Insights < BACK TO ALL INSIGHTS
Investigations Posts
Eight Finance Social Media Influencers Charged In $100 Million Market Manipulation Scheme
Dec 19, 2022
Eight Finance Social Media Influencers Charged In $100 Million Market Manipulation Scheme
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…
Michigan’s High Profile Boomerang
Apr 21, 2022
Michigan’s High Profile Boomerang
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…
Biden’s aggressive Justice Dept – Civil Rights Division putting local police on notice. Here’s how
May 19, 2021
Biden’s aggressive Justice Dept – Civil Rights Division putting local police on notice. Here’s how
This article was originally published on FoxNews.com on May 16th, 2021. Department of Justice priorities obviously can change with new administrations, and history shows this with regularity. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy was greatly concerned with the Mafia’s activities, and John Ashcroft wanted more obscenity and pornography prosecutions. Generally, the subject matter emphasis pops up and…
Civil or Criminal Liability: Charging A Payment Processing Case by Coin Toss?
Aug 17, 2020
Civil or Criminal Liability: Charging A Payment Processing Case by Coin Toss?
In the eyes of federal investigators, when is a payment processor considered a benevolent alternative to traditional banks, and when is it viewed as a shady facilitator of all things criminal? In other words, is the client another Paypal or Venmo, or are we looking at a potential WireCard AG prosecution? We have noticed in…
Going…Going…Ghosn
May 22, 2020
Going…Going…Ghosn
While much of the focus on the Japanese prosecution of high-profile executive Carlos Ghosn has been on his spectacular private jet escape from Japan while hidden in an instruments case, his prosecution actually raises much more profound issues about white collar criminal prosecution in Japan and in the United States. Ghosn is an indisputably talented…
Death by a Thousand Cuts
May 8, 2020
Death by a Thousand Cuts
When legal scholars look back at the failed Flynn prosecution, they will not be able to pin the dismissal on a single deficiency or legal principle, but if they are fair they will recognize a small case that was plagued with innumerable flaws. The DOJ Motion to Dismiss, filed in the rarified air of a…
Videoconferencing to the Rescue
Apr 1, 2020
Videoconferencing to the Rescue
While the recent passage of the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act is receiving tremendous attention because of its price tag, strategies to keep businesses and families afloat, and its hidden gems for beneficiaries like the Kennedy Center, it also has a component that is important for federal practitioners who handle criminal matters…
How White Hats Get Dirty
Mar 19, 2020
How White Hats Get Dirty
Historically, undercover operations by law enforcement would run into problematic “loyalty tests,” designed to make sure that the criminal conspirators could trust the “new guy.” Biker gangs would ask this “pledge” to beat someone up or take drugs, knowing law enforcement agencies would likely not let that happen, even in an undercover capacity. Prostitution stings…
How One Simple Meeting Presages the Future of Federal Prosecution
Sep 28, 2018
How One Simple Meeting Presages the Future of Federal Prosecution
For many years, it has been the federal government, with its multitude of prosecutorial and regulatory arms, that has been able to throw its policing weight around, causing business owners to snap to attention with a crisp salute. But as the traditional business model has morphed into clouds of technology-driven, international and multinational enterprises, this…
National Media Turns to Jim Trusty for Authoritative Opinions on the Country’s Most Important Investigations and Prosecutions
Sep 24, 2018
National Media Turns to Jim Trusty for Authoritative Opinions on the Country’s Most Important Investigations and Prosecutions
Ifrah Law partner Jim Trusty has become a staple in the national news lately: he is frequently asked to comment on the many investigations and prosecutions currently going on which involve former and current officials and operatives at the highest levels of government. With over 28 years of experience as a federal prosecutor with the…
