Banking Law

Lawyer who pleaded guilty to helping clients hide assets posts bond with $500K work of art

A Zurich-based attorney who recently took a plea after being charged with helping American clients hide assets in Swiss bank accounts has been allowed to return home prior to his February sentencing after posting bail with a work of art. The $500,000 piece, La Gardeuse de Chevres, is being held…

Aug 26, 2013 7:40 PM CDT

Some Colorado law firms billed homeowners for foreclosure suits that weren’t actually filed

Some Colorado law firms are preparing statements sent to people facing foreclosure that include charges for lawsuits that were never filed. The so-called cure notices detail legal expenses incurred on behalf of lenders, missed mortgage payments, interest, late fees and county costs. If a homeowner pays up, the foreclosure process…

Aug 22, 2013 1:40 PM CDT

Economic meltdown cases are being readied, Holder says

Attorney General Eric Holder says he expects to announce new cases related to the financial meltdown in the coming months. Holder spoke with the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) about his plans. “My message is, anybody who’s inflicted damage on our financial markets should not be of the belief that…

Aug 21, 2013 12:30 PM CDT

Is it wrong—or a crime—to hire people because of elite connections?

A Securities and Exchange Commission probe of a bank that hired the children of powerful Chinese officials is causing consternation on Wall Street and raising questions about the legality of the practice. The SEC is investigating whether JPMorgan Chase provided a benefit to the foreign officials in return for business…

Aug 20, 2013 12:35 PM CDT

Two former JPMorgan traders charged in ‘London whale’ scandal

Two former traders at JPMorgan Chase in London are facing criminal charges for allegedly hiding hundreds of millions of dollars in trading losses. Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout are the first to be charged after trades by Bruno Iksil–the so-called “London whale”–cost the bank $6.2 billion in losses, report Reuters,…

Aug 15, 2013 4:30 PM CDT

Lawyers in multiple states face inquiry, or worse, over legal fees in mortgage foreclosure matters

Attorneys in multiple states are in the news due to alleged violation of rules concerning the fees they charged clients seeking mortgage modifications or concerns that they may have used questionable billing practices while representing lenders in foreclosure cases. In California, attorney Stephen Siringoringo was ordered by the State Bar…

Aug 9, 2013 10:30 AM CDT

SEC has power to regulate Bitcoin investments, federal judge rules

Rejecting an argument by a Texas defendant that Bitcoin investments are not within the regulatory purview of the U.S. Securities Securities and Exchange Commission, a federal magistrate judge has given a green light to a SEC civil suit against Trendon Shavers. The Bitcoin Savings & Trust operator had contended that…

Aug 7, 2013 9:45 PM CDT

City moves forward with controversial mortgage rescue plan, backed by eminent domain power

A city in the San Francisco Bay area is the first in California to move ahead with a controversial approach to the problem of struggling homeowners having trouble paying mortgages on their upside-down homes. Richmond has asked the holders of more than 620 underwater mortgages—mortages in which the principal balance…

Aug 7, 2013 8:10 PM CDT

Former Goldman Sachs trader is found liable for securities fraud in big SEC win

A former Goldman Sachs vice president has been found liable for securities fraud for misleading investors about a mortgage investment created with the help of a hedge fund that bet against its success. Investors lost $1 billion while the hedge fund profited, the Securities and Exchange Commission had alleged. Fabrice…

Aug 2, 2013 12:46 PM CDT

Colorado foreclosure lawyer must turn over documents in bill-padding probe

A Colorado judge has ordered a lawyer to turn over documents in a state investigation of whether, among other questionable billing practices, some foreclosure lawyers have been padding their bills by inflating their expenses, the Denver Post reports. Under the ruling Thursday by Denver District Court Judge Edward Bronfin, attorney…

Jul 12, 2013 8:40 PM CDT

Feds enforcing anti-harassment rules against banks, other creditors, closing debt-collection law gap

For decades, federal law has protected consumers from being harassed by debt collectors, including law firms. But there was one big loophole in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act: It doesn’t apply to the actual debtors, such as banks with credit card operations, only the third parties that collect delinquent…

Jul 10, 2013 1:50 PM CDT

State accuses Bitcoin Foundation of being a money transferrer; group says it isn’t

California’s Department of Financial Institutions issued a cease-and-desist order (PDF) last month to the Bitcoin Foundation, a nonprofit that advocates for the virtual currency Bitcoin, warning the group against “conducting the business of money transmission” in the state. The letter threatens fines of $1,000 per day for noncompliance. The DFI,…

Jun 25, 2013 10:52 PM CDT

Madoff trustee can’t sue big banks to recover billions for Ponzi victims, 2nd Circuit rules

The trustee seeking to recover money for the victims of Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff can’t pursue big banks for allegedly aiding the fraud, a federal appeals court has ruled. Trustee Irving Picard had sought to recover “mega-billions” from the banks, the Am Law Litigation Daily reports, arguing that they had…

Jun 21, 2013 12:36 PM CDT

Controversial eminent domain approach to restructuring underwater mortgages gathers steam

A venture capital firm’s bid to help some struggling homeowners avert foreclosure by using the government’s eminent domain power to purchase their property at actual value is gathering steam. Several cities in California have agreed to pursue the idea, and others, including North Las Vegas, Nev., are pondering the plan,…

Jun 17, 2013 9:45 PM CDT

Is a fee-laden debit card ‘lawful money’ for worker pay purposes? Class action seeks court ruling

A worker at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s who says she was told she would not be paid unless she accepted her money in the form of a debit card that carried hefty charges for virtually every transaction has filed suit against her employers. Natalie Gunshannon, a single mom who was to…

Jun 17, 2013 7:09 PM CDT