White Collar Crime

‘No Idea’ When Jackson Autopsy Will Be Released, as Medical Probe Expands

Public release of the result of Michael Jackson’s autopsy is being delayed indefinitely by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office, as an investigation of the medical personnel who treated the renowned pop singer before his June 25 death expands. Assistant chief Ed Winter of the coroner’s office says he has…

Jul 31, 2009 5:41 PM CDT

Lawyers for Sen. Stevens and Ebbers on Ethisphere’s ‘Hall of Fame’ Lawyer List

The lawyer who helped Sen. Ted Stevens win a reversal of his conviction because of prosecutorial misconduct is one of five lawyers named to a “hall of fame” list of attorneys who matter by the magazine Ethisphere. Brendan Sullivan, a senior partner at Williams & Connolly, had claimed the government…

Jul 31, 2009 5:40 PM CDT

Taxing Dilemma for UBS Clients: Confess to IRS, or Wait and See?

As the Internal Revenue Service and a major Swiss bank continue to litigate over just how many names of secret UBS AG account-holders must be turned over to federal authorities, United States residents who have been illegal evading taxes by hiding assets offshore face a difficult dilemma. If they come…

Jul 30, 2009 10:15 PM CDT

N.Y. Lawyer Among 4 Execs Charged in Alleged $422K-Plus ATM Scam

A New York lawyer is among four upper-middle-class individuals who forged a bond via New York University, where three of them studied, and then allegedly went on to collaborate in a claimed automatic teller machine scam that may have bilked banks of as much as $1 million. Attorney and alleged…

Jul 30, 2009 5:26 PM CDT

Trustee Sues Madoff’s Wife for $45M, Cites ‘Life of Spendor’

A court-appointed trustee charged with recovering money for investors in the Ponzi scheme operated by Bernard Madoff under the guise of a hedge fund has sued the jailed swindler’s wife for almost $45 million. Ruth Madoff knew or should have known her “life of splendor” was funded with ill-gotten gains…

Jul 29, 2009 10:04 PM CDT

Jury Hears Tape of Witness Talk By N.Y. Attorney on Trial in Obstruction Case

Although a federal judge decided this month that a number of tape-recorded conversations between criminal defense attorney Robert Simels and a high-profile client would not be heard at trial, jurors got an earful Tuesday of the lawyer’s taped conversation with a witness for his client, accused drug kingpin Shaheed “Roger”…

Jul 29, 2009 6:48 PM CDT

Immigration Law Firm Charged with Visa Fraud

An immigration law firm in Salt Lake City has been accused of helping arrange for thousands of fraudulent visas for foreign workers. A federal indictment names the Alcala Law Firm, lawyer James Alcala, two of his partners and five employees, the Associated Press reports. They are charged with visa fraud,…

Jul 29, 2009 1:04 PM CDT

Madoff Reveals ‘Extraordinary Details’ of Scam to Plaintiffs Lawyers

Bernard Madoff revealed details of his investment fraud to two San Francisco plaintiffs lawyers in a North Carolina prison interview on Tuesday. Lawyer Joseph Cotchett says he will use the information gathered in the 4½ hour interview to add defendants to two New York lawsuits filed on behalf of investors,…

Jul 29, 2009 11:59 AM CDT

Billionaire Stanford Says Private Jail is Sweltering, Seeks Government Cell

A power outage made conditions in the private Texas jail in which he is now housed “intolerable,” eliminating both adequate ventilation and air conditioning, says billionaire R. Allen Stanford in a federal court filing. Held without bail as a flight risk, the head of Stanford Financial Group is seeking a…

Jul 27, 2009 11:40 PM CDT

Former Fla. Appeals Judge Charged in Mortgage Fraud Case

In a sad day for a man who made history as the first black graduate of Stetson University’s law school and the first black judge in his county’s circuit court, a former Florida appellate judge was criminally charged today with mortgage fraud. The filing in federal court in Tampa also…

Jul 23, 2009 9:04 PM CDT

Jailed Attorney Sues Billionaire Ex-Client, Seeking to Retain $36M Quellos Fee

Seeking to retain $36 million in claimed advisory fees paid in connection with a Quellos Group tax shelter that put a billionaire media mogul in hot water, a jailed California lawyer has sued his former client in the latest chapter of a convoluted investment saga that has created trouble for…

Jul 22, 2009 5:30 PM CDT

Lawyers Seek Order Barring Top Pa. Court from Destroying Juvenile Records

A bizarre case in which two senior Pennsylvania judges in Luzerne County are accused of having profited from putting hundreds—or perhaps even thousands—of youths into juvenile detention for relatively minor offenses has now taken a strange new twist. In an extraordinary filing, lawyers representing individuals allegedly improperly jailed as youngsters…

Jul 21, 2009 10:59 PM CDT

Auction of Dreier’s Home Offers View of Disgraced N.Y. Lawyer’s Luxe Lifestyle

The $40,000 worth of Baccarat crystal and a set of seven Dale Chihuly glass light fixtures for which attorney Marc Dreier paid $180,000 will be sold separately. But many emblems of his luxurious lifestyle in a three-bedroom, four-bathroom “pied-a-terre” in one of New York City’s most fashionable Midtown apartment buildings…

Jul 21, 2009 7:20 PM CDT

Collecting Madoff and Dreier Assets Keeps New York Lawyers Busy—and Stressed

Despite the dismal economy, there’s been quite a bit of work lately for lawyers who specialize in recovering assets held by convicted swindlers. But it isn’t an easy gig. As partner Mark Pomerantz of Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison moves toward the finish line concerning his role as a…

Jul 20, 2009 7:49 PM CDT

Nev. Lawyer Gets 5 Years for Evading Income Tax

A 47-year-old personal injury attorney in Nevada has been sentenced to a five-year federal prison term for evading millions of dollars in taxes. Although Edmund Botha made millions as a Las Vegas lawyer, he paid rent, office overhead and other costs in cash or with cashier’s checks, in an effort…

Jul 17, 2009 8:10 PM CDT