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Houston Grand Jury Went Bad
The controversy over the indictment and subsequent dismissal of charges against a Texas Supreme Court Justice and his wife in Houston (see earlier post here) took another bizarre turn when it was discovered that the grand jury was without authority to act for over two months. According to the Houston Chronicle (here), Harris County DA…
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Wilkes May Get Whacked
Brent Wilkes, the former owner of defense contractor ADCS, was convicted for paying bribes to former Congressman Randy (Duke) Cunningham to obtain contracts for his company. The Presentence Report filed in the case recommends a 720-month sentence — that would be sixty years for those who (like me) are a bit math challenged. Wow! That…
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Post Stoneridge
Check out the Enron Related Cases Here- WSJ – Jess Bravin & Mark H. Anderson, Justices Rebuff Enron Holders Chicago Tribune (AP) – Supreme Court Refuses to Review Enron Investors’ Lawsuit But Stoneridge did have influence in another case, unrelated to Enron, as the Court in Avis Budget Group, Inc., et. al. v. Ca. State…
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Proportionality in Sentencing – Padilla versus Ebbers, Skilling, and McFarland
A federal judge in Miami sentenced Jose Padilla to 17 years and 4 months today. (see WSJ here; Miami Herald here). The judge decided to give a lesser sentence because of the harsh conditions previously experienced by Padilla in his prior designation as an "enemy combatant." This below guideline sentence was for "terrorism conspiracy charges."…
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Honest Services Fraud Convictions Overturned
The First Circuit overturned the convictions of two former senior officers at Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence, Rhode Island, because the jury instructions allowed the honest services theory of mail fraud to roam a bit too far from the core of the statute. The case highlights, once again, that honest services is among the…
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Student Loans to Study Abroad Programs
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is not letting up on school-related investigations. His latest target appears to be summer abroad programs. Jonathan Glater at the New York Times reports in an article titled, "Investigation of Study Programs Widen" of recent schools receiving subpoenas. The focus is on whether there are perks related to these programs. Some…
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Lawyer Sentencings
Two lawyers received federal sentences this past week. The first, a former lawyer in the Western District of Louisiana entered a plea that will net him 41 months in prison. A Press Release of the US Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Louisiana states the attorney "pleaded guilty to one count of making false…
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More Money to Prosecute White Collar Crime
The Seattle Times (here) reports on the need for more money and agents for the prosecution of white collar crime in the Seattle area. With increased focus on terrorism, white collar crime investigations are often placed on the shelf. The article discusses crimes needing recognition, such as cybercrime and identity theft. (esp)
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Wesley Snipes Trial: A Week in Review
This past week was the first week of the Wesley Snipes trial. The actor is being tried along with two other individuals on charges related to an alleged tax scheme. Because of the multiple number of people alleged to have participated in this conduct, the government is in part presenting this case through the conspiracy…
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Saturday Wrap-Up
Maybe it’s the post-New Year rush, but the pace of white collar crime stories has picked up noticeably since January 1, so much so that your intrepid bloggers can’t keep up with everything. So here’s a sampling of developments this past week that will keep us — and more importantly, the defense bar and prosecutors…
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