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☆ Who is Hope Hicks, longtime Trump aide who is testifying in NY hush money case?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Michelle Shen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Washington CNN —Hope Hicks, once a longtime trusted aide in Donald Trump’s inner circle, is testifying Friday in the New York hush money trial after being subpoenaed. As CNN reported previously, Hicks appeared before the grand jury last year before Trump was indicted, as did Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway. According to reporting from “The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021,” Trump is quoted as saying, “Well, Hope doesn’t believe in me.”“No, I don’t,” Hicks replied, according to the book. “Nobody’s convinced me otherwise.”In October 2022, Hicks testified before the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. In a video clip played by the committee, Hicks testified about a conversation she had with Trump after the election, regarding his baseless claims of election fraud.

Persons: Washington CNN — Hope Hicks, Donald Trump’s, “, ” Hicks, Hicks, Trump, Kellyanne Conway, Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Rob Porter, Trump’s, Porter, ” Trump, Hope doesn’t, ”, “ Nobody’s, Trump “, ’ ” Hicks, Daniels, ” Cohen, Prosecutors, upended, –, David Pecker, Dylan Howard, Stephanie Clifford, I’ve, Sheila Jackson Lee, Jerry Nadler, Nadler, ’ Organizations: Washington CNN, CNN, Trump, Trump Organization, White, House Intelligence, Fox News, Trump White, House, Capitol, Politico, US, of, American Media Inc, AMI, National Enquirer, FBI, ” Prosecutors, Democratic Rep, New York Democrat Locations: New York, Southern, of New York, Trump’s

☆ Woman Who Sold Misbranded Ozempic on TikTok Faces Smuggling Charge
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Matthew Mpoke Bigg | More About Matthew Mpoke Bigg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A woman in New York who was using TikTok to sell unauthorized weight-loss drugs, including products labeled Ozempic, is facing charges of smuggling and receiving and distributing misbranded drugs, federal prosecutors said. The arrest on Wednesday of Isis Navarro Reyes, 36, who also went by Beraly Navarro and, according to prosecutors, was not licensed to administer medication, followed an investigation that involved an undercover officer. Late last year, the officer sent a message to a cellphone number listed by her at the end of a TikTok video. In the video, Ms. Reyes, of Shirley, N.Y., on Long Island, showed her viewers how to inject what she claimed was Ozempic and shared her experience using the drug. In January, after exchanging messages with Ms. Reyes, the officer asked to buy some Ozempic, a drug for diabetes that has become popular for weight loss.

Persons: Isis Navarro Reyes, Beraly Navarro, Reyes Organizations: Southern, of Locations: New York, Shirley, N.Y, Long, of New York

☆ Veteran Collected Benefits After Lying About Purple Heart, U.S. Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Claire Fahy | More About Claire Fahy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A woman in upstate New York was arrested on Wednesday and charged with fraudulently claiming to be a Purple Heart recipient, federal prosecutors said. The woman, Sharon Toney-Finch, 43, of Newburgh, N.Y., defrauded military charities and the Department of Veterans Affairs by lying about having received the Purple Heart, a military award given to those wounded or killed in action, Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement. Ms. Toney-Finch claimed that she had survived a terrorist attack on her convoy in Iraq while serving a tour in March 2010, the statement said. She also claimed to have been wounded in a mortar attack the preceding February. In March 2016, Ms. Toney-Finch began collecting disability benefits from the department after lying about getting injured during her military service, federal prosecutors said.

Persons: Sharon Toney, Finch, Damian Williams, Ms, Toney Organizations: Department of Veterans Affairs, Southern, of Locations: New York, Newburgh, N.Y, U.S, of New York, Iraq

☆ Federal prosecutors are examining financial transactions at Block, owner of Cash App and Square
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Gretchen Morgenson | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +13 min

Cash App, introduced in 2013, allows users to send and receive money instantaneously among themselves and to buy stocks and Bitcoin. As of December, Cash App had 56 million active transacting accounts and $248 billion in inflows during the previous four quarters, the company said. (Merchants are considered customers at Square, while users are considered customers at Cash App.) Cash App is not a bank, but it uses external banking partners to conduct various services. On March 29, Sutton Bank settled a consent order with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. that echoed the whistleblowers' allegations.

Persons: Jack Dorsey, Block, Venezuela —, Edward Siedle, Prosecutors, Cash, OFAC, Lawrence Summers, Sharon Rothstein, Summers, Rothstein, Lord Paul Deighton, Goldman Sachs, Deighton, Dorsey, Banks, Sutton, James Booker Organizations: Twitter, Southern, of, NBC, NBC News, Securities and Exchange Commission, Block, Foreign Assets Control, U.S . Treasury, Cash, OFAC, Goldman, Financial Market, Bank of Lithuania, Payments Lithuania UAB, PayPal, Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, Sutton Bank, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, FDIC Locations: of New York, Cuba, Iran, Russia, Venezuela, Ohio, Sutton

☆ Eight newspaper publishers sue Microsoft and OpenAI over copyright infringement
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Eight U.S. newspaper publishers filed suit against Microsoft and OpenAI in a New York federal court on Tuesday, claiming the technology companies reuse their articles without permission in generative artificial intelligence products and incorrectly attribute inaccurate information to them. The group of eight newspaper publishers takes issue with ChatGPT and Microsoft's Copilot assistant — available in the Windows operating system, the Bing search engine, and other products the software maker produces. The legal challenge comes four months after The New York Times sued OpenAI over copyright infringement in the ChatGPT chatbot that the startup released in late 2022. The New York Times case also touched on the matter of OpenAI models regurgitating information from its articles. Correction: This article has been updated to reflect the correct day the lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI was filed.

Persons: Sam Altman, Microsoft's, OpenAI, Axel Springer Organizations: Economic, U.S, Microsoft, Bing, Southern, of, New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, Sun Sentinel, The Mercury, The Denver Post, Orange County Register, Pioneer Press of Minnesota, CNBC, New York Times, OpenAI's, Financial, Google Locations: Davos, Switzerland, New York, U.S, of New York, Florida, California, Orange

☆ 8 Daily Newspapers Sue OpenAI and Microsoft Over A.I.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Katie Robertson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Eight daily newspapers owned by Alden Global Capital sued OpenAI and Microsoft on Tuesday, accusing the tech companies of illegally using news articles to power their A.I. All are owned by MediaNews Group or Tribune Publishing, subsidiaries of Alden, the country’s second-largest newspaper operator. In the complaint, the publications accuse OpenAI and Microsoft of using millions of copyrighted articles without permission to train and feed their generative A.I. products, including ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot. This, it said, reduced the need for readers to pay subscriptions to support local newspapers and deprived the publishers of revenue both from subscriptions and from licensing their content elsewhere.

Persons: OpenAI, Paul, Paul Pioneer Press — Organizations: Alden Global Capital, Microsoft, New York Daily News, The Chicago Tribune, The Orlando Sentinel, The Sun Sentinel, San Jose Mercury News, The Denver Post, Orange County Register, Paul Pioneer Press, U.S . Southern, of, MediaNews Group, Tribune Publishing Locations: Florida, Orange, U.S, of New York, Alden

☆ The Aggressive and Expensive Legal Team Defending Mayor Adams
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Emma G. Fitzsimmons | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Not long after Eric Adams became the mayor of New York City, he quickly rewarded a cadre of loyalists with plum jobs in his administration. Now Mr. Adams is casting favor upon a new set of people looking out for his interests: defense lawyers. The firm has already been paid more than $730,000 by the mayor’s five-month-old legal defense fund. Mr. Adams intends to bring aboard Randy Mastro, a lawyer known for his aggressive tactics and roster of contentious clients and causes, to represent him as the city’s corporation counsel. Mr. Mastro would earn roughly $250,000 a year and would replace Sylvia Hinds-Radix, a former judge who has a more reserved style.

Persons: Eric Adams, Adams, WilmerHale, Randy Mastro, Mastro, Sylvia Hinds Organizations: of Locations: New York City, Southern, of New York, Turkish

☆ 2 founders of a crypto mixer charged with laundering funds from the dark web
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Geoff Weiss | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The cofounders of crypto mixer Samourai Wallet were charged with money laundering. The service anonymized hundreds of millions of dollars for dark web criminals, prosecutors said. AdvertisementThe cofounders of a cryptocurrency mixing service called Samourai Wallet — which rendered crypto transactions anonymous — have been arrested and charged with money laundering, according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday. Rodriguez and Hill were charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. Related storiesThe Samourai Wallet website has been seized.

Persons: Samourai's cofounders, —, — Keonne Rodriguez, William Lonergan Hill —, Rodriguez, Hill, James Smith, haven't Organizations: Service, Prosecutors, Southern, of, FBI Locations: of New York, Portugal, DMs

☆ JPMorgan Chase is caught in U.S-Russia sanctions war after overseas court orders $440 million seized from bank
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Hugh Son | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A Russian court sided with state-run lender VTB Bank in its efforts to recoup $439.5 million from JPMorgan Chase that the American lender froze in U.S. accounts after the Ukraine invasion. The court ordered the seizure of funds in JPMorgan's Russian accounts and "movable and immovable property," including the bank's stake in a Russian subsidiary, according to a court order published Wednesday. It also boosted an ongoing American effort to convince European allies to release Russian state assets to assist Ukraine. JPMorgan said Russian courts have enabled similar efforts by Russian lenders against American or European banks at least a half dozen other times. JPMorgan said it faced "certain and irreparable harm" from VTB's efforts.

Persons: Jamie, JPMorgan Chase, VTB, Jamie Dimon, Biden, Joe Biden, JPMorgan Organizations: JPMorgan Chase, U.S . Senate Banking, Housing, Urban Affairs, Wall, Capitol, Washington , D.C, VTB Bank, JPMorgan, of Locations: Washington ,, Ukraine, Russian, St, Petersburg, U.S, Russia, Southern, of New York

☆ 4 Iranians charged in scheme to hack US agencies and defense contractors
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —US prosecutors on Tuesday announced charges against four Iranian men for a sprawling hacking campaign that targeted US federal agencies and sensitive data held by American defense contractors. It was not immediately clear whether the departments of State or Treasury networks were successfully hacked in the campaign. In the indictment unsealed Tuesday, Hossein Harooni, Reza Kazemifar, Alireza Shafie Nasab and Komeil Baradaran Salmani were charged with wire and computer fraud, among other charges. Nasab had been charged in a previous indictment unsealed in the Southern District of New York in February. Prosecutors accused three of the men of working for a front company in Iran that purported to offer cybersecurity services.

Persons: ” Damian Williams, Hacking, Christopher Wray, Hossein Harooni, Reza Kazemifar, Shafie, Baradaran Salmani, Nasab, General Merrick Garland Organizations: CNN, US State, Treasury, Pentagon, of, Southern, State, Boston Children’s Hospital, Justice Department, Prosecutors, Treasury Department, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, State Department, Iranian, United Nations Locations: Southern, of New York, US, Iran, Boston, Tehran

WWE and its parent company, TKO, have said that they take Grant's allegations "very seriously." Staying in touchMcMahon has also talked to Trump, according to two of the people close to the wrestling impresario. The two billionaires have been in touch regularly, according to a person close to McMahon, although it isn't clear what they've discussed. Another person close to McMahon said that the two men don't discuss their legal problems and that Trump doesn't provide legal advice. Publicly, Johnson has thanked TKO and WWE executives regarding his addition to the TKO board earlier this year.

Persons: Vince McMahon, Donald Trump, Mark, McMahon, Janel Grant, he's, hasn't, Mark Shapiro, doesn't, McMahon hasn't, Paul, Levesque, Stephanie McMahon, wasn't, Jessica Rosenberg, Grant's, Jan, John Laurinaitis, Janel, couldn't, Ann Callis, Grant, Nicholas Biase, Linda McMahon, McMahon's, Bill Pugliano, Donald J, Trump, Dwayne, Johnson, John Cena, Cena, Howard Stern, I'm, William Morris, Cena didn't, Endeavor Group's, Ari Emanuel, Brendan Mcdermid Organizations: WWE, Austin Straubel, Getty, World Wrestling, NBC News, CNBC, Triple, Federal, U.S, Attorney's, Southern, of, Trump, WWE Hall of Fame, PAC, Trump Media, Technology Group, Street Journal, Trump Foundation, Hollywood, William, William Morris Endeavor, Endeavor Group, Endeavor, Endeavor Group's UFC, Longtime Hollywood, New York Stock Exchange Locations: Green Bay , Wisconsin, United States, Caicos, Italy, of New York, Connecticut, Manhattan, Atlantic City, Trump's, York, New York City, U.S

☆ A jury that will decide Trump’s fate begins to take shape as first criminal trial powers ahead
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

First, the conventions of the criminal trial – like those in thousands of courtrooms every day – mean this case will grind on relentlessly. In previous civil trials, Trump challenged the dignity of the rule of the court and feuded with other judges. But potential jurors appeared to take their obligation deeply seriously. But other potential jurors said they’d be able to put any political feelings about Trump to one side and focus on the evidence and the law. And in another revealing trend that hinted at the ex-president’s political appeal, some potential jurors mentioned that they viewed his rhetorical eruptions as those of someone who speaks his mind, unlike conventional politicians.

Persons: Donald Trump, ”, Biden, Trump, Juan Merchan, — Trump, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Joe Biden, “, Alvin, ” Trump, Stormy Daniels, Daniels, Andrzej Duda, don’t, Duda, Mimi Rocah, CNN’s Erin Burnett, “ You’re, Merchan, he’s, won’t, Barron’s, they’d, Robert Hirschhorn, CNN’s Burnett, Christine Cornell, John Gotti, Bernie Madoff Organizations: CNN, White House, ”, Manhattan, Attorney, New York, Trump, US, Office, Southern, of, Boeing, Republican Locations: Manhattan, bodega, Pennsylvania, Trump, of New York, New York

☆ Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg to face his toughest trial yet as Trump criminal case begins
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Gregory Krieg | Kara Scannell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

“I’ve done a lot of cases that are considered no-win,” Bragg told CNN at the time, in December 2021. Though Bragg’s ambitions are widely considered to be less lofty than some of his predecessors, the Trump trial will likely write both his political future and legacy. Two months into office, Bragg was confronted by two senior attorneys leading the Trump investigation. When Bragg refused to authorize them to seek an indictment they abruptly and noisily resigned, putting additional pressure on the new district attorney. Trump eventually paid $2 million of his own money to a group of charities, and the foundation was dissolved.

Persons: Alvin Bragg, Donald Trump, “, ” Bragg, you’re, ’, ”, Bragg, indicting Trump, Trump, –, craven, Jim Jordan, Cy Vance Jr, Robert Morgenthau, Morgenthau, Vance, Charles Seymour Whitman, Thomas Dewey, Dewey, Eric Garner, Garner, Trump’s, Michael Cohen –, Stormy Daniels, Cohen, blitzed Bragg, Alina Habba, that’s, ” Trump, “ Alvin, I’m, Eric Adams, Adams, Donald J, Barbara Underwood, Judge Juan Merchan, Daniels Organizations: CNN, Ohio, White, Harvard, of, New, New York Law, Racial, Trump, Republican, Prosecutors, New York, “, New York City, NYPD, Trump Organization, Democratic, Trump Foundation Locations: Harlem, American, New York City, Black, New York, Southern, of New York, America

☆ New York tax preparer charged with causing more than $100 million in losses from fraudulent returns
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, speaks during a press conference in New York City, Sept. 22, 2023. A New York tax preparer was arrested Monday on charges related to causing "substantially" more than $100 million in tax losses through the filing of false returns — one of the largest tax frauds ever by a preparer, federal prosecutors said. The false information allegedly included bogus itemized deductions, fake capital losses, and phony business expenses and tax credits. ATAX New York grossed more than $15 million from 2016 through 2019, according to Thomas Fattorusso, the IRS special agent in charge of criminal investigations. Alvarez was the CEO, owner and manager of ATAX from 2010 through 2020, and the firm during that time prepared more than 90,000 income tax returns, according to prosecutors.

Persons: Damian Williams, preparer, Rafael Alvarez, Alvarez, Thomas Fattorusso, ATAX Organizations: Attorney, Southern, of, New, Manhattan U.S, ATAX New, IRS, Attorney's Locations: U.S, of New York, New York City, New York, York, Manhattan, ATAX, ATAX New York, United States, disgorgement

☆ Woman Sentenced to Month in Prison Over Theft of Ashley Biden’s Diary
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Adam Goldman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A federal judge in Manhattan sentenced a Florida woman on Tuesday to a month in prison for her role in a brazen scheme to steal the diary of President Biden’s daughter and sell it to a right-wing group in the hope of disrupting the 2020 election. The conduct of the woman, Aimee Harris, “was despicable and consequently very serious,” Judge Laura Taylor Swain of Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York said before handing down a punishment. Ms. Harris, 41, tested the patience of prosecutors and the judge overseeing the case after she missed repeated sentencing dates, jeopardizing what otherwise appeared to be a likely path to probation. In August 2022, she pleaded guilty to conspiring to transport the stolen diary to New York, where she met with employees of the group, Project Veritas, and sold it for $40,000 just weeks before the election.

Persons: Biden’s, Aimee Harris, “, Laura Taylor Swain, Harris Organizations: Court, Southern, of, Veritas Locations: Manhattan, Florida, of New York, New York

☆ New York to Pay $17.5 Million for Forcing Removal of Hijabs in Mug Shots
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Hurubie Meko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

New York City has agreed to pay $17.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by two women who said their rights were violated when they were forced to remove their hijabs before the police took their arrest photographs. The financial settlement filed on Friday, which still requires approval by Judge Analisa Torres of U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, is the latest development in the class-action lawsuit filed in 2018 by Jamilla Clark and Arwa Aziz, two Muslim women who said they felt shamed and exposed by the police officers’ actions. “When they forced me to take off my hijab, I felt as if I were naked; I’m not sure if words can capture how exposed and violated I felt,” Ms. Clark said in a statement. “I’m so proud today to have played a part in getting justice for thousands of New Yorkers.”In response to the lawsuit, the Police Department in 2020 changed its policy to allow religious people to be photographed wearing head coverings, as long as the coverings were not obstructing their faces.

Persons: Judge Analisa Torres, Jamilla Clark, Arwa Aziz, I’m, ” Ms, Clark, “ Organizations: U.S, Southern, of, Yorkers, Police Department Locations: York City, of New York

☆ 3 things rattling markets this week
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The S&P 500 tumbled the first two trading days of the new quarter and is down 0.8% for the week after paring back some of its losses on Wednesday. Some Fed officials revealed at the central bank’s policy meeting last month that they see fewer rate cuts than the three they forecast last December for 2024. Traders see a 63% expectation that the Fed cuts rates in June, a drop from more than 70% a week earlier, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. “With Middle East tensions on the rise, OPEC+ supply side measures have pushed crude oil volatility down,” BofA strategists wrote in a Wednesday report. “Adding to a complex backdrop, we now estimate that improving economic growth expectations have helped push global oil markets into a deficit.”The price of gold has also climbed this week.

Persons: New York CNN — Stocks, “, ”, Brent Schutte, Jerome Powell, •, Loretta Mester, Raphael Bostic, Brent, Michael Shvartsman, Gerald Shvartsman, Donald Trump’s, Matt Egan, “ Michael, ” Damian Williams, Bruce Garelick, ” Williams, ” Read, Joe Biden, Sean Lyngaas, China Nicholas Burns, Antony Blinken, Read Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN —, Treasury, FactSet, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management, Hawkish, San Francisco Fed, Stanford University, Wednesday, • Cleveland Fed, Atlanta Fed, CNBC, Traders, Organization of, Petroleum, West Texas, Brent, Bank of America, Trump Media, Trump Media & Technology Group, DWAC, Southern, of, Acquisition Corporation, “, Microsoft, US, Department of Homeland Security, CNN Locations: New York, OPEC, Florida, of New York, Washington, China

☆ Google sues crypto scammers for allegedly uploading fake apps to Android app store
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Talia Kaplan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Google filed a lawsuit on Thursday against a group of crypto scammers, alleging they defrauded more than 100,000 people across the globe by uploading fraudulent investment and crypto exchange apps to Google Play. Google says it's the first tech company to take action against crypto scammers, and is doing so as a way to set a legal precedent to establish protections for users. The lawsuit claims the defendants made "multiple misrepresentations to Google in order to upload their fraudulent apps to Google Play, including but not limited to misrepresentations about their identity, location, and the type and nature of the application being uploaded." Sun, Cheung and their agents designed the apps to appear legitimate, showing users that they were maintaining balances on the app and earning returns on their investments, the lawsuit said. However, users couldn't withdraw their investments or purported gains.

Persons: Halimah DeLaine Prado, Sun, Alphonse Sun, Hongnam Cheung, Zhang Hongnim, Stanford Fischer, Cheung, couldn't Organizations: Google, CNBC Crypto, of Locations: Southern, of New York, U.S, Canada

☆ British billionaire Joe Lewis fined $5 million by U.S. judge for insider trading
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

British billionaire and former owner of the Tottenham Hotspur Football Club Joe Lewis arrives at federal court for his sentencing in an insider trading case on April 4, 2024, in New York City. U.S. District Judge Jessica Clarke in Manhattan sentenced Lewis, who pleaded guilty in January to one count of conspiracy and two counts of securities fraud. Lewis in January entered a plea deal with prosecutors agreeing to a $50 million fine of his Bahamas company, Broad Bay. Under the agreement, Lewis' fine will be included in the total. Lewis has since remained in the country, posting $300 million bail secured by his yacht and a private aircraft.

Persons: Tottenham Hotspur Football Club Joe Lewis, Lewis, Joe Lewis, Jessica Clarke, Mr, Mark Herr, Prosecutors, Boxer Capital, Patrick O'Connor, Bryan Waugh Organizations: Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, US, Office, Southern, of New York, Tavistock Group, Aviva, London's Tottenham Hotspur, Boxer, Forbes, Prosecutors, Mirati Therapeutics, Boxer Capital, Tango Therapeutics Locations: New York City, U.S, Manhattan, London's, Bahamas, Broad Bay, London, New York

☆ Ripple to launch U.S. dollar stablecoin, taking on a $150 billion market dominated by Tether, Circle
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesCrypto startup Ripple is the latest major player to jump into the $150 billion stablecoin market with the launch of a digital currency pegged to the U.S. dollar. The move would pit Ripple against stablecoin giants like Tether, which is behind the largest stablecoin UDST, and USDC issuer Circle. Payments giant PayPal , meanwhile, launched its own U.S. dollar stablecoin called PayPal USD, a stablecoin backed by U.S. dollars and dollar equivalents that is issued by crypto firm Paxos. watch nowTether is the market leader for stablecoins with a market capitalization of $106.3 billion, according to CoinGecko data. "In fact, the number one request we get from the XRP community is to launch a USD-backed stablecoin on the XRP Ledger."

Persons: Jakub Porzycki, Brad Garlinghouse, he's, Garlinghouse, Tether's, USDT, USDC, MoneyGram Organizations: U.S, SEC, Nurphoto, Getty, U.S ., PayPal, CNBC, Bank, FinCEN, Santander, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Southern, of Locations: U.S, Europe, Asia, New York, Ireland, Singapore, of New York

☆ Two investors in Trump Media insider trading case plead guilty
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The two brothers were arrested in June and charged with illegally trading on nonpublic knowledge of a shell company’s secret plan to buy Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of struggling social network Truth Social. Shares of the shell company, Digital World Acquisition Corporation, spiked after the blank-check company publicly announced an agreement to merge with Trump Media. Trump owns 78.8 million shares in Trump Media, a stake valued at about $4.1 billion. The defendants passed the secret information about the impending Trump Media deal to friends on. There was no allegation in the indictment that Trump himself had any involvement in the alleged insider trading scheme.

Persons: Michael Shvartsman, Gerald Shvartsman, Donald Trump’s, “ Michael, ” Damian Williams, Bruce Garelick, ” Williams, ”, Trump, Michael Shvartsman’s, Gerald Shvartsman’e, CNN’s Kara Scannell Organizations: New, New York CNN, Trump Media & Technology Group, DWAC, Trump Media, Southern, of, Acquisition Corporation, “, Truth, Trump, Digital Locations: New York, Florida, of New York, Las Vegas

☆ How legal fights and stalling by judge could push Trump documents trial after election
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Tierney Sneed | Hannah Rabinowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The longer it takes for Cannon to decide these issues, the more likely a trial would need to wait until after the November presidential election. But Cannon’s critics view the pace of the Trump prosecution with added suspicion because of how she handled a separate, 2022 lawsuit Trump brought attacking the FBI’s documents investigation. In that lawsuit, Cannon granted an extraordinary Trump request for a third-party review of the FBI’s 2022 search of his Mar-a-Lago resort for the classified documents. Now, critics accuse Cannon of – purposely or not – playing into Trump’s strategy of delaying the trial until after the election. Hours after the hearing, Cannon rejected Trump’s first claim, that the national defense law he is charged under was too vague.

Persons: Donald Trump, Aileen Cannon, Cannon, Prosecutors, Jack Smith, ”, Smith, Alan Rozenshtein, “, Trump, –, Barbara McQuade, Obama, ” McQuade, won’t, nudges, doesn’t, McQuade, Southern District of Florida Aileen Cannon, Lothar Speer Cannon, ” David Aaron, ” Aaron, Aaron, CIPA, they’re, that’s, Mark Schnapp, Trump’s, Rozenshtein, Cannon “, Judge Cannon’s Organizations: CNN, Trump, University of Minnesota Law School, Justice Department, Biden White, University of Michigan Law School, US, Court, Southern, Southern District of, DOJ, DOJ National Security, Presidential, National Archives, ” Prosecutors, White Locations: Southern District, Southern District of Florida, Florida

☆ 2 Brothers in Trump Media Insider-Trading Scheme Plead Guilty
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Matthew Goldstein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Two brothers from Miami pleaded guilty on Wednesday in federal court in Manhattan for their role in a nearly $23 million insider-trading scheme surrounding the 2021 announcement that former President Donald J. Trump’s social media company planned to merge with a cash-rich shell company. Michael and Gerald Shvartsman, who had pleaded not guilty to securities fraud charges last summer, were set to go on trial later this month. But the brothers decided this week to forgo a trial, instead entering their guilty pleas before Judge Lewis J. Liman of U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Each man pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud. Michael Shvartsman, who ran a venture investment firm called Rocket One, used some of the proceeds from the scheme to buy a $14 million luxury yacht that he named Provocateur.

Persons: Donald J, Michael, Gerald Shvartsman, Judge Lewis J, Liman, Michael Shvartsman Organizations: Southern, of, Trump Media & Technology Group, Acquisition Corporation Locations: Miami, Manhattan, U.S, of New York

☆ How the businessman who blew up MoviePass tried to create a 'TikTok killer' and cost investors millions
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | Jason Guerrasio | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +22 min

At Vinco, Farnsworth employed several of the same tactics that he had at MoviePass and at his earlier ventures. "Ted took these press releases and really treated them like they were works of art for him," Matt Argall, a former advisor to Farnsworth, told BI. Hudson Bay has not been served the lawsuit as of the publication of this story. "Hudson Bay's investment in Vinco Ventures was a standard, fixed price convertible loan of which millions remain unpaid," Hudson Bay told BI in a statement. "If served, Hudson Bay will seek to have these baseless, factually flawed and frivolous claims, which have been repeatedly dismissed in other proceedings against other parties, dismissed expeditiously."

Persons: MoviePass, Ted Farnsworth, Maria Bartiromo, he'd, Farnsworth, Jaeson Ma, Ted Farnsworth playbook, Ted, Barnum, John Fichthorn, I've, Shadwrick Vick, Rudy, Vick, Roderick Vanderbilt, who's, hocking, La Toya Jackson, Helios, Matheson, Brian Quinn, Farnsworth's, Michael Hartstein, Vinco, Matt Argall, Mitch Lowe, Reuters Farnsworth, David, Goliath, TikTok, We're, Argall, Elton John, Jamie McCarthy, Lomotif, Lil Nas X, Snoop Dogg, Grimes, Zash, Allan Stern, Get2it, Stern, Robert N, Scola Jr, Scola, he's, —, Lowe, Getty, Dave Kotinsky, Stringer Vinco, expeditiously, Farnsworth —, Vanderbilt, Jesse Law, Katherine Long Organizations: Fox Business, Hollywood, Business, Zash Global Media, Entertainment, Vinco Ventures, Fox, Hudson Bay, BI, Helios, Matheson, Matheson Analytics, Boston College Law School, Palladium Capital Group, Vinco, BHP Capital, Armistice, CVI Investments, National Enquirer, Reuters, AMC Theatres, AMC, Gemini Valuation, Hudson, Eightco Holdings, Elton John AIDS Foundation, 91st, EDC, Tampa Marriott, SEC, Publishing, National Examiner, Globe, The New York Times, Southern, Southern District of, Bloomberg, Bay, Vanderbilt, Federal Bureau of Investigation Locations: Hudson, Vinco, Zash, Hudson Bay, China, Syracuse , New York, Lomotif, Syracuse, West Hollywood , California, Vegas, Tampa, Argall, Boston, India, The, Miami, MoviePass, Southern District, Southern District of Florida, New York

☆ Sports Illustrated’s Owner Sues Energy Drink Mogul After Chaos at Magazine
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Sports Illustrated’s owner on Monday sued Manoj Bhargava, the energy drinks mogul whose foray into media has been rife with chaos and conflict, accusing him of failing to pay millions of dollars for the rights to publish the iconic magazine. The 51-page lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, says that Mr. Bhargava and Arena Group, the publisher he controls, owe $48.75 million in missed payments, as well as damages for infringing on Sports Illustrated’s copyrights and trademarks. The lawsuit represents the latest public skirmish between Authentic Brands Group, which owns Sports Illustrated, and Mr. Bhargava, the 5-Hour Energy drink founder whose effort to take control of Sports Illustrated’s parent company has resulted in a series of lawsuits and turmoil at the sports publication. Sports Illustrated is being operated by Minute Media, a New York-based sports-media company that wrested the title away from Arena Group last month by striking a new deal with the magazine’s owner. After Arena Group laid off scores of employees in January and threatened to discontinue Sports Illustrated’s print edition, Minute Media pledged to hire some of them back and keep the magazine alive.

Persons: Manoj Bhargava, Mr, Bhargava Organizations: Southern, of, Arena Group, Sports, Authentic Brands, Energy, Minute Media, Group, Media Locations: U.S, of New York, New York

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