In the midst of handing down decisions on matters of wider import, such as healthcare and immigration, the U.S. Supreme Court last week struck down the Stolen Valor Act, a 2006 Federal statute which made it a Federal crime to make false statements regarding receiving military honors, as reported in Army Times. The 6-3 majority… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Act
Preview of the John Edwards Trial and the Potential Problems With the Government’s Case
Posted in High Profile CasesThe trial of former North Carolina Senator, Vice President nominee and candidate for President Johnny Reid (“John”) Edwards for alleged mishandling of campaign funds is underway in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. Opening statements in the case will take place next Monday. The outcome of the trial will be… Continue Reading
Second Circuit Holds Theft of “Source Code” Not a Crime Under the National Stolen Property Act
Posted in CybercrimeSergey Aleynikov was convicted for stealing and transferring proprietary "source code" in violation of the National Stolen Property Act (NSPA), 18 U.S.C. § 2314, and the Economic Espionage Act (EEA) of 1996, 18 U.S.C. § 1832. Source code is computer instructions in a human-readable text. Aleynikov was a computer programmer for Goldman Sachs & Co., who developed source… Continue Reading
7th Circuit Reverses Mail and Wire Fraud Conviction of Contractor for Alleged Bid Rigging
Posted in Fraud, Mail/WIre/Honest Services FraudSteven Fenzl was the principal of Urban Services of America, Inc. ("Urban"). Fenzl was charged with alleged mail fraud and wire fraud in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The charges related to alleged bid-rigging under the Sherman Act on a 2005 contract to refurbish the City of Chicago’s garbage carts…. Continue Reading
Mistrial in First Trial Following Massive Foreign Corrupt Practices Bribery Sting
Posted in MistrialAs reported by Reuters, last week, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia declared a mistrial in the trial of four arms salesmen for alleged bribes under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The defendants, Andrew Bigelow, Pankesh Patel, Lee Tolleson and John Wier, were accused of attempting to bribe two individuals who… Continue Reading
Supreme Court’s Skilling Decision Affects Retrial of Abramoff Associate; Georgia Attorney Gets 5 Years for $4.3 Million Fraud Against Clients; Dutch Company Enters $240 Million Settlement of Foreign Bribery Allegations in Texas
Posted in FraudOn June 24, the United States Supreme Court rendered its decision in the case of former Enron executive Jeffrey Skilling. The majority in U.S. v. Skilling, No. 08-2349, in an opinion authored by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg (which may be read in its 114 page entirety here), held that the "honest services" mail fraud statute,… Continue Reading
Smith & Wesson Investigated for Foreign Corrupt Practices Violations; Ponzi Schemer Scott Rothstein’s Partner Invokes Fifth in Deposition
Posted in MiscellaneousAshby Jones of the Wall Street Journal Law Blog writes today that Firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice for alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The company disclosed the investigation and potential future criminal indictments of the company and its officers and employees to investors in filings… Continue Reading
Report Alleges Bush Administration DOJ Shielded BP and Executives from Criminal Prosecution over Alaska Spill
Posted in Environmental CrimesAs the oil spill from the Deepwater Horizon well in the Gulf of Mexico turns two months old, an article in Digital Journal details how the government considered bringing criminal charges against British Petroleum and its executives during the Bush Administration. The article quotes Scott West, a former Special Agent in Charge for the Environmental… Continue Reading
Johnson & Johnson Subsidiary Ortho-McNeil Pleads Guilty to Promoting Epilepsy Drug for Unapproved Uses; Settles Civil Suit for $75 Million
Posted in Health Care FraudOrtho-McNeil, a unit of Johnson and Johnson, entered a guilty plea on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts to a misdemeanor for alleged illegal promoting of Topamax, a drug designed to treat epilepsy, for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration, according to PR Newswire. The government alleged that Ortho-McNeil… Continue Reading
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Investigation of Aluminum Giant Alcoa for Alleged Bribery, Per WSJ Law Blog
Posted in Foreign CrimesAshby Jones at the Wall Street Journal Law Blog also notes the rise in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement actions by the government. In the latest instance, Jones cites U.S. and British authorities’ investigation of Alcoa, the third largest producer of aluminum in the world, based in Pittsburgh, for alleged bribery in negotiating contracts in… Continue Reading
Pfizer Hit With 140 Million RICO Verdict Over Alleged Promotion of Off-Label Uses for Epilepsy Drug Neurontin
Posted in Racketeering/Organized CrimeAs reported in the National Law Journal, a federal jury in Massachusetts last week returned a $47 million verdict against pharmaceutical giant Pfizer for allegedly promoting Neurontin, an epilepsy drug manufactured by Pfizer, for off-label uses in alleged violation of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Since the RICO statute provides for… Continue Reading
Wachovia Enters $160 Million Settlement with DOJ Over Alleged Money Laundering Through Mexican Currency Exchange Houses
Posted in Money LaunderingAs reported by the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Department of Justice and Wachovia Bank have entered into a $160 million settlement and deferred prosecution agreement to settle the DOJ’s allegations that Wachovia enabled drug traffickers to launder drug money through transfers of money from Mexican currency exchange houses to the bank. The bank has agreed… Continue Reading
Former Willbros Executives Sentenced for $6 Million Bribe to Nigerian Officials in Violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
Posted in Foreign CrimesThe culture of corruption of some foreign nations may heavily influence to U.S. companies doing business abroad to play along in order to be competitive. Regardless of the competitive disadvantages, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) stands as a serious deterrent to engaging in bribery or kickbacks in business transactions abroad. The force of the FCPA was demonstrated once again on Thursday, when two former executives of… Continue Reading
SEC Complaint Against Florida Hedge Fund Managers for Violations of Anti-Fraud Provisions
Posted in Fraud, Securities and Exchange Commission ProceedingsOn Monday, the SEC filed a Complaint for Injunctive and Other Relief, in Federal court in Tampa, Florida, which may be viewed here, against Neil V. Moody and Christopher D. Moody, managers of the hedge funds Valhalla Investment Partners, L.P., Viking IRA Fund, LLC, and Viking Fund, LLC. Neil Moody, 71, and his son Christopher… Continue Reading
Telecommunications Company UTStarcom Enters into $3 Million Settlements with DOJ and SEC for Alleged Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Violations
Posted in Foreign CrimesAs reported by the Wall Street Journal and DOJ, UTStarcom Inc., a California-based global communications corporation which designs, manufactures and sells network equipment and handsets has agreed to pay $1.5 million in penalties to the government for alleged acts of bribery in the People’s Republic of China in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)…. Continue Reading
Hollywood Film Producer Couple Convicted for Bribing Thai Official
Posted in Foreign CrimesAccording to Law.com, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California found Gerald and Patricia Green guilty of conspiracy, money laundering and violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The Greens were film producers based in Beverly Hills. They were charged and found guilty of conspiring to bribe a government… Continue Reading
Pfizer Enters Largest Healthcare Fraud Settlement in U.S. History
Posted in False Claims, Fraud, Health Care Fraud, Money LaunderingPharmaceutical giant Pfizer, inc., will pay $2.3 billion to the Federal government and 49 States to settle allegations that it violated federal regulations in promoting several drugs, as reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The settlement is the largest in U.S. history to date in a healthcare fraud case. Georgia will receive $21.7 million as part of… Continue Reading
Trial Ends in Case of Former Representative William Jefferson; Jury Deliberations to Begin Today
Posted in False Claims, Fraud, High Profile Cases, Money LaunderingThe trial of former Representative William Jefferson, which has gone on for six weeks in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, will come to an end today. As reported by Ashby Jones at the Wall Street Journal Law Blog and UPI, both sides gave their closing arguments yesterday. Judge T.S. Ellis… Continue Reading
VA Doctor Pleads Guilty to Issuing Between 50K to 100K Prescriptions Online
Posted in Noteworthy CasesOnline pharmaceuticals are big business and, frequently big sources of violations of the Food and Drug Act, including criminal ones. Accordingly, Mechanicsville, Virginia, doctor Torino Jennings pled guilty last week in federal court to seven counts of introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce and four counts of tax evasion. Jennings was charged with issuing between… Continue Reading
Criminal Enforcement of Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP): Criminal Investigations and First Prosecution Already in Progress
Posted in Troubled Asset Relief Program TARP Stimulus TALF Investigations and CrimeThe Federal Government is spending billions on bailouts and stimulus in order to resuscitate the economy. This money, however, does not come without strings, both in the non-criminal and the criminal sphere. Following is a survey of the potential criminal consequences of misuse of monies issued by the Government under the Troubled Asset Relief Program… Continue Reading
Summary of Substantial Eleventh Circuit Criminal Decisions Through April 8
Posted in Noteworthy CasesResuming Federal Criminal Defense Blog’s pledge to keep readers informed regarding substantial decisions in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (and the Court certainly keeps us busy), we take this opportunity to catch up. Following is a summary of substantial decisions from the end of March through April 8. “Violent Felonies” Under the Armed… Continue Reading
“Significant Nexus” to “Navigable Waters” Necessary in Clean Water Prosecutions
Posted in Environmental CrimesAbraham Lincoln, following the Union victory at Vicksburg, referred to the Mississippi again flowing “unvexed to the sea.” In Rapanos v. United States, 547 U.S. 715, 126 S.Ct. 2208 (2006), the United States Supreme Court, in a plurality opinion authored by Justice Scalia, elaborated the definition of “navigable waters” under the Clean Water Act… Continue Reading