“5Dimes and the U.S. Department of Justice reached a $46.8 million settlement of an investigation into illegal US sports betting operations, as well as money laundering and wire fraud,” reports Matthew Waters in Legal Sports Report.

“The company announced an intent to enter the US sports betting market following the deal, although state regulators likely will balk at the long list of criminal activity detailed in the settlement.”

“5D Holdings and owner Laura Varela will forfeit the illegally obtained gambling proceeds as part of a settlement with the US Attorney’s Office Eastern District of Pennsylvania into the criminal investigation of 5Dimes’ offshore operations in Costa Rica.”

Read the article.

“A Florida attorney and former outside counsel for 1 Global Capital LLC (1 Global), has been charged today with conspiring to commit wire fraud and securities fraud in connection with an investment fraud scheme that, as alleged, impacted more than 3,600 investors in 42 different states, and involved him personally and fraudulently raising more than $100 million from investors,” released the Department of Justice in The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.

“Andrew Dale Ledbetter, 78, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is charged in an information with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles of the Southern District of Florida.”

“According to the allegations in the information, 1 Global was a commercial lending business based in Hallandale Beach, Florida, that made the equivalent of “pay day” loans with high interest rates to small businesses, termed merchant cash advance loans (MCAs). To fund these loans, 1 Global obtained funds from investors nationwide, offering short-term investment contracts that promised to “place” the investors’ money onto MCAs.”

Read the article.

“The Justice Department announced a guilty plea to FCPA charges by Sargeant Marine, Inc., a privately-owned company, based in Boca Raton, Florida. Sargeant Marine, an asphalt company, plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA and agreed to pay a fine of $16.6 million for bribery schemes in Brazil, Venezuela and Ecuador,” writes Michael Volkov in Volkov’s Blog.

“Between 2010 and 2018, Sargeant Marine paid millions of dollars in bribes to foreign officials in Brazil, Venezuela and Ecuador to secure contracts to purchase or sell asphalt to state-owned and state-controlled oil companies.”

Read the article.

“The Arizona lawyer who helped an ex-mobster orchestrate the failure of a nationwide chain of Toby Keith restaurants was sentenced Monday to six months in prison,” reports Robert Anglen in azcentral’s Investigations.
“Gregory McClure also must repay $1.3 million he admitted stealing, as part of his deal to cooperate with federal prosecutors. They are going after his former employer on fraud charges.”

“McClure, during the hour-long court hearing, told Arizona U.S. District Court Judge G. Murray Snow he was ‘ashamed and embarrassed’ by his conduct.”

Read the article.

“A mayor’s son and lawyer who has been arrested five times for alcohol-related incidents has been suspended from the Indiana bar for at least one year,” reports the IL Staff in The Indiana Lawyer.

“The Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission last year filed a formal complaint against Evan B. Broderick, son of Anderson Democratic Mayor Thomas Broderick Jr., who also is an attorney and former Madison County prosecutor.”

“Broderick in 2018 pleaded guilty to charges of Class A misdemeanor operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person and Class B misdemeanor leaving the scene of an accident after he struck a utility pole following an afternoon of drinking.”

Read the article.

“A 32-year-old woman suspected since July of running an unlawful law practice in Uptown Dallas has been arrested in Boston, and police are asking anyone who may have been victimized to speak up,” reports Marc Ramirez in The Dallas Morning News’ Crime.

“Massachusetts state police detained Camilia Shene Johnson at Logan International Airport on Sept. 5 as she tried to board a flight to Istanbul, Turkey. Johnson, a convicted felon, also goes by the name Camilia Johnson Ibrahim.”

“Authorities had been looking into Johnson’s conduct since mid-July, when a skeptical DeSoto resident alerted police to say that a number of legal actions being proposed to them by the suspect were in fact not the law.”

Read the article.

“Wheeling Hospital, Inc. has agreed to pay the United States a total of $50,000,000 to resolve claims that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting claims to the Medicare program that resulted from violations of the Physician Self-Referral Law and the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Justice Department announced Wednesday,” reports MetroNews Staff in MetroNews.

“According to the Justice Department, in this case, the United States alleged that from 2007 to 2020, under the direction and control of its prior management R&V Associates, Ltd. and Ronald Violi, Wheeling Hospital systematically violated the Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute by knowingly and willfully paying improper compensation to referring physicians that was based on the volume or value of the physicians’ referrals or was above fair market value.”

Read the article.

“A Myrtle Beach lawyer is no longer allowed to practice law after entering an Alford plea on charges of indecent exposure, and a history of pleas related to assault and voyeurism,” reports Kaitlyn Luna in WSPA’s News.

“Jacob Parrott was disbarred on Aug. 13 by the state Supreme Court, backdating to June 5, 2018, when he was arrested for indecent exposure after police said he was exposing himself and masturbating by a public pool, according to the court records.”

“After the arrest, Parrott entered an Alford plea. Under an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges prosecutors have enough evidence to gain a conviction.”

Read the article.

“Attorney Andrew Frisch asked a Manhattan federal judge on Wednesday to vacate an order forcing him to represent Steven Donziger, the American lawyer who spent more than two decades suing Chevron Corp over pollution in Ecuador and is now facing a trial next week for criminal contempt,” reports Sebastien Malo in Thomson Reuters Westlaw Today.

“Donziger’s ex-lawyer Frisch told the court in filings that he has had no recent contact with Donziger, their relationship is beyond repair and under such circumstances his representation could violate the defendant’s right to effective assistance of counsel.”

“On Aug. 28 senior U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska ordered Frisch of Schlam Stone & Dolan, Donziger’s former lead defense attorney, to take the reins after the court disqualified two of Donziger’s attorneys and if another two out-of-state lawyers continue to decline or are unable to appear partly at the Sept. 9 trial due to concerns over contracting COVID-19.”

Read the article.

“Vero Beach lawyer Louis ‘Buck’ Vocelle, Jr., was arrested Saturday night and charged with DUI, property damage and personal injury,” reports Catie Wegman in TCPalm.’s News.

Vocelle, 64, was arrested near Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital. He posted a $1,000 bond and was released Sunday, with a court date set for September 22.

Read the article.

“Retired United Auto Workers President Dennis Williams was charged Thursday with conspiracy to embezzle union funds following a years-long investigation into racketeering, bribery and other crimes that has pushed one of the nation’s most powerful unions to the brink of a federal takeover,” report Robert Snell, Jordyn Grzelewski and Breana Noble in The Detroit News’ Autos.

“Williams, 67, of Corona, Calif., is the second UAW president charged during an investigation by agents from the FBI, Labor Department and Internal Revenue Service during a probe that has led to 14 convictions. It has revealed labor leaders and auto executives broke federal labor laws, stole union funds and received bribes and illegal benefits from union contractors and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV executives.”

Read the article.

“The self-proclaimed ‘Lottery Lawyer’ has been charged in a scheme in which tens of millions of dollars was swindled from lottery winners, federal prosecutors said Tuesday,” reports Phil Helsel in NBC’s U.S. News.

“New York lawyer Jason Kurland, 46, is accused of gaining the trust of his clients, some of whom won big in Mega Millions and Powerball, and steering them to invest in businesses controlled by three other people who are also charged. Kurland is alleged to have gotten kickbacks in the scheme.”

“More than $107 million was invested in the scheme, and of that, more than $80 million was either stolen or lost, prosecutors said. The indictment was unsealed Tuesday in federal court in Brooklyn.”

Read the article.

“Audrey Strauss, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (‘HSI’), announced the unsealing of an indictment charging Pablo Renato Rodriguez, Gutemberg Dos Santos, Scott Hughes, Cecilia Millan, and Jackie Aguilar for their roles in an internationally coordinated fraud and money laundering ring involved in defrauding individuals through investments in AirBit Club, a purported cryptocurrency mining and trading company,” states the press release on the United States Department of Justice site.

“Acting United States Attorney Audrey Strauss said: ‘As alleged, the defendants put a modern-day spin on an age-old investment scam, promising extraordinary rates of guaranteed return on phantom investments in cryptocurrencies. Thanks to HSI, the defendants are in custody and facing serious criminal charges.'”

Read the article.

“A man faces a first-degree murder charge in the death of an Orlando attorney who was found dead in her home, police said,” reported by Associated Press to Tampa Bay’s Times Crime.

“Erin Haritgan’s mother called police on Sunday morning, saying her daughter had been attacked in their home, WKMG in Orlando reported.”

“The 44-year-old attorney was dead when officers arrived, according to Orlando police. They found William Franklin, 33, hiding in a nearby backyard.”

Read the article.

“In one of the largest COVID-relief fraud cases to date, nine Ohio and Florida individuals are alleged to have conspired to obtain fraudulent PPP loans guaranteed by the CARES Act and to have received kickbacks for filing fraudulent loan applications,” reports D. Jacques Smith, Randall A. Brater, Alexander S. Birkhold, Michael F. Dearington, Mohammed T. Farooqui, Rebecca W. Foreman, Nadia Patel, Stephanie Trunk, Laura Zell in Arent Fox’s Investigations Blog.

“In federal criminal complaints filed in the Northern District of Ohio and the Southern District of Florida, the nine individuals were charged with a combination of bank fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, and obstruction for conspiring to obtain fraudulent PPP loans and receiving kickbacks for filing fraudulent PPP loan applications. The nine individuals are: (1) Wyleia Nashon Williams of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida; (2) Phillip J. Augustin of Coral Springs, Florida; (3) Damion O. Mckenzie of Miami Gardens, Florida; (4) Andre M. Clark of Miramar, Florida; (5) Keyaira Bostic of Pembroke Pines, Florida; (6) James R. Stote of Hollywood, Florida; (7) Ross Charno of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida; (8) Deon D. Levy of Bedford, Ohio; and (9) Abdul-Azeem Levy of Cleveland, Ohio.”

Read the article.

“A Florida-based specialty pharmacy will pay $3.5 million to resolve allegations it served as a conduit for a Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd subsidiary to pay kickbacks to Medicare patients, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday,” reports Nate Raymond in Reuters’ U.S. Legal News.

“The settlement with Advanced Care Scripts Inc was the latest to result from an industry-wide U.S. probe of drugmakers’ financial support of patient assistance charities that has resulted in nearly $921 million in settlements.”

“Representatives for Teva and ACS did not respond to requests for comment. Teva has said it has been cooperating with the investigation since first receiving a subpoena from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston in 2017.”

Read the article.

“A suspended Harris County civil judge who last year was indicted on federal wire fraud charges has been arrested in connection to an assault involving her estranged husband’s girlfriend at a Houston home, her lawyer said,” reports Nicole Hensley in Houston Chronicle.

“Police took state District Judge Alexandra Smoots-Thomas into custody at her Rice Military home Wednesday morning, the lawyer continued, with authorities saying she was accused of firing a shotgun during an argument with a woman Monday night in the 14000 block of Jewel Meadow Drive. Smoots-Thomas, who lost her re-election bid in July, has been out on bond for federal charges and was not permitted to possess a weapon, court records show.”

Read the article.

“World Acceptance Corporation (WAC), a US-based consumer loan company, agreed to pay the SEC $21.7 million for FCPA violations in Mexico. WAC’s cited violations covered the full gamut of FCPA violations, including bribery payments to government officials in Mexico, failure to keep accurate books and records and inadequate internal accounting controls,” reports Michael Volkov in Volkov’s Corruption, Crime & Compliance.

“WAC engaged in an illegal scheme over a seven year period, from December 2010 to June 2017, to further its former Mexico subsidiary (WAC Mexico), which paid approximately $4.1 million in bribes directly or through third-party intermediaries, to Mexican government officials and union officials. WAC sold WAC Mexico in July 1, 2018. As a result of its bribery scheme, WAC earned approximately $18 million.”

Read the article.

“A Texas justice of the peace opened the country’s first virtual criminal jury trial Tuesday, experiencing relatively few technical interruptions that have plagued other online court hearings since the Covid-19 pandemic began,” reports David Lee in Courthouse News Services.

“Travis County Justice of the Peace Nicholas Chu is presiding over the virtual courtroom using Zoom videoconferencing software and is broadcasting the trial live to the public on YouTube. Court proceedings began at 8:30 a.m. in a misdemeanor case against a Texas woman accused of speeding in a construction zone.”

“Prosecutors and defense attorneys spent the first three hours explaining how to use Zoom and engaged in voir dire by polling potential jurors as to their experiences and biases towards speeding tickets and construction zones. A six-member jury with one alternate was sworn in after 1 p.m. and the trial is expected to last all of Tuesday.”

Read the article.

“Several women and former employees accuse a prominent Chicago family attorney of sexual assault – all of it is outlined in a complaint filed last month by a state disciplinary board,” reports Charlie De Mar of CBSN Chicago.

The day after the report of “allegations against David Pasulka, the lawyer found himself in legal trouble – arrested for driving under the influence in Glenview.”

“… police in Glenview were called on Friday, July 24, to a McDonald’s in Glenview, where they said they found Pasulka in his car intoxicated and in need of medical help.”

“Glenview police said the man behind the wheel was Pasulka, the prominent Chicago family attorney and guardian ad litem. Police said he would not wake up, and he was so drunk that was taken to Glenbrook Hospital – where police said he was too intoxicated to take a breathalyzer or field sobriety test.”

Read the article.