-
Namibian Prosecutor Appeals Grant of Bail to Kobi Alexander, Who Faces New Charges in the U.S.
Former Comverse Technology CEO Kobi Alexander’s days of freedom could come to an end in the near future. After fleeing — or deciding to resettle — in Namibia in July, shortly before federal prosecutors filed charges against him for securities fraud related to options back-dating at Comverse, he was arrested by Namibian authorities at the…
-
Top Adviser to Illinois Governor Indicted
A long-time fundraiser and adviser to Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, Tony Rezko, was indicted by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s office on extortion and bank fraud charges. The indictment comes only a few weeks before the general election in which Governor Blagojevich is running for reelection, and marks another blow to the Illinois Governor’s office after…
-
Springloaded Resignations
The "resignations" are coming fast and furious now in the options-timing investigations. Boston Communications Group, Inc. CEO EY Snowden stepped down, staying on as non-executive chairman, although I expect that will only be for a little while before he decides to pursue "other exciting opportunities" or the like. Also felled in the internal investigation was…
-
The CEOs Start to Bite the Dust Over Options-Timing Problems
As the internal investigations into options-timing practices at various companies start to come to fruition, more CEOs are starting to leave their position over questionable practices. Computer security company McAfee, Inc. earlier announced that its general counsel had been relieved of his position, and now the company disclosed that its CEO, George Samenuk, has retired,…
-
The Brewing Antitrust Investigation of Private Equity Firms
The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice appears to be gearing up for an investigation of leading private equity investment firms, including luminaries like Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), Silver Lake Partners, and Carlyle Group, over possible anticompetitive behavior in bidding to take firms private by buying out their public shareholders. The Antitrust Division is…
-
Skilling Takes Another Shot at Overturning the Guilty Verdict
Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling filed another motion seeking to overturn his conviction, relying on the Fifth Circuit’s recent decision that threw out the mail fraud convictions of three defendants in the Enron Nigerian Barge trial. In U.S. v. Brown (here), the Fifth Circuit held that the government’s "right of honest services" theory for mail…
-
When Your Attorney Turns You In
Salvatore Favata will enter a guilty plea to a mail fraud charge and settled an SEC civil enforcement action for selling "private money note investments" purportedly to raise money for his mortgage firm, National Consumer Mortgage, LLC, that was essentially a Ponzi scheme. According to the SEC Litigation Release (here), Favata "raised more than $30…
-
Sovereign District v. Bums
The Wall Street Journal has an interesting article (here) about the competition between the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, aka Manhattan and Brooklyn. Much like the Dodgers of days gone by, the EDNY has been viewed as the second-string team as compared to the SDNY, which some claim…
-
Former Patterson-UTI CFO Receives 25-Year Sentence
U.S. District Judge Sam Cummings hit former Patterson-UTI Energy CFO Jody Nelson with a twenty-five year prison term for embezzling over $77 million from the company over nearly ten years. Judge Cummings has a reputation for being a tough sentencer, and a press release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of…
-
Procurement Fraud DOJ Priority
The Department of Justice announced today the formation of a National Procurement Fraud Task Force (see here). The task force will involve numerous government agencies and will be modeled after the Katrina Fraud Task Force (see here). Included in the list of priorities for the task force are: "Identification and prosecution of viable procurement fraud…
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
MattBray.net 