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DoD Steps Up Its Efforts to Find Fraud in Iraqi Contracts
The military is stepping up its investigations of fraud, bribery, and kickbacks related to the Iraq war and rebuilding program. According to an AP article (here), the Army will look at up to 18,000 contracts that have been issued since 2003 to determine whether there has been fraud in the issuance of them, or waste…
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Don’t Ask Alaska Senator If He’s a Target of a Federal Investigation
When the FBI executed a search warrant at the home of Alaska Senator Ted Stevens, that was a pretty strong indication he was a target of a corruption investigation. But "target" is very much a term of art, meaning that the person is viewed by prosecutors as likely to be charged with a crime —…
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Another 20-Year Sentence for Bank Fraud
The former chairman of the board of E.S. Bankest received a 20-year prison term for his role in the $164-million fraud, the same sentence received by his brother, who was president of the factoring company. According to a press release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida (here): Evidence at…
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Lerach Bids Au Revoir — What’s Next?
Famed class action attorney William Lerach is stepping down from his firm as of August 31 in the midst of a drawn-out federal investigation of kickbacks paid to plaintiffs through his former firm, Milberg Weiss. Lerach broke away from Milberg Weiss in 2004 and moved to a new firm in which his name came first,…
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Sentence Departure for Former Wal-Mart Executive Overturned
The Eighth Circuit, among the more parsimonious in allowing non-Guidelines sentences, reversed the sentence given to former Wal-Mart vice chairman Thomas Coughlin after his guilty plea for defrauding the company (United States v. Coughlin here). Under the Sentencing Guidelines, the applicable range was 27 to 33 months imprisonment, but the district court sentenced him to…
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SEC Charges GC for Options Backdating at Two Companies
The SEC filed civil securities fraud charges against the former general counsel for two high tech companies, KLA-Tencor and Juniper Networks. The complaint (here) asserts that the GC touted her experience in securities administration when she switched from KLA-Tencor to Juniper. According the the SEC Litigation Release (here), the complaint alleges that she routinely used…
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Hazing Charges Against Two University Administrators Dismissed
Two administrators at Rider University won the dismissal of charges related to the death of an undergraduate student at a fraternity party. The administrators, one a Dean of Students and the other responsible for Greek organizations, were charged along with three students with aggravated hazing arising from from ingestion of a large amount of alcohol…
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Corrupt or Incompetent
The NYTimes reports on a continuing investigation into the handling of weapons for Iraq. With increased reporting for businesses under SOX, it is surprising to see that the military is having recordkeeping problems. Do they need a SOX type of statute? Many federal criminal investigations start small, and through cooperation move up the chain to…
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The Acting AG
President Bush appointed Paul Clement as the Acting AG following the resignation of AG Alberto Gonzales. Clement is the Solicitor General. Check out this piece by Jess Bravin in the Wall Street Jrl. Interestingly, it was Paul Clement who has been handling the investigation of the fired US Attorneys, following the AG’s recusal. (esp)
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Commentary on President Bush’s Comments
Yes, President Bush is partly correct when he states in commenting on the Gonzales resignation that Gonzales was "dragged through the mud for political reasons." But the political reasons were that he had "fired" U.S. Attorneys for political reasons. The comments and criticisms of the AG crossed party lines and it is important for the…
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