White Collar Crime

Appeals Court Nixes Investor Suit Over Dechert Opinion Letter re $50M Dreier Loan Deal

An investment group that had sought damages from Dechert concerning a fraudulent $50 million loan promoted by the former managing partner of Dreier is out of luck. Reversing a trial court’s denial of a motion to dismiss the Fortress Investment Group suit against Dechert, a New York appeals court today…

Nov 29, 2011 9:11 PM CST

Jury Convicts Texas Judge in Bribery Case; Campaign Donors Allegedly Expected Favorable Rulings

A Texas judge was convicted yesterday of multiple counts of bribery and other crimes, in a case focused on 2008 campaign donations from individuals who allegedly expected favorable rulings in a family court matter, in exchange for the money. District Judge Suzanne Wooten, 43, testified that she knew nothing about…

Nov 23, 2011 9:02 PM CST

Is Jury Deadlocked in Trial of Attorney Accused of Plotting Contract Hit on Witness?

A federal jury in Newark, N.J., has told the trial judge that it can’t reach a decision in the case of attorney Paul Bergrin, who is accused of plotting a contract hit on a witness. However, U.S. District Judge William Martini told the seven-man, five-woman panel to keep trying for…

Nov 21, 2011 5:37 PM CST

Jury Still Deliberating in Criminal Case Against NJ Lawyer Accused of Plotting Witness Hit

It’s going to be a long weekend for New Jersey lawyer Paul Bergrin. A federal jury in Newark has deliberated for three days without reaching a verdict in a criminal case that could put the well-known criminal defense attorney behind bars for the rest of his life, report the Record…

Nov 19, 2011 1:33 AM CST

Teary Attorney Who Cooperated with Feds and Tried to Atone for Mortgage Fraud Gets 2.5 Years

Attorney Carol Asbury hoped to avoid prison for her role in a multimillion-dollar South Florida mortgage fraud, she told the ABA Journal last month. Once she came to her senses and realized she had gotten seriously off track, she went to the feds and told them what she knew, helping…

Nov 18, 2011 9:40 PM CST

Add $1M More to Funds Ex-Counsel of Crowell & Moring Is Accused of Taking from Client Trust Accounts

Another lawsuit has been filed against Crowell & Moring, accusing the firm of failing to exercise proper control over a former counsel who allegedly stole from multiple real estate client trust accounts. Douglas Arntsen, 33, is accused in a New York state-court lawsuit of embezzling $1 million or more from…

Nov 17, 2011 11:32 PM CST

Lawyer Who Took Plea in Las Vegas HOA Case Found Beaten, Is Hospitalized in Undisclosed Facility

A Nevada lawyer who recently took a plea in an ongoing federal case focused on Las Vegas homeowner associations and litigation over construction work was found badly beaten today and has been hospitalized in an undisclosed facility in Henderson. David Amesbury, 57, is expected to recover, reports the Las Vegas…

Nov 17, 2011 1:48 AM CST

Former BigLaw IP Partner Gets 1 Year in $389K Billing Fraud re Autistic Son’s Expenses

A former life sciences practice leader at Morrison & Foerster has been sentenced to one year in a $389,000 billing fraud concerning medical and educational expenses for his autistic son. The county jail sentence for Jonathan Dickstein, 44, who agreed to pay $260,000 in restitution, disappointed prosecutors, reports the Bay…

Nov 16, 2011 1:23 AM CST

Hearing OK’d re Convicted Tax Lawyer’s Claim That Juror’s Hidden Legal Past Prevented Fair Trial

A federal judge in Manhattan today agreed to hold a hearing on a convicted tax lawyer’s claim that he was denied a fair trial because one of the jurors failed to disclose crucial information about her background. Catherine Conrad allegedly failed to tell the court that she was a suspended…

Nov 15, 2011 7:22 PM CST

Counseling Memos, Pay Cuts, Suspensions, Demotions for 8 SEC Workers Who Missed Monster Madoff Fraud

Eight employees of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have been disciplined concerning their handling of concerns about Bernard Madoff’s massive Ponzi scheme, which was not detected for at least a decade as multiple complaints were made about the seemingly unrealistic returns purportedly generated by his hedge fund. Relying on…

Nov 11, 2011 8:33 PM CST

Mortgage Rescue Scheme Gets NY Attorney Disbarred for the Second Time

Kevin P. Wheatley isn’t yet 40. But he has now been disbarred—for the second time—in New York. After losing his law license in 2002, for what the Committee on Professional Standards of the state supreme court’s appellate division called “dishonesty, fraud, deceit and misrepresentation,” he was reinstated in 2005, reports…

Nov 11, 2011 6:19 PM CST

Once-Powerful Pa. Senator and Attorney Gets 61 Months in Federal Corruption Case Resentencing

Once a powerful Pennsylvania state senator who earned $100,000 a year as a lawmaker and another $1 million annually as a rainmaker for a Philadelphia law firm, Vincent Fumo was sentenced today for the second time in the same political corruption case. His original 55-month federal prison sentenced was nixed…

Nov 11, 2011 12:04 AM CST

Ex-Mishcon Partner on Trial for His Alleged Role in Helping Perpetrate $28M Fraud on Swiss Bank

A former partner at a well-known British law firm is on trial in Southwark Crown Court, accused of helping two men defraud a Swiss bank of some $28 million. Solicitor Kevin Steele, 51, says he did nothing wrong, the Telegraph reports. The former Mishcon de Reya partner is accused of…

Nov 10, 2011 9:36 PM CST

Lawyer Takes Plea re Alleged $600K Client Theft, Gets Probation and Deferred Adjudication

A real estate lawyer in Massachusetts has taken a plea concerning his theft of nearly $600,000 in client funds he was supposed to distribute at two closings to pay off mortgages and compensate the sellers. Attorney Edward “Pete” Vincent admitted the government could prove two counts of larceny, the Martha’s…

Nov 9, 2011 9:46 PM CST

Hedge Fund Co-Founder Rajaratnam Told to Pay Record $92.8M SEC Fine Within 14 Days

Already sentenced to a record 11 years, fined $10 million and ordered to forfeit another $53.8 million after being convicted in an insider-trading case, Galleon Group co-founder Raj Rajaratnam made legal history again today. He was fined $92.8 million by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the highest civil penalty…

Nov 8, 2011 11:58 PM CST