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Jul 14

Seventh Circuit Upholds Non-Incarceration Sentence for Beanie Baby Creator

This guest post was authored by Mara Smith, a summer associate with Montgomery McCracken. On Friday, the Seventh Circuit upheld what it determined to be a substantively reasonable sentence for billionaire Ty Warner, the creator of Beanie Babies. We previously blogged about Warner’s district court sentencing,… Read More

Feb 20

Former First Lady of Virginia Sentenced: Did Husband’s “Throw Momma Off the Train” Approach Work?

Readers of the White Collar Alert know that we have been closely following the downward spiral of former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and his wife Maureen McDonnell after their ill-fated relationship with Virginia businessman, Jonnie R. Williams Sr. Maureen McDonnell was convicted of eight counts… Read More

Feb 05

Landmark $1.375 Billion Settlement in S&P Case Highlights DOJ’s FIRREA Civil Enforcement

Just two years after the ink dried on the Department of Justice’s civil complaint against McGraw-Hill Financial, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary Standard and Poor’s Financial Services LLC and almost a decade after S&P was alleged to have misled investors by promoting all-star grades… Read More

Jan 14

Commission Proposes Limited, Though Significant, Amendments to Fraud Guidelines

As we previously noted, the U.S. Sentencing Commission has been considering changes to the Sentencing Guidelines for economic crimes. This deliberation over Section 2B1.1 stems, in part, from criticism from practitioners, judges, and scholars suggesting that “the fraud [G]uideline[s] may be fundamentally broken.” Indeed, as… Read More

Dec 04

ABA Task Force Proposes Significant Change to Fraud Guidelines

When the U.S. Sentencing Commission adopted the original Sentencing Guidelines in 1987, it sought to ensure that white collar offenders faced “short but definite period[s] of confinement.” U.S. Sentencing Commission, Fifteen Years of Guidelines Sentencing: An Assessment of How Well the Criminal Justice System is… Read More

Nov 19

“World Tour” FCPA Compliance Lesson: Review Employee’s Expense Reports

On Monday, the SEC sanctioned two former defense contractors, Stephen Timms and Yasser Ramahi, for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Timms and Ramahi worked in sales for FLIR Systems Inc., a company headquartered in Oregon that produces thermal imaging, night vision, and infrared cameras… Read More

Oct 10

What Not to Do Before a Federal Sentencing: Lesson Learned from the Giudices

Teresa and Joe Giudice – the reality show husband and wife duo from the show Real Housewives of New Jersey – were sentenced to jail last week after pleading guilty to federal charges for bank and wire fraud. Perhaps lost amid the media frenzy that… Read More

May 16

The SAC Saga Continues: Steinberg Sentenced to 3 1/2 Years in Prison

This afternoon Michael Steinberg, a former SAC portfolio manager who was convicted of insider trading last year, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Sullivan to 42 months in prison. Judge Sullivan also “ordered Steinberg to pay a $2 million fine and forfeit… Read More

Apr 21

Bharara’s Fire Dies Out: Cohen Remains Uncharged And Turns His Losses Into Gains

As the chapter closes on the decade-long insider trading investigation of SAC Capital Advisors, our question has finally been answered—at least for now: billionaire hedge fund guru Steven A. Cohen has dodged criminal charges for his role in managing the company now convicted of systemic… Read More

Feb 06

Bharara’s Infernal Region Expanded By One: Martoma Convicted

For those of us following the prosecutions of SAC Capital Advisors LP, today marked another milestone in U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s quest against insider-trading.  Mathew Martoma, ex-SAC fund manager and pharmaceutical-industry analyst, was found guilty this afternoon of one count of conspiracy and two counts… Read More