A Blog About Current Issues in White Collar Defense

Alphonse Gabriel Capone was never prosecuted for murder, so there was never a jury determining whether Al was responsible for the infamous St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in which seven gang rivals were executed by Capone’s underlings. Instead, “Scarface” Capone was prosecuted and convicted for felony tax evasion offenses, for which he received 11 years in… Read More

Last week’s Supreme Court opinion on the “true threats” doctrine seemingly settles a long- brewing issue in threat-based prosecutions but also reflects the anticipatory positioning of various Associate Justices on much hotter issues that may make their way to SCOTUS consideration in the near future. As such, the debate-behind-the-debate between the Court’s members is of… Read More

Many years ago, a prosecutor I worked with at the time was in a fascinating murder trial, where the defense included a forensic psychiatrist opining that the defendant suffered from multiple personalities. According to this expert, one of the “inhabitants” of the defendant’s mind was a creature named Tofu the Demon Dog. On cross examination,… Read More

On May 10, 2023, the First Circuit Court of Appeals provided welcoming news to two of the defendants in “Varsity Blues” the college admissions scandal – their convictions were being vacated. Former Wynn Resorts executive Gamal Abdelaziz and private equity executive John Wilson were just two of dozens of high-profile defendants charged with various white-collar… Read More

Just as the walls seemed to be closing in on young entrepreneur Charlie Javice, a bit of offense has left her opponent, JPMorgan, in an entirely uncomfortable position largely of its own making. Javice founded a college loan planning entity called Frank, that appeared to be doing so well that JP Morgan bought it in… Read More

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has announced charges against eight finance-oriented social media influencers in an alleged $100 million securities fraud scheme, in which they engaged in “pump-and-dump” market manipulation by leveraging their following on various social media platforms. The securities fraud charges, unsealed on December 13th, name seven defendants with an eighth… Read More

On September 7, 2022, the Brooklyn district attorney’s office announced its request to vacate nearly 400 convictions, dating back to 1999, that were founded on testimony provided by officers who were later found guilty of crimes committed while on duty. Among the 13 officers’ crimes are murder, planting drugs, taking sex bribes, civil liberties violations,… Read More

This week the Second Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stinging reminder about the need for precision in the case of U.S. v. Pikus, No. 20-3080 (2d Cir. 2022). Aleksander Pikus was one of four defendants charged with money laundering conspiracy and related offenses for bilking Medicare and Medicaid through false billings. The scheme featured… Read More

About one month before the 2020 election, the Department of Justice proudly announced their disruption of a scheme to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Six men were arrested and referred to as “violent extremists.” Gov. Whitmer’s surrogates indicated that the blame was not fully on the gnarly bearded men whose pictures dominated newscasts around the… Read More