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Global Cybercrime
A fascinating story in the Wall Street Journal titled, "To Catch Crooks in Cyberspace, FBI Goes Global" discusses the cooperation that the U.S. has provided to other countries in the investigation of international cybercrime. Without doubt, cybercrime poses unusual problems in that it crosses borders by a mere keystroke. What becomes problematic is when the…
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The “Google” Effect on Juries
With computers everywhere one has to expect that jurors are likely to be looking for answers to their questions on the web. The problem here is that the jury is supposed to limit their deliberation to what is contained in the trial and that which is provided to them by the court. In the Siegelman/Scrushy…
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The Paxil Defense in Sentencing
A Tampa district court issued a sentence of home confinement and probation to a Tampa business executive despite prosecutors asking for jail time. According to the St. Petersburg Times here, the defendant who "methodically stole $1.8-million from [his] ex-employer" "blamed the antidepressant" "for his embezzling." For many white collar offenders, the naming and shaming in…
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Collateral Consequences of White Collar Conviction
Former Mayor Bill Campbell (Atlanta) is feeling the collateral consequences of his recent federal conviction. Although he was convicted of tax crimes, and acquitted of other charges against him (see here), it did not stop the Georgia Supreme Court from suspending him from the practice of law (See Atlanta Jrl Constitution here). Although a bricklayer…
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Lone Star Feeling International Pressure
Playing in the international market can have severe ramifications for a company. Not only must they fear the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), but they also have to be apprised of the law of other countries and be knowledgeable of how best to operate in these countries. And it is not always easy. …
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Who Gets Oversight Control of the SEC
Will it be Rep. Barney Frank or Rep. John Dingell? (checkout Bloomberg News here) And what changes will there be to the Sarbanes-Oxley Amendment depending on who becomes the key player? (esp)
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Another Plea in DRAM Cases
Another plea has been entered into in the DRAM manufacturing antitrust conspiracy cases. A DOJ press release reports here that "[a] former executive of Elpida Memory, a large Japanese manufacturer of a common computer component called dynamic random access memory (DRAM), has agreed to plead guilty, pay a $250,000 criminal fine, and serve prison time…
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White Collar Crime Prosecutions Down?
TRAC Reporting out of Syracuse University is saying that: "[t]imely criminal enforcement data from the Justice Department document that in July 2006, U.S. federal white collar crime prosecutions reached their lowest number (498) in the last five years. In fact, not since May 2000 (when there were 446 prosecutions) has the number been lower." (see…
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Perhaps A Step in the Right Direction
Bloomberg News is reporting here that DOJ officials are reconsidering their practice of requesting waivers of attorney-client privilege by corporations. But it also sounds like they aren’t ready to just plain ban this DOJ practice. Instead, it may just be a baby step in this direction. One change mentioned is to require approval from top…
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Clawing Back Attorney’s Fees
Defense costs in white collar crime prosecutions, and the inevitable wave of parallel proceedings, can run into the millions. Recent cases involving a high level of defense legal fees includes the prosecution of Jeffrey Skilling, which came in at over $70 million, the $17 million Richard Scrushy was awarded from HealthSouth, and the various KPMG…
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