White Collar Crime

2677 ABA Journal White Collar Crime articles.

Receiver Seeks Clawback of Legal Fees Paid to Paul Hastings & Fulbright Firms

Asked by a federal judge in Utah to recover money on behalf of investors allegedly fleeced by a claimed Ponzi scheme operator, Val Southwick, a receiver has focused on two major law firms. Contending that money from the Ponzi scheme was used to fund legal defense fees, the receiver filed…

Mar 10, 2009 6:12 PM CDT

New Texts Give Insider Litigation Peeks as Ex-Mayor of Detroit Seeks $100M

Ever wondered what was in former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s mind during the infamous text-message debacle? His oversight of a now-former city police official’s complaint of unfair treatment was, of course, handled in a manner that eventually put the mayor himself in jail for a short time. Some 6,000 newly…

Mar 10, 2009 2:24 AM CDT

Madoff Aides Talk to Feds, as Some Call for International Financial Court

As a plea deal in the federal criminal case against Bernard Madoff appears imminent, several people who worked for him reportedly are talking with prosecutors about how he allegedly operated a $50 billion Ponzi scheme. Under proffer agreements protecting them from prosecution if they tell the truth, two assistants told…

Mar 10, 2009 12:03 AM CDT

Disbarred W. Va. Attorney Accused of Embezzlement, Forging 2 Judgments

Disbarred by consent late last month, a West Virginia lawyer is now facing felony charges for allegedly embezzling money from clients. Donald Cookman, 41, has been charged with three counts of embezzlement and four counts of forgery, according to the Cumberland Times-News and the West Virginia Record. He is accused…

Mar 6, 2009 10:00 PM CST

Madoff Guilty Plea in $50B Claimed Fraud Case is Expected Soon, N.Y. Times Says

Updated: The accused architect of an alleged record-breaking $50 billion Ponzi scheme operated under the guise of a hedge fund is reportedly close to settling the federal criminal case against him. Confirming earlier reports that a deal apparently is imminent, the New York Times reports, based on court filings tonight,…

Mar 6, 2009 6:48 PM CST

Madoff Losses Could Be Closer to $20 Billion

Investigators say Bernard Madoff has told them he has lost $50 billion in investors’ money, but the figure, like Madoff’s earlier reputation for financial prowess, may be larger than life. Some people involved in the case believe the real amount lost could be closer to $20 billion, the Associated Press…

Mar 6, 2009 12:05 PM CST

Mass. AG’s Office: 1 Broken Tooth Cost $36K in Fake Claims

Over four years, a Massachusetts man allegedly collected some $36,000 by making repeated claims against restaurants over the same broken tooth. Now, after an investigation by the state attorney general’s office, Tod Schaffer is facing dozens of criminal charges that could, at least in theory, put him in prison for…

Mar 4, 2009 11:01 PM CST

Lawsuit Should Have Alerted Others of Dreier Issues, Former Colleague Says

Those who practiced at attorney Marc Dreier’s law firm before it imploded late last year apparently had little or no warning of the financial issues he faced. But they would have been forewarned had they read a 2002 lawsuit filed by a former colleague at a small plaintiff securities practice…

Mar 4, 2009 1:24 AM CST

Marc Dreier Led Sham Law Life for 4 Years, Magazine Says

It looked like Marc Dreier had a super-successful law practice. But for at least four years before he was accused late last year of defrauding sophisticated investors and clients of some $400 million, the New York lawyer’s seemingly opulent professional life was allegedly a sham. Dumped in 2006 by his…

Mar 4, 2009 12:54 AM CST

Lawyers Say Madoff’s Wife Should Keep NY Penthouse, $62M

Lawyers for Bernard Madoff say the Manhattan penthouse where he lives as well as $62 million in assets should be exempt from seizure. The lawyers claim the assets and apartment are unrelated to fraud and they are owned by Madoff’s wife, according to the New York Times and the Associated…

Mar 3, 2009 12:05 PM CST

State Prosecutors Give Bad Check Cases to Private Collectors, Share Money

Those who have written a bad check tend to pay up when they get a letter from a state prosecutor’s office. However, in some states, such letters are actually being sent by private collection agencies, reports CNN. Such outsourcing is controversial, because collection can take place without the government ever…

Mar 2, 2009 9:25 PM CST

Elie Wiesel Says He Lost Life Savings with Madoff, Suggests Punishment

Famed Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel says he and his wife lost their life savings because it was invested in Bernard Madoff’s claimed $50 billion Ponzi scheme. In addition, his charity, the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity, lost $15.2 million, writes the New York Times, reporting…

Feb 27, 2009 11:54 PM CST

Experts Say Madoff Must Have Had Help With Alleged $50B Ponzi Scheme

So far, no one but Bernard Madoff has been charged in the alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme he is accused of operating under the guise of a hedge fund. But a recent claim by a trustee that the operation may have made no trades whatsoever for more than a decade,…

Feb 25, 2009 7:38 PM CST

Waterfront Eatery With Pager Problem Hires Diver; Was He a Police Agent?

When Chris Shake ran short of the pagers he gave to customers who wanted to stroll outside while awaiting a table at his Old Fisherman’s Grotto eatery, he suspected a competitor of taking both his customers and the seating devices. So the can-do Monterey, Calif., restaurateur set out to prove…

Feb 25, 2009 6:58 PM CST

Real Lawyers Step In to Help Clients of N.Y. Man Accused of UPL

The lobby of the New York City Bar Association was packed on Monday evening as more than 100 former clients of a man accused of posing as an immigration lawyer waited to meet with more than 50 actual attorneys who volunteered to provide them with real legal advice. Victor Espinal,…

Feb 25, 2009 6:30 PM CST

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