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Dueling Grand Jury Investigations
The grand jury subpoenas to companies with suspiciously-timed stock option grants to their senior executives seem to be coming fast and furious, and from two different districts separated only by the East River. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York launched the first subpoena, to Comverse Technology, and then went quiet…
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Following Groucho Marx’s Suggestion
Groucho Marx said that he once sent a message stating, "Please accept my resignation. I don’t want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member." A Wall Street Journal story (here) certainly raises this issue in regard to the efforts of Andrew Wiederhorn, CEO of Fog Cutter Capital and convicted felon,…
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Legislature v. Executive = Judicial Decision
With the recent FBI search of the legislative office of William J. Jefferson (D. La.) and now the Washington Post reporting here in an article titled "FBI Says Jefferson Was Filmed Taking Cash," several more (see prior post here) questions arise: If this had been via a grand jury subpoena there would be no disclosure…
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Corruption Cases Are “In”
If it seems like a more than usual number of corruption cases lately, there may be some truth to this. It seems that a recent FBI focus has been on corruption. According to the NYTimes here there are more than 2000 corruption investigations ongoing. The FBI states that corruption is the number two priority, second…
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What Happened to Jamie Olis?
Bill Olis, father of Jamie Olis, reminds us that it has been two years since Jamie Olis entered federal prison. Olis, former "Senior Director of Tax Planning and International (and later, Vice President of Finance) at Dynegy," has been in the Houston federal detention center awaiting re-sentencing following a 5th Circuit appellate decision remanding the…
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Can the Executive Search an Office of the Legislative Branch?
Can the FBI, in investigating a member of the legislative branch, search his or her legislative office? This question may be real, and may depend on what the third branch of government may have said or will say with regards to this search. According to the NYTimes here, the FBI has "raided" the office of…
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Internet Music Piracy Sentencing
With so many high-profile white collar indictments and trials, the ones that don’t make the front page can sometimes be lost. Yet, in the white collar world, internet crimes and particularly internet piracy remain hot topics. The first indictments from Operation Fastlink came in July 2005 (see here) and now we are seeing the pleas…
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Trapped – By John Hasnas
Professor John Hasnas (Georgetown-Business School) has a book out called, "Trapped: When Acting Ethically is Against the Law." Published by the CATO Institute, the title says it all. A review of the book by Erica Little can be found here. (esp)
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Is It Fraud or Dishonesty in the Milberg Weiss Prosecution
The indictment (here) of Milberg Weiss and two of its name partners, Steven Schulman and David Bershad, strikes me as involving a basic distinction in how the two sides will approach the case. For the government, this appears to be a case about honesty, or the lack thereof, by attorneys required to present information to…
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Trying the Lay Bank Fraud Case Like You’re Double-Parked
While I suspect federal judges have particularly nice reserved spaces in most courthouse garages, U.S. District Judge Sim Lake seems to be hearing the evidence of the alleged bank fraud and false filings with a financial institution of Ken Lay as if he were double-parked in front of a fire hydrant. As recounted by the…
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