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Fifth Circuit Repeats – Death Erases Conviction
Not surprisingly, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed the vacating of Ken Lay’s conviction, as a result of his death. (see Houston Chronicle here, Wall Street Jrl. Blog here). The Houston Chronicle reports that the court held, as the district court had, that "when a defendant who has been found guilty of a federal…
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FEMA Frauds
Although Hurricane Katrina has come and gone, one area continuing is prosecutions arising from FEMA frauds. In the past week, there have been press releases from the DOJ Katrina Task Force telling of recent prosecutions. 1. "A Dallas woman who ran a scheme that defrauded the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) of more than $80,000…
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DOJ and Election Day
United States Attorneys Offices across the United States are planning on "deploying an unprecedented number of federal personnel to monitor tomorrow’s midterm election, sending more that 500 federal observers and more than 350 Justice Department personnel to 69 jurisdictions in 22 states – more than double the total sent on election day in 2002, which…
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Olympic Coach Indicted
A press release of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California tells of the indictment of a track and field Olympic coach -Trevor Graham. It states in part: "The indictment charges Graham with three counts of making false statements to special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) in connection with an investigation into the…
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The Supreme Court and Reasonableness
The Supreme Court accepted two cases that will likely provide guidance on what is "reasonableness." The cases are: Claiborne v. U.S. (06-5618) and Rita v. U.S. (06-5754). Scotus Blog here sums up the essence of these cases in stating: "In Claiborne, the Court will examine whether a sentence below the guideline range is reasonable, and…
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Former United States Attorney Pleads Guilty
Peter Lattman at the Wall Street Jrl blog reports here that a former United States Attorney has plead guilty to money laundering and obstruction. The News & Observer reports here that Sam "Currin was a protege of former U.S. Senator Jesse Helms, who helped Currin be appointed as the top federal prosecutor in eastern North…
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Cooperator in Prince George County Probe Pleads
The Washington Post reports here that Sienna Owens has pleaded guilty to a tax offense. According to the Post, she is cooperating with the government in the investigation of former Prince George’s County schools chief Andre J. Hornsby who has been charged with felony counts. Hornsby has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. …
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Prosecutor Says Snipes Has No Deal
Despite reports here, the prosecutor handling Wesley Snipe’s tax case is stating that there has been no deal. The Tampa tribune reports here the details of the prosecutor’s comments. Several things are interesting here: First is the initial report that appears to be inaccurate. Second is that a prosecutor is actually commenting on the inaccuracy…
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Court Denies Use of Expert in Libby Case
Discussed here are some of the pre-trial matters being presented in the case against I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. One matter has now been ruled upon by the court. In a memorandum order, the court denied the defense permission to present a witness, Dr. Robert A. Bjock, at his trial. The court concludes: "In Daubert, the…
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Trial of Former McKesson Executives Ends with Acquittal and Partial Mistrial
Professor J. Kelly Strader (Southwestern), guest blogging on the white collar crime prof blog, writes: After a six week trial on seven counts of various accounting-fraud related charges, two former McKesson executives were acquitted on one count today (AP report) The court declared a mistrial on the remaining counts. The report states that eleven of…
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