http://www.abajournal.com/news/ en Copyright 2013 2013-05-24T07:24:52-06:00 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/former_judge_charged_for_stealing_drug_evidence_while_on_the_bench/ A former Pennsylvania court judge has been charged on multiple counts of theft and drug possession. The charges against retired Washington County Common Pleas judge Paul Pozonsky, who stepped down last year after he was stripped of all criminal cases by President Judge Debbie O'Dell-Seneca, follow a state police investigation… Criminal Justice, White Collar Crime, Criminal Procedure, Judiciary, Legal Ethics, States, Alaska, Pennsylvania Thu, 23 May 2013 14:54:21 -0500 44339.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ex-da_testifies_in_own_defense_at_federal_criminal_trial_says/ A former Texas district attorney is expected to continue testifying Thursday in his federal trial over allegedly operating the DA's office as a criminal racketeering enterprise. However, ex-Cameron County DA Armando R. Villalobos already laid out his defense in testimony Wednesday—prosecutorial discretion, the Valley Morning Star reports. Contradicting… Criminal Justice, Prosecutors, White Collar Crime, Government Law, Trials & Litigation, 5th Circuit Court, States, Texas Thu, 23 May 2013 12:10:12 -0500 44336.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/after_lawyer_is_indicted_in_witness-interference_case_clients_trial_is_post/ A West Virginia lawyer representing a police officer in a felony case has been criminally charged, along with an investigator, in an alleged conspiracy to interfere with a witness. Attorney Paul J. Harris, who practices in Wheeling, and the private investigator, Franklin D. Streets Jr., were indicted by a grand… Criminal Justice, White Collar Crime, Trials & Litigation, States, West Virginia Tue, 21 May 2013 08:40:19 -0500 44286.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/federal_judge_jails_estate_lawyer_as_flight_risk_calls/ A Rhode Island estate planning lawyer's effort to revoke his guilty plea in a controversial $30 million elder insurance fraud case was a "bizarre" and unjustified "hatchet job" on Joseph Caramadre's former counsel, a federal judge said Monday. U.S. District Judge William Smith not only nixed Caramadre's bid for a… Criminal Justice, White Collar Crime, Elder Law, Insurance Law, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, 1st Circuit Court, States, Rhode Island Tue, 21 May 2013 06:09:54 -0500 44283.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyer_extradited_from_nicaragua_accused_of_role_in_137m_fraud_scheme/ An American lawyer has been deported from Nicaragua after authorities say he tried to get a passport there using a fake birth certificate and is being extradited to Florida, where he will face federal prosecution for his alleged role in a $137 million stock-investment fraud scheme. Lawrence Hartman is accused… Criminal Justice, White Collar Crime, Real Estate & Property Law, Trials & Litigation, 11th Circuit Court, States, Florida Thu, 16 May 2013 13:10:37 -0500 44221.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/appeals_court_upholds_20-year_sentence_for_ex-judge_says/ A 20-year prison term for a former Miami judge has been upheld by a Florida appeals court. Former Circuit Judge Phillip Davis had argued that the sentence was excessive, because he had turned down a plea deal that could have gotten him only a four-year prison term. But the 3rd… Appellate Practice, Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, White Collar Crime, Judiciary, States, Florida Thu, 16 May 2013 10:45:40 -0500 44215.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/former_legal_chief_gets_90_days_for_fujitec_expense_fraud/ A former chief legal and administrative officer for the U.S. arm of an international Japan-based elevator manufacturing company has been sentenced to 90 days for stealing $150,000 from his then-employer for faking legal matters. Darren Courtney reached a plea deal with prosecutors in March, but he has since been threatened… Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, White Collar Crime, In-house Counsel, States, Ohio Wed, 15 May 2013 14:00:04 -0500 44198.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/trial_begins_for_former_da_accused_in_cash-for-court-favors_case/ A convicted former judge, Abel Limas, was the first witness Monday as a trial began for a former Texas district attorney accused in a nine-count federal indictment of running the prosecutor's office as a criminal racketeering enterprise. Limas testified that he once considered himself a father figure, mentor and friend… Criminal Justice, Prosecutors, White Collar Crime, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, 5th Circuit Court, States, Texas Mon, 13 May 2013 14:30:24 -0500 44155.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/former_public_defender_gets_1_year_for_submitted_false_payment_vouchers/ A former panel attorney who worked as a public defender in multiple counties in West Virginia has been sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison for submitting false payment vouchers for her services to the state. Lisa A. Weese, who has since been disbarred by consent, was… Criminal Justice, Public Defenders, Sentencing/Post Conviction, White Collar Crime, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, States, West Virginia Mon, 13 May 2013 12:30:46 -0500 44154.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyer_charged_with_theft_accused_of_accepting_2k_to_represent_inmate/ A Pennsylvania lawyer has been criminally charged with theft in Berks County for allegedly accepting a little under $2,000 to represent a jailed client but then performing no work on his case. Investigators checked to see if David J. Delcollo had entered an appearance (they say he didn't) before charging… Criminal Justice, White Collar Crime, States, Pennsylvania Fri, 10 May 2013 13:25:12 -0500 44129.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/former_enron_ceo_will_see_his_sentence_cut_by_as_much_as_10_years_in_deal_w/ Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling will get his 24-year sentence reduced by as much as 10 years in exchange for an agreement to halt legal challenges to his conviction. The deal announced on Wednesday allows $40 million seized by the government to be distributed to those harmed by Enron’s failure,… Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, White Collar Crime Thu, 09 May 2013 08:19:16 -0500 44101.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/feds_say_assets_of_ex-lawyer_charged_in_4.5m_client_theft_are_missing_ask_j/ Released on bond as he awaits trial in a federal wire-fraud case related to his alleged theft of $4.5 million in client funds, former Indianapolis lawyer William F. Conour is now accused of having violated bond conditions by disposing of personal assets without court approval. A new inventory ordered last… Criminal Justice, White Collar Crime, Real Estate & Property Law, Trials & Litigation, 7th Circuit Court, States, Indiana Wed, 08 May 2013 14:27:04 -0500 44093.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/new_federal_consumer_agency_sues_debt-relief_law_firms_one_attorney_is_also/ A new federal agency filed a lawsuit Tuesday against two New York City area law firms and an attorney who owns a related business. It contends that they charged illegal advance fees for so-called debt-relief services that provided little or no benefit to consumers, who routinely lost amounts ranging from… Consumer Law, Criminal Justice, White Collar Crime, Executive Branch, Trials & Litigation, 2nd Circuit Court, States, New York Tue, 07 May 2013 16:37:49 -0500 44077.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/guilty_plea_ends_record_38m_legal_fraud_case_that_doubled_assessments/ After nearly five years of legal battle, a former real estate developer pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud in a Vancouver, B.C., court Friday, putting an end to a record $38.4 million Canadian lawyer-fraud case that doubled the client-compensation assessment payments for attorneys in the Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, White Collar Crime, International Law, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, International Courts/Tribunals, International, North America, Canada Mon, 06 May 2013 13:35:31 -0500 44046.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/hackers_hell_many_want_to_narrow_the_computer_fraud_and_abuse_act/ ABA Journal Production, Weekly Newsletter Stories, Criminal Justice, White Collar Crime, Internet Law, Legislation & Lobbying, Media & Communications Law, Trials & Litigation, The National Pulse Wed, 01 May 2013 03:40:06 -0500 43792.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/former_defense_lawyer_gets_5_years_in_secret_service_money-laundering_sting/ Once a prominent criminal defense attorney, Ronald E. Partee, 66, had little to say as he was sentenced Monday by a federal judge in Kansas City to five years in prison. He will serve the time at a prison camp in South Dakota, to minimize contact with his former clients.… Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, White Collar Crime, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, 10th Circuit Court, States, Kansas Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:08:35 -0500 43973.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/widow_who_owed_21.6m_to_feds_gets_effectively_5_seconds_of_probation_as_jud/ An elderly Palm Beach, Fla., widow with a high school education got "effectively five seconds" of probation from a federal judge in an offshore tax-evasion case after paying a $21.6 million penalty and back taxes. Mary Estelle Curran, 79, had inherited $43 million in Swiss bank accounts from her husband,… Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, White Collar Crime, Tax Law, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, 11th Circuit Court, States, Florida Fri, 26 Apr 2013 10:50:51 -0500 43933.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/law_firm_2_attorneys_sued_by_fdic_accused_of_helping_now-defunct_bank_make_/ The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has sued a Florida law firm and two of its attorneys, contending that they failed to take note of “glaring red flags” when representing Orion Bank in making $82 million in illegal loans in 2009. Nason, Yeager, Gerson, White & Lioce, as well as a… Banking Law, Criminal Justice, White Collar Crime, Law Firms, Associates, Midsize Firm, Partners, Tort Law, Trials & Litigation, 11th Circuit Court, States, Florida Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:42:08 -0500 43815.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/judge_grants_disbarred_lawyer_scruggs_request_to_return_to_prison/ Disbarred Mississippi lawyer Richard “Dickie” Scruggs is, at his own request, returning to federal prison after losing his latest appeal in a judicial corruption case. Scruggs has been free on $2 million bond since late last year. He asked to resume serving his seven-year sentence after losing an appeal before… Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, White Collar Crime, Legal Ethics, 5th Circuit Court Thu, 18 Apr 2013 13:47:12 -0500 43814.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/2nd_lawyer_takes_plea_in_immigration_fraud_case_a_total_of_8_attorneys_were/ A New York lawyer has taken a plea in a massive immigration conspiracy case involving at least 10 law firms accused of submitting bogus asylum applications. John Lin,who works for an unidentified Manhattan law firm, pleaded guilty last week in federal court in Manhattan to conspiring to commit immigration fraud,… Criminal Justice, White Collar Crime, Immigration Law, 2nd Circuit Court, States, New York Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:07:14 -0500 43767.abajournal.com