White Collar Crime

William Lerach Among Donors to Clinton Foundation

Securities lawyer William Lerach, sentenced to two years in prison for paying kickbacks to lead plaintiffs, is among the donors who gave money to the William J. Clinton Foundation. The former president revealed more than 2,900 pages of donors yesterday. The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times noted Lerach’s name…

Dec 19, 2008 5:41 PM CST

In-House Tax Lawyer Acquitted of Filing False Return for his Ex-Employer

The former global tax manager for the Bechtel Corp. has been acquitted on charges he was responsible for a false tax return filed by the company. A federal jury in California acquitted Mark Muntean after deliberating for slightly more than an hour, the Recorder reports. Prosecutors had claimed Muntean advocated…

Dec 19, 2008 4:07 PM CST

Ex-SEC Lawyer Who Married into Madoff Family Said to be ‘Straight Arrow’

A former lawyer at the Securities and Exchange Commission who married the niece of Bernard Madoff has been described as a “straight arrow” whose work in the investigation of his future wife’s uncle was relatively minor. Former and current SEC officials told the New York Times that Eric Swanson handled…

Dec 19, 2008 3:47 PM CST

Dreier’s Extravagant Lifestyle: ‘Dazzling’ Homes and $200K Secretaries

Some colleagues of indicted lawyer Marc Dreier, accused of stealing $380 million from hedge funds in investors, believe his alleged crimes may have been driven by a need to support an extravagant lifestyle and the aggressive expansion of his law firm. The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) spoke to the…

Dec 19, 2008 2:39 PM CST

Paul Hastings Associate Accused in $4.8M Insider Trading Scheme

A Paul Hastings tax associate was one of four people charged Thursday with insider trading based on information provided by the husband of a public relations representative who had information on pending deals. Lawyer Eric Holzer, 34, is accused of buying stock based on information provided by former Lehman Brothers…

Dec 19, 2008 12:50 PM CST

In Real ‘Wonderful Life,’ James Stewart Might Have Gotten 2 to 7 Years

Considered classic holiday fare with an uplifting message, the schmaltzy It’s a Wonderful Life actually remains well worth seeing because of the gritty reality it portrays to those with a cynical mindset, a New York Times critic writes. The 1946 Frank Capra movie accurately points out, for instance, the perils…

Dec 18, 2008 11:55 PM CST

How SEC Probe Missed Alleged $50B Madoff Fraud, Despite 2000 Tip

Pressured by his boss at a Boston investment firm to amp up results, after a colleague came back from a trip to New York with news of Bernard Madoff’s stellar hedge fund returns, Harry Markopolos tried to figure out how Madoff was doing it. Try as he might, Markopolos and…

Dec 18, 2008 10:28 PM CST

Good News for Creditors: Dreier Firm Has $100M-$500M, Owes Up to $50M

Although the Dreier law firm apparently is significantly behind on numerous bills, including its rent, the firm’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing (PDF) on Tuesday contained good news for creditors. In it, receiver Mark Pomerantz estimates that the law firm has between $100 million and $500 million in assets and $10…

Dec 18, 2008 7:31 PM CST

Fla. Doc Gets 30 Years in Medicare Case

Most individuals convicted of Medicare fraud get about 2½ years in prison, on average. But a Florida physician who aggravated a judge by lying on the stand got a lot more. “U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno hammered Dr. Ana Alvarez-Jacinto, 54, with one of the stiffest punishments ever for a…

Dec 18, 2008 5:34 PM CST

Why Ed Genson Took on the Blagojevich Case

Fresh from a recent victory in his representation of R. Kelly in a child pornography case, “courtroom bulldog” Ed Genson explained yesterday why he is taking on the governor of Illinois as his latest client. “I take the cases that are fun,” Genson told the New York Times. Genson “came…

Dec 18, 2008 1:16 PM CST

Ex-Brown & Wood Partner among Three Advisers Convicted in Tax Case

Former Brown & Wood partner Raymond Ruble was convicted of tax evasion Wednesday for writing opinion letters supporting fraudulent tax shelters. Prosecutors claim Ruble was paid $50,000 for each opinion letter he wrote, the New York Law Journal reports. The letters said the tax shelters were likely to survive any…

Dec 18, 2008 12:34 PM CST

3rd Parties Will Pay for Alleged $50B Madoff Fraud, Experts Predict

For those who invested in the claimed $50 billion Ponzi scheme allegedly run by Bernard Madoff under the guise of a hedge fund, exactly how they invested in the hedge fund could be crucial in determining whether they get their money back. Those who put their money directly into the…

Dec 17, 2008 8:32 PM CST

Mukasey Recuses Himself in Madoff Probe

U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey won’t participate in an investigation of Bernard Madoff, accused of defrauding investors of $50 billion in a huge Ponzi scheme. Mukasey did not give a reason for his recusal, report FOX News and ABC News. But his son, Marc Mukasey, a lawyer with Bracewell &…

Dec 17, 2008 5:23 PM CST

Prosecutor Concerned Blagojevich Impeachment Hearing Could Harm Case

Members of a newly formed impeachment committee of the Illinois House are working with federal prosecutors to address concerns that their proceedings against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich could harm the federal corruption case against him. U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has indicated he fears an impeachment hearing will feature testimony from…

Dec 17, 2008 12:54 PM CST

Cox: SEC Lax on Madoff Oversight, Seeks Probe of His Own Agency’s Work

In a situation he describes as “deeply troubling,” the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission says the federal securities watchdog failed to pursue aggressively “credible and specific allegations” going back at least as far as 1999 that the now-notorious hedge fund run by Bernard Madoff was not what it…

Dec 17, 2008 12:53 AM CST