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Siegelman & Scrushy – Verdicts In
Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman was found guilty of 6 of the 32 charges against him (see Birmingham Alabama News here). These included some of the counts for bribery, conspiracy, mail fraud, and obstruction of justice. Former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy were found guilty today of all of the bribery, conspiracy and mail fraud counts…
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The Federalization of Crime
Blog co-editor Ellen Podgor has an editorial on Law.Com (here) questioning the use of laws such as the mail fraud statute (18 U.S.C. Sec. 1341) by federal prosecutors to reach a wide variety of conduct that may be of little real interest to the national government. The issue came to the forefront recently in a…
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Hedge Funds as Political Football
The role of hedge funds in the securities markets is garnering greater attention because the vast ($2+ trillion) amount of money they manage means that any problems in the industry will be felt widely in the economy, at least in the short term. A recent decision by the D.C. Circuit blocking an SEC rule requiring…
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Scrushy-Siegelman Jury Keeps At It
The jury in the corruption prosecution of former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy, former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, and two former aides to the Governor continued deliberating for a tenth day to reach a verdict on the charges. On June 27, the foreman sent a note that some jurors were "lackadaisical" and not working to break…
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Raytheon and Its Former CEO Settle SEC Accounting Disclosure Charges
The SEC filed a settled civil injunctive action against Raytheon Co., its former CEO Daniel Burnham, and a financial officer at one of its subsidiaries, Aldo Servello, for making misleading disclosures about financial problems in the company’s commercial aircraft subsidiary. According to the Litigation Release (here): The SEC charged that, in periodic reports filed with…
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KPMG’s Aftermath — Revenge of the Insurance Companies?
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan’s opinion permitting former KPMG partners and employees to seek advancement of attorney’s fees from the firm sets an interesting precedent regarding the scope of the government’s ability to interfere in contractual relations between employers (and principals) and their employees (and agents). An interesting question is whether the decision might have…
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British Bankers Lose Final Appeal to Avoid Extradition
The European Court of Human Rights refused to intervene in the decision to extradite three British investment bankers — David Bermingham, Gary Mulgrew, and Giles Darby — to the United States to face charges in an Enron-related transaction. The three were officers of Greenwich NatWest who participated in a transaction engineered by former Enron CFO…
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Judge Kaplan’s Decision – KPMG
If one were ranking decisions by the quality of the writing, Hon. Lewis Kaplan’s decision would be very high on the list, as it ranks in quality with those authored by Learned Hand. From the opening passage that states – "Those who commit crimes – regardless of whether they wear white or blue collars –…
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Where is the Hilfiger Non-Prosecution Agreement?
Corporate Counsel has a very telling article here on a non-prosecution agreement reached between the US and the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation. It seems the company reached an agreement, but no one can get a copy. Back in August 2005, US Attorney David N. Kelley issued a press release here on the non-prosecution agreement. But the…
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KPMG- Analysis – White Collar Cases Can Be Costly
The KPMG Order provides the clear realization that some white collar cases can be costly to defend. Judge Lewis Kaplan states: "This is by no means a garden-variety criminal case. It has been described as the largest tax fraud case in United States history. The government thus far has produced in discovery, in electronic or…
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