Over Alleged 100 Year Old Elephant Ivory; Loganville Man Allegedly Bilked New York Investor Into Paying $5 Million in Foreign Currency Scheme

Posted in Fraud, indictment, Miscellaneous

In Georgia Federal Criminal news, the Associated Press reports that Federal prosecutors charged A-440 Pianos, Inc., a piano importer in the Atlanta area, and its owner, Pascal Vieillard, last week with alleged illegal smuggling of 855 elephant ivory key tops into the U.S. Mr. Vieillard and the company pled not guilty, and Mr. Vieillard’s counsel has stated… Continue Reading

Chairman of Nation’s Largest Mortgage Company Indicted for Bank Fraud and TARP Fraud in Relation to Scheme Against Colonial Bank, SEC Charges Filed

Posted in Bank Fraud, Fraud, indictment

The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have brought criminal charges and civil claims against Lee B. Farkas, former Chairman of Taylor, Bean and Whitaker Mortgage Corp. (“Taylor Bean”) for allegedly selling at least $1.5 billion in fictitious and impaired residential mortgage loans to Colonial Bank and its parent company,… Continue Reading

Bloate v. U.S.: Extensions of Time to File Pretrial Motions Not Automatically Excludable from Speedy Trial “Clock”

Posted in indictment, Speedy Trial

The United States Supreme Court has sped up the clock in criminal cases with consequences for how attorneys practicing federal criminal law will practice in the future. The Speedy Trial Act of 1974, 18 United States Code Section 3161 et seq., requires that the trial of a criminal defendant begin within 70 days of the… Continue Reading

Georgia Court of Appeals Reverses Trial Court’s Dismissal of RICO Indictment Against Pastor, Bank Officer

Posted in indictment, Miscellaneous

As reported by the Macon Telegraph, on Friday the Georgia Court of Appeals reversed a ruling of the Superior Court of Bibb County, Georgia, dismissing Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) charges against Jimmy Collins, the former pastor of God’s Worship Center (GWC), near Macon, Georgia, and Steven Pittman, a former employee of BB&T Bank…. Continue Reading

Defendant in Stock Option Backdating Case Requests Hearing Based on Prosecutorial Misconduct/Interference with Witnesses

Posted in Fraud, Governmental Misconduct, indictment

As reported by Law.com, Bruce Karatz, Chief Executive Officers of KB Home, a home construction corporation based in Los Angeles, California, was indicted in the action of U.S. v. Nicholas, 2:09-cr-00203-ODW (C.D.Ca. 2009), on 20 counts of fraud for defrauding the company and its shareholders of millions of dollars in undisclosed backdated stock option over a… Continue Reading

Georgia’s Bank Failures Lead to Prosecutions; Atlanta Man Indicted in Relation to Omni National Bank

Posted in Fraud, indictment

Georgia leads the nation in bank failures this decade, with 32 failed banks since 2002, 25 of those in 2009 alone, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Fraud has undoubtedly played a substantial role in the failure of many of these banks, and the FDIC and other agencies are especially vigilant in detecting… Continue Reading

Hedge Fund Managers, Attorneys, Others Fall in Rajaratnam/Galleon Insider Trading Investigation

Posted in Fraud, High Profile Cases, indictment

Raj Rajaratnam and Danielle Chiesi were indicted in indictment alleging 17 counts of securities and wire fraud on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, U.S. v. Raj Rajaratnam et al, Case No. 09-2306, as reported by the New York Daily News here, here and here, and the New… Continue Reading

Constructive Amendments to the Indictment in the Eleventh Circuit

Posted in Environmental Crimes, False Claims, indictment, Money Laundering

  The government’s case in many instances will evolve or shift to some extent over the course of a criminal prosecution. It may be a long time between indictment and trial, and the prosecution may come into possession of new evidence before trial, or may not have thoroughly reviewed the evidence which it does possess… Continue Reading

Favorable Eleventh Circuit/Georgia Federal Case Authority: Sufficiency of the Indictment Pursuant to Fed.R.Crim.P. 7

Posted in indictment

Most federal criminal proceedings involve some attempt by the defense to dismiss the indictment or counts in the indictment. Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 7 provides, in relevant part: (c) Nature and Contents. (1) In General. The indictment or information must be a plain, concise, and definite written statement of the essential facts constituting the… Continue Reading