White Collar Crime Prof Blog

In the News & Around the Blogosphere

DOJ Press Release, Hitachi Executive Indicted for his Role in LCD Price-Fixing Conspiracy

Rachel Tobin Ramos, AJC, Former Home Depot manager gets 5 years for kickbacks

What would Conrad Black say to the Chicago Tribune story - Sun-Times files for bankruptcy

Dow Jones Risk & Compliance: Solutions for Anti-Corruption

Pepper Hamilton Successfully Defends Attorney in Federal Criminal Case ("individual charged as a co-conspirator in a case involving the governor of Puerto Rico") (plea "to misdemeanor and sentenced" to $3,000 fine) 

Jack Townsend, Federal Tax Crimes, DOJ Policy on One Book Rule and Ex Post Facto

Alison Frankel, American Lawyer, law.com, Former Stanford Exec Facing Criminal Charges Sues Proskauer for Malpractice

Press Release, Fortent Inform Releases Comprehensive U.S. Banking Enforcement Action Survey of 2008, 2007

Ashby Jones, WSJ, Defendants, With Assets Frozen, Find It Tough to Hire Attorneys 

Law.com (AP), Stanford Denies Wrongdoing, Wants Money for Lawyer

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Corporate Criminal Law Symposium

Georgetown University Law Center and the American Criminal Law Review are hosting a Corporate Criminal Law Conference: Achieving the Right Balance: The Role of Corporate Criminal Law in Ensuring Corporate Compliance on Tuesday, April 21, 2009. The conference will focus on the current state of corporate criminal law. Participants will also analyze corporate compliance programs and how a "good" corporate compliance program should be considered by prosecutors.

Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. The program will follow from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The event will be held at Georgetown University Law Center located at 600 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001.

Luncheon keynote speaker

Larry D. Thompson

Senior Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel

PepsiCo, Inc.

Other confirmed speakers include:

Kathy Ruemmler

, Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice

Robert B. Fiske Jr

., Partner, Davis, Polk & Wardell

Michele A. Roberts

, Partner, Akin Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld

Professor Sara Sun Beale

, Charles L.B. Lowndes Professor, Duke University School of Law

Professor Pamela H. Bucy

, Bainbridge Professor of Law, University of Alabama School

Professor Ellen S. Podgor

, Associate Dean for Faculty Development & Electronic Education, Professor of Law, Stetson University College of Law

Register Today!!

http://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=717117

For more information please contact Michelle Kepick by calling (202) 463-5819 or by emailing mkepick@uschamber.com or kkd4@law.georgetown.edu.

Sponsored byIn cooperation with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Check Section 1028 Sentences

A letter from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts informs the courts, defenders, and probation officers that "defendants who have been convicted of possessing false, stolen, or unlawfully produced identification documents, in violation of 18 U.S.C.§ 1028 (a)(4) or (6), may have been incorrectly sentenced under that statute's felony provisions, instead of the misdemeanor penalty provisions." 

See Letter here -Download DOJ_Errors_in_1028_Prosecutions_-_DIR9-010

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Holder's Statement on the Stevens Case, Commentary, & More

AG Eric Holder sets the tone for this new DOJ (see here) in his DOJ Press Release which states, "After careful review, I have concluded that certain information should have been provided to the defense for use at trial. In light of this conclusion, and in consideration of the totality of the circumstances of this particular case, I have determined that it is in the interest of justice to dismiss the indictment and not proceed with a new trial."

This dismissal is monumental in terms of sending a message that this justice department will be very different.  Many years ago a group of AG's signed an amicus brief in the case of Gideon v. Wainwright advocating for the defendant. They wanted a fair fight in court, and recognized the importance of the right to counsel to achieving justice.What happened today is on par with what happened back then. It is a recognition that prosecutors are not merely advocates, but rather "ministers of justice."  Today an Attorney General took the side of justice.

What Others Are Saying:

Ashby Jones, Breaking News: Gov. to Drop All Charges Against Ted Stevens, WSJ Blog here

Doug Berman, Sentencing Law & Policy here

Neil A. Lewis, N.Y. Times,U.S. to Drop Case Against Ex-Senator From Alaska

Erika Bolstad & Richard Mauer, Anchorage Daily News, Attorney general drops Stevens prosecution

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DOJ Moves to Dismiss the Ted Stevens Case

It is definitely a new DOJ, and congratulations go to them for acting as true "ministers of justice." In a rare move, the Acting Assistant AG filed a Motion of the United States to Set Aside the Verdict and Dismiss the Indictment With Prejudice.  Information was not provided to the accused, and the government admits that this information would have allowed for a cross-examination and arguments to the jury. Brady violations occur, but it is rare that a prosecutor openly admits to such wrongdoing.  More importantly, moving to set aside the verdict and dismiss the indictment with prejudice speaks to a prosecutor who acts appropriately when an injustice has occurred.  It is clear that the new administration is aiming to be "ministers of justice."  We are all fortunate.

Motion - Download Stevens_Govt Motion to Dismiss

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Snipes Holds Onto Bail - Just Barely

Defendant Wesley Snipes made a Motion for Limited Travel for Work Obligations.  He sought permission to travel outside the United States for work on two films (Gallowwalker and Game of Death). The government objected to this post trial bail "on the grounds that Defendant Snipes traveled to Dubair, United Arab Emirates, in late November 2008 without obtaining prior permission from the Court."  The court acknowledged that Snipes had violated his conditions of release for several reasons including "failing to notify his Pretrial Services Officer when his trip to Bangkok was canceled." But as the court noted, "[w]hile it does appear that on two occasions Defendant Snipes exceeded his travel conditions as set forth in his terms and conditions of release and the Court's July 2, 2008 Order, it is also true as pointed out in Defendant Snipes' moving papers that he has never failed to appear at the many proceedings in this case where his presence was required." In the end, the court granted the motion but did place restrictions on Snipes.

Snipes was represented by Carmen Hernandez, Linda Moreno, Dan Meachum and Peter Goldberger.

Court's Order -  Download 520_OrdGrantTrav 033109

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Handling the Financial Crisis

Interesting article can be found on the Brookings Website (here), with testimony from Robert Litan who calls for Congress to consolidate all federal financial regulatory acitivities into two agencies. He states - "--Do we need a systemic risk regulator (SRR)?  Yes."

Our world is more specialized, and meeting issues with consolidation and specialization is important.

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Upcoming Conference

ABA, Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act - Using a Sledgehammer to Kill a Fly?, April 29 webcast here

Ponzi Scheme

Does it seem like more and more ponzi schemes are coming to light these days? Perhaps in part this is because people are scrutinizing their investments, and are realizing that what they thought was a wonderful return for their investment, but not in fact be the case. One thing is for certain, Bernie Madoff is not the only person having ponzi scheme issues as a result of recent events. The latest casualty appears to be in the Central District of California, where an individual is pleading guilty to being involved in a 15 million dollar ponzi scheme. The DOJ Press Release states that this individual "operated a Ponzi scheme through his Newport Beach-based investment companies" and "promised investors 'guaranteed' annual returns of between 10 percent and 18 percent per year, telling investors that their money would be invested in foreign currency trading, oil wells, real estate and other vehicles."  The press release states that "[o]ver the course of his scheme, [he] defrauded more than 200 people out of more than $15 million, taking millions of dollars that his victims [ ] initially invested in IRA retirement savings accounts."  In addition to pleading guilty to mail fraud for the ponzi scheme, the press release notes that there were  "bribery, passport fraud and identity fraud charges resulting from his attempt to procure a fraudulent passport and flee the country after his scheme collapsed."

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18th Annual National Seminar on the Federal Sentencing Guidelines

The Federal Bar Association and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, along with the ABA Criminnal Justice Section, have issued the program for the 18th Annual National Seminar on the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.  The event is scheduled for May 21-22 in Clearwater Beach, Florida. See here for details - Download 290200_09_guidelines_book 

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In the News and Around the Blogosphere

DOJ Press Release, Connecticut Resident Pleads Guilty to Multi-Million Dollar Tax Fraud Conspiracy

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In the News & Around the Blogosphere

Jeff Jeffrey, BLT Blog, Former U.S. Attorney Joins Hughes Hubbard & Reed

DOJ Press Release, Former Michigan School Official Sentenced to Serve 46 Months in Jail for Role in Fraud Scheme

Alison Frankel, AmLaw Litigation Daily, Delaware Court Orders D&O Insurer to Cough Up Legal Fees for Criminal Defense (w/ a hat tip to Clark Furlow)

Bob Johnson, Montgomeryadvertiser, AP, Siegelman, Scrushy seek review from appeals court

Mary Williams Walsh, NYTimes, Inquiry Asks Why A.I.G. Paid Banks

Mary Flood, Houston Chronicle, Judge sets Skilling's resentencing for July (w/ a hat tip to Bill Olis)

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30 and 25 Year Sentences in White Collar Case

For those who might be thinking that white collar offenders will not face heavy sentences in a post Gall and Rita world -  today's sentences prove otherwise. A DOJ Press Release tells that "[t]wo former National Century Financial Enterprises (NCFE) executives were sentenced today for their roles in a scheme to deceive investors about the financial health of NCFE," with one receiving a sentence of 30 years and 3 years of supervised release following the prison term, and the other being sentenced to 25 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release following the prison term. The first individual, age 65, who served as the "president, owner and chief executive officer of NCFE," also was sentenced to a concurrent sentence of 10 years in prison.  The former "chair[ ], secretary, treasurer, director and owner of NCFE, age 60, who received the 25 year sentence was convicted of conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. The press release states that she "fled after the conviction and remains at large."  In addition to the prison sentences, the court also ordered the two "to forfeit $1.7 billion of property representing the proceeds of the conspiracy and to pay restitution of $2.3 billion, jointly and severally with other defendants."  The joint and several part may be an issue with one party still at large.  The press release notes that "NCFE, formerly based in Dublin, Ohio, was one of the largest healthcare finance companies in the United States until it filed for bankruptcy in November 2002."

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In the News & Around the Blogosphere

DOJ Press Release, Miami Doctor and Chemist Plead Guilty in HIV Infusion Fraud Scheme

David Ingram, BLT Blog, 3 Top Justice Department Nominees Move Forward

Lynne Marek, NLJ, Chicago U.S. attorney indicts two lawyers on mortgage fraud charges

USA Today (AP), FBI Says It's Speeding Up Some Financial Probes

Amy Zipkin, NYTimes, A Help-Wanted Sign for Fraud Investigators

Vesselin Mitev, NYLJ, law.com, Judge Freezes Assets of Madoff's Brother

DOJ Press Release, Sixth Aegis Company Principal Sentenced in Chicago to Ten Years in Prison for His Part in Firm’s $60 Million Tax Fraud Conspiracy

Christine Hanley, LA Times, Probation report urges 6 years in prison for Carona - The former Orange County sheriff was acquitted on most charges but convicted of witness tampering.

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