White Collar Crime

Lawyer pleads guilty in alleged Facebook investor fraud

A New Jersey lawyer has pleaded guilty in an alleged scheme to defraud investors with fake Facebook shares sold before the initial public offering. Lawyer Fred Todd, 61, of Lakewood, New Jersey, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of transacting…

Sep 10, 2014 10:41 AM CDT

Onetime law student Mathew Martoma gets 9 years in ‘most lucrative’ $275M insider-trading case

A onetime Harvard University law student expelled for altering his transcript was sentenced Monday to nine years in prison in a case billed by federal prosecutors as “the most lucrative insider-trading scheme ever charged.” Mathew Martoma, 40, had faced as much as 20 years in the Manhattan case over his…

Sep 8, 2014 4:05 PM CDT

Ex-partner gets 64 months in $2.7M client theft case

A former litigation partner at a well-known Michigan law firm was sentenced Wednesday to 64 months in federal prison for stealing $2.7 million from clients between 2004 and 2013. Under the guise of providing legal services to Dawda, Mann, Mulcahy & Sadler clients, a criminal information says, Kenneth Flaska used…

Sep 5, 2014 11:25 AM CDT

Ex-governor of Virginia and wife found guilty on most counts in federal corruption case

A former Virginia attorney general and Republican governor who was once considered a U.S. presidential prospect is now the first former governor in state history to be convicted of a felony. Following a high-profile five-week public corruption trial, Robert F. “Bob” McDonnell and his wife were convicted Thursday on most…

Sep 4, 2014 3:15 PM CDT

Ex-official gets time in law firm kickback case

A former law director and prosecutor for the city of Bedford, Ohio, was sentenced to six months Wednesday after taking a plea to a lesser charge in a bribery case that involved, among other issues, a $9,500 law firm kickback for bond work. Kenneth Schuman, who is 42 or 43,…

Sep 4, 2014 2:20 PM CDT

Clients invested $47M in immigration lawyer’s ethanol plant hoping to get US green cards, feds say

A California immigration lawyer is facing criminal charges for allegedly operating a scheme in which 94 foreigners invested $47 million to construct a Kansas ethanol plant in the hope of qualifying for a green card allowing them to legally reside in the United States In addition to the federal wire…

Sep 4, 2014 10:50 AM CDT

Owner of bikini coffee stands pleads guilty to promoting prostitution, money laundering

The owner of controversial drive-thru Washington state espresso stands featuring scantily attired baristas who allegedly did a lot more than just serve hot coffee to customers has taken a plea. Carmela Panico, 52, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to felony counts of money laundering and promoting prostitution in Snohomish County Circuit…

Sep 3, 2014 9:55 AM CDT

Former US Attorney takes plea in tax-return case, agrees to pay $290K

Once the top federal prosecutor in his state, a Nevada lawyer who made a name for himself pursuing white-collar crime is now awaiting sentencing in a federal misdemeanor case over his failure to file tax returns. Prosecutors said Lawrence “Larry” Semenza II failed to file individual or corporate returns between…

Aug 28, 2014 9:25 PM CDT

Longtime law library director who gave workers unauthorized county-paid perks gets jail time

Known for decades as a polite and helpful worker at a Pennsylvania courthouse, a former director of the Montgomery County Law Library is now headed to jail. Bruce Piscadlo, 62, will be allowed to serve his one- to 23-month sentence on weekends, the Mercury reports. Earlier this year, he pleaded…

Aug 27, 2014 10:30 PM CDT

Lawyer charged with witness-tampering; his counsel calls case ‘a total fabrication’

A New York lawyer who practices in upscale Westchester County has been charged with bribery and witness-tampering concerning the manner in which he allegedly handled a client’s criminal cases. During his Thursday arraignment, attorney George Galgano, 41, rolled his eyes and laughed as a prosecutor contended he had threatened in…

Aug 25, 2014 3:45 PM CDT

Ex-lawyer gets 2 years for his role in stealing much of disabled client’s $500K settlement

A former Seattle lawyer has been sentenced to two years for his role in stripping a disabled client of much of the money she was entitled to receive from a $500,000 insurance settlement in an auto accident case. Edward Joseph Callow, 39, must also pay $167,500 in restitution, representing his…

Aug 18, 2014 4:55 PM CDT

Disbarred NY lawyer admits embezzling $207K in trust funds

A Buffalo, New York, lawyer already disbarred on embezzlement charges has admitted embezzling $207,000 more in client escrow funds. David S. Widenor, 45, used the money to pay off personal loans and on family trips to Disney World, the Buffalo News reports. Widenor, who pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny…

Aug 15, 2014 4:51 PM CDT

Sentencing Commission to consider penalties for economic crimes

The U.S. Sentencing Commission will consider revising penalties for economic crimes this year, according to priorities adopted on Thursday. Defense lawyers are pushing for reduced penalties for certain white-collar criminals as some judges have rejected the guidelines as too harsh, the Associated Press reports. The Sentencing Commission indicated it wants…

Aug 15, 2014 10:45 AM CDT

Juvenile judge facing felony case goes off on special prosecutor, says she cannot get a fair trial

A lawyer representing suspended Ohio juvenile court Judge Tracie Hunter tried to stop her, as did the presiding judge in the felony case in which Hunter is being prosecuted. But, apparently angered by an in-court claim by a special prosecutor that she has “a history of trying to game and…

Aug 14, 2014 10:25 PM CDT

In business for a decade, global Wi-Fi venture once valued at $2B got financing based on fake work

For nearly a decade, a Spanish company known as Let’s Gowex SA claimed to be making a profit by offering public wi-fi in cities throughout the world. But that wasn’t true, entrepreneur Jenaro Garcia Martin, who heads the company, told Spain’s High Court last month. He and others familiar with…

Aug 14, 2014 8:15 PM CDT