Questions Linger: Is Fraud on Freddie and Fannie Fraud on the Government
This guest post was authored by our colleague Priya Roy, an associate in the firm’s Litigation Department and member of its Data Privacy and Cybersecurity practice group. Priya focuses her practice in the areas of higher education and white collar and government investigations. She… Read More
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Indicted
Last Tuesday, a Texas grand jury indicted 52-year-old Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on three counts of securities fraud. Paxton, sworn in on January 1, 2015, was previously a member of the Texas House of Representatives. The alleged illegal conduct arose while he was a… Read More
Fourth Circuit’s “Official Act”: Former Virginia Governor McDonnell’s Appeal Rejected
This guest post was authored by Ernest Holtzheimer, a summer associate with Montgomery McCracken. Earlier today, a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the conviction of former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell on public corruption charges. We’ve previously blogged about… Read More
General Petraeus Avoids Jail for Leaking Classified Information to Girlfriend
Yesterday, former CIA head and retired General David H. Petraeus was sentenced for leaking classified information about the war in Afghanistan to his biographer/mistress, Paula Broadwell. Broadwell published a biography about him in 2012, “All In: The Education of David Petraeus,” before the affair was… Read More
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
Britain’s Serious Fraud Office Secures First Convictions Under Bribery Act
Last Friday, news came from across the Atlantic that Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) had successfully obtained its first series of convictions under the UK’s Bribery Act of 2010 (the “Bribery Act”), which became effective in July 2011. The SFO reported that a jury had found… Read More
Justice Department’s Integrity Section Scores a Win in McDonnell Case: Gov. McDonnell Should Have Accepted the Plea Deal Because the Broken Marriage Defense Didn’t Work
More than two years after the Justice Department Public Integrity Section’s embarrassing fumble in the campaign finance trial that didn’t result in a conviction against former U.S. Senator John Edwards, the section successfully prosecuted former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (a onetime Republican rising star who… Read More
The Gov. Rick Perry Indictment: Another Weak Case that Shouldn’t Have Been Charged
The news outlets exploded this weekend with commentary on the Gov. Rick Perry indictment, and the criticism was fast and swift to deem it a very weak case. On Friday, Perry was indicted on two felony counts that arose from his decision to veto state… Read More
Public Officials: Don’t Drive the Ferrari and Don’t Take the Rolex
Whether or not prosecutors will prove the 14 count indictment against former Governor Bob McDonnell of Virginia and his wife, Maureen, remains to be seen. The public corruption trial is currently into the second week, and the New York Times has described the evidence as… Read More
Managing an Environmental Enforcement Investigation
Although environmental prosecution is not a new trend, criminal enforcement of environmental laws is on the rise. The recent expansion of tools and referral mechanisms to support a heightened level of criminal enforcement have led to prosecutorial success as the detection of wrongdoing is becoming… Read More