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It's a story increasingly familiar in the energy industry: Some utility companies don't properly assess the risks wildfires pose to their operations. The primary purpose is to prevent power lines from igniting a wildfire during periods of high fire danger. The lawsuit also alleges the company "inexcusably kept their power lines energized during the forecasted high-fire danger conditions." A PG&E utility worker locates a gas main line in the rubble of a home burned down by wildfire in Paradise, California, Nov. 13, 2018. Several of those agencies track statewide wildfire information, but most did not keep track of the names of utility companies associated with wildfire incidents.

Persons: Michelle Glogovac, Glogovac, Laurie Allen, Brent Jones, Allen, Jones, inexcusably, Michael Wara, Shelee Kimura, Yuki Iwamura, David Pomerantz, Pomerantz, Patti Poppe, It's, JOSH EDELSON, Warren Buffett's, Stanford's, CNBC's Brian Sullivan, David Paul Morris, Institute's Pomerantz, Tama Organizations: CNBC, Electric, Energy, Stanford University, Hawaiian Electric, AFP, Getty, Policy, Policy Institute, NV Energy, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Bloomberg, Getty Images Locations: Paradise , California, Lahaina , Hawaii, Hawaii, Maui, Maui County, Lahaina, California, Nevada, Warren, — Arizona, California , Colorado, Hawaii , Montana , Nevada , New Mexico , Oregon , Utah, Washington, Arizona , New Mexico, Utah

The Employee Retention Credit was intended to be a financial lifeline to small businesses struggling to make ends meet during the pandemic. Innovation Refunds — a consulting firm that focuses on the ERC — was one of the most visible advertisers during the tax credit's heyday. How Innovation Refunds worksOn its website, Innovation Refunds makes it clear it is not a tax professional. Innovation Refunds markets to clients, determines if they are viable candidates for the credit and then collects businesses' documentation. Some former employees said this could insulate Innovation Refunds from potential liability if ineligible businesses claimed the credit.

Persons: Danny Werfel, Andrew Kelly, Howard Makler, Ty Burrell, Burrell, Rob Domenico, Werfel, Tom Williams, Makler, Kate Rogers, Domenico, Slack, Jenn McCabe, Armanino Organizations: Companies, ERC, Internal Revenue Service, IRS, ERC —, CNBC, Reuters, CPA, Senate, Washington , D.C, CQ, Inc, Getty, LinkedIn, Justice Locations: New York, Washington ,, Des Moines

On the phone was 28-year-old Jimmy Zhong, a local party boy and Georgia alum who frequented Athens' drinking establishments. Robin Martinelli, Martinelli Investigations owner and private investigator. Martinelli said Zhong appeared resistant to her theories, especially when they began to focus on his circle of friends. Source: Zhong's social media profileHis parties were epic. Source: Zhong's social media profile

Persons: Jimmy Zhong, Zhong, Robin Martinelli, Martinelli, Montel Williams, " Martinelli, Jimmy, Zhong didn't, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Jimmy Choo, didn't, he'd, Satoshi Nakamoto, Stefana, CNBC Masic, Zhong couldn't, Jody Thompson, Thompson, Trevor McAleenan, Shaun MaGruder, McAleenan, that's, MaGruder, I've, wasn't, Trevor, I'm, coders, Nathaniel Popper, Popper, Bitcoin, Nobody, bitcoin, Michael Bachner, John Garland, Bachner, Ross Ulbricht, Chad Organizations: University of Georgia, Clarke County Police Department, rowdies, Clarke County Police, CNBC, Department of Justice, Martinelli Investigations, Broad, College, Ritz Carlton, Waldorf, Georgia Bulldogs football, Rose, IRS, Silk, Clarke, Investigators, Misfits, . Locations: Athens, Georgia, bitcoin, It's, Loganville , Georgia, Zhong's, Gainesville , Georgia, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, LA, Gainesville, Chad, Clarke County, Montgomery , Alabama, U.S

Tom Schroeder, the whistleblower accusing Medtronic of a kickback scheme, left, is interviewed by Morgan Brennan, in Kansas City, Missouri. Schroeder said rumors circulated that Medtronic sales representatives were bribing VA staff to purchase an excessive amount of the company's inventory. The veterans hospital purchased more devices than some of the largest veterans medical facilities, according to data the VA's investigation gathered. Medtronic also said that Schroeder has "admitted under oath that he has no firsthand knowledge of any problematic procedure involving Medtronic devices." Douglas Winger, one of the Medtronic sales representatives named as a defendant in Schroeder's lawsuit, won a Medtronic President's Club award in 2016 for his sales.

Persons: Tom Schroeder, Schroeder, Becton Dickinson, Medtronic, Morgan Brennan, Schroder, Boua Xiong, Robert J, texted, Rick Ament, Ament, filet mignon, …, I'm, Brendan Donelon, Donelon, CNBC Donelon, Xiong, Douglas Winger, Winger, Kim Hodgson, Hodgson, Dole, ProPublica, John Laird Organizations: Inc, CNBC, Dole Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Dole VA, Department of Veterans Affairs, United, VA's, Department of Justice, Covidien, Dole, Medtronic, Society for Vascular, Drug Administration, FDA Locations: Kansas, United States, Kansas City , Missouri, Dublin, Ireland, Medtronic's, Wichita ., Dole, Covidien, Medtronic, Dole VA

In their joint venture agreement, Baker Hughes says it uses C3.ai's solutions and also sells the product to companies in the oil and gas industry. CNBC's "Last Call" aired a report Thursday night on the investor lawsuit against C3.ai and the company's relationship with Baker Hughes. The lawsuit says the publicity about the massive Baker Hughes sales force "artificially inflated C3's stock" when the company first went public. Richard Drew | APIn an April 2023 filing, Baker Hughes announced it divested 1.7 million C3.ai shares, bringing its ownership to 6.9 million shares. Kerrisdale pointed to C3.ai's "highly conspicuous growth" in unbilled receivables, largely from Baker Hughes, and wrote that "accounting red flags abound with the Baker Hughes relationship."

Persons: Tom Siebel, Siebel, Thomas M, Chris J, Ratcliffe, it's, Baker Hughes, Logan Roy, Larry Ellison, Yasmin Khorram, Dan Brennan, We've, Brennan, he's, CNBC's, Reed Kathrein, Theranos, —, Kathrein, Richard Drew, they'd, unbilled, receivables, Siebel's, Ken Goldman, Goldman, Gil Luria, Davidson, Luria, Nick Wells, Scott Zamost, Sam Woodward, Tom Siebel's Organizations: Siebel Systems, Oracle, Bloomberg Tech Summit, Bloomberg, Getty, CNBC, Forbes, Siebel, C3, U.S . Department of Defense, Shell, Northern District of, SEC, Twitter, " Traders, New York Stock Exchange, AP, Point Capital Management, Spotify, C3 Energy, Revenue, Wall Locations: London, Redwood City , CA, Redwood City , California, Northern District, Northern District of California, unbilled receivables, Point

In 2021, banks reported nearly 250,000 cases of check fraud nationwide, according to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a unit of the U.S. Treasury Department. By last year, that number exploded: nearly 460,000 check fraud cases were reported – an increase of 84%. "Check fraud, and perhaps fraud in general flourishes on Telegram mainly due to its unrestrictive nature," Noriega said. Even so, Q6 was able to find at least 30 channels on Telegram dedicated to providing the latest tips and techniques to commit bank fraud. "Telegram is unfortunately a source for all things check fraud," Noriega said.

Three people close to FTX and Bankman-Fried told CNBC that the former CEO lobbied aggressively for a partnership with 11-time Grammy Award winner Taylor Swift. Bankman-Fried's commitment to getting the Swift deal done despite the deteriorating business environment fit a pattern of ignoring his lieutenants and going it alone, a half-dozen former company insiders and business partners said. The Financial Times reported earlier that FTX held talks with Swift about a potential sponsorship. Part of the Swift deal would have included the production by the singer of a collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), or digital items that can rise and fall in value. Beyond that, there was a lack of clarity over what Swift would be doing for the company, sources said.

Knitowski borrowed $375,000 from crypto lender Celsius over several years and posted $1.5 million in bitcoin as collateral. Knitowski and thousands of other loan holders had more than $812 million in collateral locked on the platform, and bankruptcy records show Celsius failed to return collateral to borrowers even after they repaid their loans. Adler said he's representing a group of 75 borrowers who have approximately $100 million in digital assets on Celsius' platform. In the crypto world, a borrower can ask for a loan and pledge bitcoin as collateral. The crypto platform also failed to provide borrowers with a complete federal Truth in Lending Act (TILA) disclosure, according to former employees and an email sent to customers on July 4.

☆ Crypto.com CEO downplays FTX contagion fears, says he’ll prove naysayers wrong as withdrawals rise
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

"We do not run a hedge fund, we do not trade customers' assets. Alameda Research, FTX's sister company, borrowed billions in customer funds from the exchange to ensure it had enough funds on hand to process withdrawals, CNBC reported Sunday. Bankman-Fried declined to comment on allegations of misappropriating customer funds but said its recent bankruptcy filing was the result of issues with a leveraged trading position. Asked about this Monday, Marszalek said this was just a reflection of the assets Crypto.com customers were buying. Crypto.com has 70 million users globally and made revenues of $1 billion annually in both 2021 and 2022, according to Marszalek.

According to the source, FTX did not have nearly enough on hand. Its biggest customer, according to a source, was the hedge fund Alameda. In general, mixing customer funds with counterparties and trading them without explicit consent, according to U.S. securities law, is illegal. Sam Bankman-Fried declined to comment on allegations of misappropriating customer funds, but did say its recent bankruptcy filing was a result of issues with a leveraged trading position. The blurred lines between FTX and Alameda Research resulted in a massive liquidity crisis for both companies.

☆ Feds announce $3.36 billion seizure of bitcoin, the second-largest recovery of crypto so far
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Paige Tortorelli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Department of Justice announced Monday that it seized about $3.36 billion in stolen bitcoin during a previously-unannounced 2021 raid on the residence of James Zhong. It follows the $3.6 billion in allegedly stolen cryptocurrency linked to the 2016 hack of the cryptocurrency exchange, Bitfinex. Silk Road was launched in 2011, but the Federal Bureau of Investigation shut it down in 2013. IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher said Zhong used a "sophisticated scheme" to steal the bitcoin from the Silk Road marketplace. In October 2022, Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange by trading volume, suffered a $570 million hack.

☆ Cryptocurrency service provider agrees to return $17 million to digital lender Celsius as it reorganizes in bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Paige Tortorelli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Bankruptcy filings from Celsius and Voyager have raised questions about what happens to investors' crypto when a platform fails. Crypto service provider Prime Trust agreed Thursday to return $17 million from crypto lending platform Celsius that was allegedly withheld just as digital currencies hit their first bottom last year. Prime Trust, which offers custodial services for digital assets, held $119 million of Celsius' assets when the two terminated their contract in June 2021, according to the lawsuit Celsius filed against Prime Trust in August. Prime Trust "refused to fulfill its obligation" by transferring the $17 million in crypto assets when the contract was dissolved, Celsius said. Those assets will be held in a separate account until the court figures out how to distribute Celsius' assets.

☆ Four U.S. states order a metaverse casino to halt sale of NFTs
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Paige Tortorelli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Regulators in four states simultaneously filed emergency cease-and-desist orders Thursday against virtual casino Slotie. NFTs are blockchain-based digital assets that designate ownership of virtual art, music, or in this case, proprietorship of a metaverse casino to the holder of the NFT. According to the order, 10,0000 Slotie NFTs were sold to the public. "The latest metaverse investment products — NFTs that purport to provide passive income — often bear significant undisclosed risks," he said in a statement. As a result of the order, Slotie must immediately cease and desist from selling to investors until the security is properly registered.

Eight states announced on Monday they're bringing actions against the crypto lending platform Nexo Group in connection with its unregistered, interest-bearing cryptocurrency product. The filings also state that Nexo misrepresented the accounts, and suggested to investors that they are a licensed and registered platform. These interest earning accounts, known as "Earn Interest Product," allowed investors to deposit assets with Nexo in exchange for earning yields as high as 36% on their deposits. Celsius, which offered similar interest-bearing accounts, filed for bankruptcy this summer after freezing customer funds in June. The orders states filed further prevent Nexo from offering this product to residents until it meets the necessary registration requirements.

The recording was provided by Tiffany Fong, who says she is one of the 500,000 Celsius customers with funds locked in the platform. In the recording, Celsius co-founder Nuke Goldstein outlines a compensation plan for customers who deposited assets in Celsius' "Earn" account, for which Celsius had promised yields as high as 17%. The tokens represent the ratio between what Celsius owes customers and what assets they have available. Celsius also intends to allow customers to redeem these tokens, according to Goldstein. He said the tokens can be redeemed on Celsius for a value likely less than what they are owed or on crypto platforms like Uniswap, allowing the market to determine the tokens' value.

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