“Two Las Vegas residents made their initial court appearances in U.S. District Court on Friday for charges in connection with a multimillion dollar investment fraud scheme,” reports the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Nevada.

“A federal grand jury returned a 14 count indictment on Tuesday, charging John Frank Thomas III, 75, and Thomas Joseph Becker, 72, both of Las Vegas, with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and 13 counts of wire fraud.”

“According to allegations in the indictment, from September 2010 to August 2019, Thomas and Becker maintained — and advertised to investors as supposed investment funds — the following entities: Sports Psychometrics; Vegas Basketball Club; Vegas Football Club; Einstein Sports Advisory; Quantum Sports Advisory; Wellington Sports Club; and Welscorp, Inc. Thomas and Becker made false representations to investors that they would use their sports betting skills and strategy to make sports bets with the investors’ money.”

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“The owners of the Scandies Rose have reached a settlement of more than $9 million with two surviving crew and the families of four men who died when the Washington-managed crab boat went down Dec. 31 off Alaska,” reports Hal Bernton in The Seattle Times.

“The agreement was confirmed by Michael Barcott, an attorney representing the Washington and Alaska owners, who said the settlement will be funded by insurance.”

“The agreement will be subject to review in state Superior Court, and how the money will be divided up among survivors and families of the deceased is under discussion, according to Markham.”

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“… a jury in Tyler, Texas, ordered Apple to pay $502.8 million in royalties for infringing on VirnetX’s patented virtual private network (VPN),” was posted on PYMNTS.com’s Apple.

“The original lawsuit, filed Aug. 11, 2010, alleged that Apple’s FaceTime and VPN On Demand features were using its patented technology. Over the years, VirnetX won various monetary awards, all of which were appealed by Apple, the report stated.”

“Initially, Nevada-based VirnetX was asking for about $700 million in royalties. Apple, however, was looking to pay no more than $113 million, the report stated.”

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“Doctor Shoaib Qureshi, Doctor Imran Mirza, Memphis Primary Care Specialists, Lunceford Family Health Center, and Getwell Family Medicine agreed to pay $341,690 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by knowingly charging Medicare for services rendered by nurse practitioners at the higher reimbursement rate for physician services, the Justice Department announced today,” released the Department of Justice’s Office of Public Affairs.

“Medicare pays a higher rate for physician services than for non-physician services. Medicare will pay the higher physician rate for services rendered by non-physician providers if the services are ‘incident to’ the services of a physician. Such ‘incident to’ services, however, must be provided under the direct supervision of a physician. The United States alleged that, from 2015 to 2018, Doctor Qureshi, Doctor Mirza, and their clinics billed Medicare as though the physicians had provided the services in question, when in fact nurse practitioners had treated the patients without the supervision required by Medicare’s ‘incident to’ rules. Indeed, the government alleged that the services were rendered when the physicians were out of the office, including times when they were traveling out of state or abroad.”

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“… a disbarred lawyer in Westchester County, pled guilty today in White Plains federal court to stealing government funds. VILA’s plea results from his theft of approximately $1 million that the Department of Justice’s 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) had awarded to the defendant’s client, a 9/11 first responder,” released the Southern District of New York.

“VILA was arrested on September 3, 2020, and pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Vincent L. Briccetti.”

“Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: ‘As he admitted today, Gustavo Vila stole money awarded by the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund to his client, an NYPD officer and 9/11 first responder, and falsely told the client for more than three years that the stolen money had yet to be released by the Fund. Now Gustavo Vila awaits sentencing for his crime.'”

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“A lawsuit accusing several paving companies of anti-competitive practices and price gouging is over, with state officials announcing Friday a $101.35 million settlement,” reports in Steven Allen Adams in The Intelligencer.

“West Virginia Paving Inc., Kelly Paving Inc., American Asphalt and Aggregate Inc., and eight associated companies agreed to pay that amount to the state in a settlement of an anti-trust case brought by Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and six local governments, in Parkersburg.”

“The lawsuit, filed on Jan. 11, 2017, accused CRH PLC – based in Ireland and the parent company for several asphalt and paving companies doing business in West Virginia – of creating a monopoly on paving and asphalt supplies, driving up the cost of projects and materials at the expense of state taxpayers.”

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“Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton announces a $1,498,750 settlement against New Jersey-based Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. (‘Bed Bath & Beyond’) as part of a settlement of a civil environmental prosecution,” was posted in East County Today’s California.

“The judgment is the culmination of a civil enforcement lawsuit filed last month in Ventura County Superior Court claiming that more than 200 Bed Bath & Beyond stores throughout the state (including Cost Plus, buybuy BABY, Harmon, Harmon Face Values, World Market, and Cost Plus World Market stores) unlawfully handled, transported and disposed of batteries, electronic devices, ignitable liquids, aerosol products, cleaning agents, and other flammable, reactive, toxic, and corrosive materials, at local landfills that were not permitted to receive those wastes.”

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“Anthem is paying a substantial portion of Blues plans’ tentative antitrust settlement, which is estimated to be nearly $3 billion, executives said on a call with investors on Wednesday morning,” reports Paige Minemyer in Fierce Healthcare’s Payer.

“Anthem has penciled in $594 million for its contribution to the $2.7 billion settlement. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association reportedly agreed to the settlement in a lengthy class action suit late last month.”

“Anthem chief financial officer John Gallina called the settlement ‘pending’ during the earnings call, and said having a deal in the works ‘removes an uncertainty’ for the business around the ongoing litigation.”

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“A Middletown, R.I., man currently serving a term of federal supervised release having been convicted and incarcerated for robbing four banks, admitted in federal court in Providence today to fraudulently seeking more than $4.7 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) forgivable loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act,” released the District of Rhode Island U.S. Attorney’s Office.

“Michael C. Moller, 41, admitted that he applied for and received nearly $600,000 in PPP loans he claimed were to be used to pay employees for a Fall River, MA, businesses he operated, ‘Top Notch Tile.’ FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation agents determined that ‘Top Notch Tile’ was not incorporated with the Massachusetts Secretary of State, nor could investigators locate any tax or bank records for the company.”

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“On Tuesday the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that it fined Affordable Enterprises of Arizona $37.5 million for making at least 2.3 million illegal spoofed telemarketing calls in a 14-month period starting in 2016 in violation of the Truth in Caller ID Act,” reports Kirsten Errick in Law Street Media’s Tech News.

“According to the FCC, the company either used unassigned phone numbers or phone numbers that in most cases ‘belonged to innocent Arizona consumers and placed them in the caller ID of their telemarketing calls.’ As a result of this purported conduct, Affordable Enterprises of Arizona ‘was able to appear to be calling from local phone numbers and to avoid receiving angry callbacks when making spoofed telemarketing calls to sell home improvement and remodeling services.’ Moreover, the FCC stated that the caller ID was manipulated to appear to come from a number not connected to the company. Additionally, calls also came from pre-paid ‘burner phones’. Regardless, Affordable Enterprises of Arizona allegedly spoofed the caller ID, so consumers were not able to correctly identify the caller.”

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“The settlement resolves allegations that Merit Medical Systems engaged in a kickback scheme lasting more than six years to pay healthcare providers to induce use of its products in medical procedures performed on Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare beneficiaries,” reports Clare Goldsberry in Plastics Today’s Medical News.

“Medical device maker Merit Medical Systems Inc. (MMSI) has agreed to pay $18 million to resolve allegations that it caused the submission of false claims to the Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare programs by paying kickbacks to physicians and hospitals to induce the use of MMSI products.”

“The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits offering or paying anything of value to induce the referral of items or services covered by Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare, and other federal healthcare programs.”

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“A judge in Durham County, North Carolina has handed down what may be the nation’s first dispositive ruling in favor of policyholders in a COVID-19 business-interruption lawsuit,” reports Jim Sams in Claims Journal.

“Superior Court Judge Orlando F. Hudson Jr. ruled on Oct. 7 that closure orders that restricted the use of a group of 16 restaurants in the Raleigh-Durham area constituted a ‘direct physical loss’ that was covered by the policy.”

“According to a litigation tracker maintained by the University of Pennsylvania law school, as of Thursday 1,183 lawsuits have been filed seeking coverage from insurers for business income losses caused by coronavirus closure orders. Judges have granted insurers’ motions to dismiss in 26 cases, but have denied dismissal motions in 12 cases, including the Durham County lawsuit, according to the university’s data.”

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“Former Portsmouth, Ohio, city council member and attorney Michael Mearan was arrested today on human trafficking, racketeering and related charges,” reports staff in Cincinnati.com The Enquirer.

“Mearan, 74, is charged with nine counts of promoting prostitution, five counts of compelling prostitution, three counts of trafficking in person and one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activities.”

“All the charges are felonies … Mearan faces more than 70 years in prison if convicted.”

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“The international investment bank Goldman Sachs agreed to pay $2.9 billion and admit wrongdoing for its involvement in the plundering of an economic development fund meant to benefit Malaysia, under the terms of a settlement announced Thursday by the U.S. Justice Department,” reports Pete Williams in NBC News’ U.S. News.

“Instead of helping develop Malaysia’s economy, the fund’s overseers embezzled roughly $4 billion and bought real estate in Beverly Hills and New York, yachts, a jet and works by Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet, prosecutors said. Some of the money, they said, was used to cover gambling debts at Las Vegas casinos and to help finance the hit movie, ‘The Wolf of Wall Street.'”

“Goldman agreed to pay a penalty and to give back the millions in fees it earned from its work in arranging bonds for the fund managers. Goldman admitted that two former executives participated in an agreement to pay $1.6 billion in bribes to help secure the business.”

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“A South Florida lawyer has been arrested for his involvement in at least five robberies or attempted robberies of local banks, FBI officials said Wednesday,” was reported in NBC South Florida’s Miami Dade County.

“Aaron Honaker, 41, was arrested Tuesday night as he was attempting to enter a bank in Coral Gables, officials said.

“According to allegations in the complaint affidavit, Honaker would follow a consistent approach during his robbery attempts and succeeded twice: Honaker would walk up to a teller and ask for assistance in making a withdrawal. He would then pass a handwritten note to the teller that would say messages like, ‘don’t touch the alarm or call the police,’ ’empty all of your $50s and $100s and put it in an envelope,’ and ‘keep calm, and give me all the money in the drawer, I have a gun.’ Honaker would take his note with him on the way out of the bank.

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“Family members of a 61-year-old San Pedro grandmother who was killed by a falling 80-foot tree at her daughter’s 2016 wedding party in Whittier have reached a tentative $28 million settlement with the city,” reports City News Service in Whittier Daily News.

“The lawsuit stemming from Margarita Mojarro’s death was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court in April 2017, alleging wrongful death and that a dangerous condition of public property existed.”

“The case was later transferred to Norwalk Superior Court and the plaintiffs’ motion for a finding that the settlement was made in good faith is scheduled to be heard Friday by Judge Raul Sahagun.”

“The settlement does not involve the part of the family’s case against West Coast Arborists LLP, which contracted with the city to inspect and trim trees at Penn Park, where the tree fell, according to the plaintiffs’ attorneys’ court papers.”

“The city also has a cross-complaint against the company for indemnity.”

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“The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a litigation release today alleging charges of microcap fraud that involved an attorney prominent in the US crowdfunding sector,” reports JD Alois in Crowdfund Insider.

“According to the SEC complaint, Jillian Sidoti, affiliated with the law firm known as CrowdfundingLawyers.net, facilitated alleged fraudulent dumping of securities of penny stock company Blake Insomnia Therapeutics.”

“According to the SEC complaint, as an attorney for Blake, Sidoti apparently drafted and signed documents that contained materially false information regarding the operations and control of Blake, including a private placement memorandum and registration statements filed with the Commission.”

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“The U.S. sued Google on Tuesday, accusing the $1 trillion company of illegally using its market muscle to hobble rivals in the biggest challenge to the power and influence of Big Tech in decades,” reports Diane Bartz and David Shepardson in Reuters U.S. Legal News.

“The Justice Department lawsuit could lead to the break-up of an iconic company that has become all but synonymous with the internet and assumed a central role in the day-to-day lives of billions of people around the globe.”

“The lawsuit marks the first time the U.S. has cracked down on a major tech company since it sued Microsoft Corp for anti-competitive practices in 1998. A settlement left the company intact, though the government’s prior foray into Big Tech anti-trust – the 1974 case against AT&T – led to the breakup of the Bell System.”

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“RFCyber Corp. filed a complaint for patent infringement against defendants Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and Samsung Electronics America, Inc. … alleging that Samsung infringed its contactless payment method via its Samsung Pay service on its mobile devices,” reports Kirsten Errick in Law Street’s Tech.

“According to the plaintiff, Samsung has infringed at least claim 1 of the ’218 patent by having products with an ‘e-purse,’ allegedly using the plaintiff’s patented method. The ‘method comprising: providing a portable device including or communicating with a smart card pre-loaded with an emulator configured to execute a request from an e-purse applet and provide a response the e-purse applet is configured to expect, the portable device including a memory space loaded with a midlet that is configured to facilitate communication between the e-purse applet and a payment server over a wireless network, wherein the e-purse applet is downloaded and installed in the smart card when the smart card is in communication with the payment server…’ furthermore, the e-purse applet and the payment server communicate over a network to create a secure channel for various operations.”

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“The maker of NordicTrack and other in-home fitness brands has sued Peloton, claiming its cycling rival stole features for its newest stationary bike,” reports Jordan Valinsky in CNN Business.

“The lawsuit filed by Icon Health and Fitness on Thursday alleges patent infringement. Icon claims that two new features in Peloton’s Bike+ — a swiveling touchscreen and the bike automatically changing resistance during classes — were ‘developed and used by Icon well before Peloton.'”

“Icon said it has a patent pending on the swivel screen and hold a patent on the resistance feature, which Peloton calls “auto-follow.” Both features are used on Icon’s current line of products, which also includes iFit and FreeMotion brands that make several varieties of gym equipment including bikes and treadmills.”

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