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Will Abramoff Ring in the New Year with a Plea Agreement?
An AP story (here) notes that lobbyist Jack Abramoff is close to a plea deal with prosecutors in Miami and Washington, D.C., in connection with the bank fraud charges in Florida and the investigation of corruption involving Congressmen and members of their staffs. Abramoff has been at the center of an extensive investigation of payments…
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DOJ Opens Inquiry Into NSA Surveillance Leak
The Department of Justice announced that it has opened an investigation into the leak of information to the New York Times regarding the surveillance by the National Security Agency of domestic telephone calls. This investigation comes on top of inquiries into leaks regarding the covert status of CIA operative Valerie Plame and the disclosure of…
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A Busy Week For Scrushy
The time between Christmas and New Year’s Day is usually pretty slow, except in retail and, at least this year, for former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy. Earlier in the week, Scrushy entered a "not guilty" plea to federal corruption charges alleging that he paid bribes to former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman for an appointment to…
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New Jersey Med School Settles Health Care Fraud Investigation
The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), the only medical school in the state, agreed to pay back at least $4.9 million that it had double-billed to Medicare Medicaid. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey announced that it had entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (here) to a…
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2005 White Collar Crime Awards
In the finest end-of-the-year tradition of various media outlets, we have decided to honor individuals and organizations for their work this year in the white collar crime arena by bestowing "The Collar" on those who deserve our praise, scorn, acknowledgment, blessing, curse, or whatever else you can think of that would be appropriate. Comments are…
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Skilling’s Motion to Dismiss Insider Trading Charges Denied
In the run-up to the Enron conspiracy trial — now delayed for two weeks after the plea agreement of Richard Causey — U.S. District Judge Sim Lake is clearing out motions to allow the prosecution to proceed. In the latest decision, Judge Lake denied Jeffrey Skilling’s motion to dismiss ten insider trading charges (counts 42-51…
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Where Do Nice Guys Finish?
By all accounts, former Enron chief accounting officer Richard Causey is a very nice person, not prone to engage in temperamental outbursts and degrading harangues that former CFO Andrew Fastow is accused of doing to subordinates, outside auditors, and investment bankers. With his plea agreement, Causey may become the cornerstone of the government’s case against…
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The Case of the Defective Mice
Every year, Jack Boese of Fried Frank offers a holiday story tied to a False Claims Act case to lighten things up. This year’s story is about the sale of mice to a federal laboratory that may not have met the government’s usually impenetrable procurement standards. Herewith is the story of the defective (?) mice:…
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Ecuadorean Pyramid Scheme
An AP story (here) discusses the collapse of a long-running pyramid scheme in Ecuador that may have been used to help launder profits from drug transactions. Jose Cabrera, a notary, had been collecting funds in $10,000 increments with a promise of 10% interest from investors for over twenty years. Cabrera died of a heart attack…
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The New Pleas – Causey & Weisberg
Two Major Pleas for the Government Today – – Both require cooperation with the government. As anticipated, Richard Causey entered a plea this afternoon to Securities Fraud and agreed to cooperate with the government in the trial of Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling. (see Wall Street Jrl here). The plea, however, is somewhat bothersome. It…
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