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Feb 27 (Reuters) - Robinhood Markets Inc (HOOD.O) said in a filing on Monday it had received an investigative subpoena in December from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission related to listings of cryptocurrencies. The collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX was the biggest in a string of major crypto-related failures in 2022, which sparked a cryptocurrency rout and left creditors facing losses of billions of dollars. The SEC has maintained that pre-existing securities laws also apply to digital assets and that many crypto tokens meet the definition of a security, which the crypto industry has previously criticized. Robinhood said the subpoena it received from the SEC was regarding the supported currencies at Robinhood Crypto LLC, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the brokerage, as well as its custody of cryptocurrencies and other platform operations. Reporting by Anirban Chakroborti in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Feb 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. consumer financial watchdog agency on Monday said it had permanently barred California mortgage broker RMK Financial Corp. from the mortgage lending industry, accusing it of repeat violations against military personnel and their families. "Our action reflects our commitment to weed out repeat offenders, and we are shutting down this outfit for good," he said. According to the CFPB, Majestic Home Loan "tricked" military families by falsely claiming government affiliation while also deceiving borrowers about interest rates. The agency on Thursday announced a $10 million fine against the Georgia title lender TitleMax for allegedly making unlawful loans to military personnel and charging illegally high interest rates. The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear an appeal against an October ruling from the 5th U.S.

WASHINGTON, Feb 25 (Reuters) - A Republican congressman's court battle to protect his cellphone records has prevented federal investigators from reviewing over 2,200 documents in their investigation of then-President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the result of the 2020 election, according to newly unsealed court documents. An investigation by the U.S. House of Representatives' Jan. 6 committee last year revealed Perry was in frequent contact with Trump White House officials in the weeks before the attack. On Thursday, an attorney for Perry asked an appellate court to reverse Judge Howell's lower court ruling that his communications were not within a "legitimate legislative sphere." A Justice Department attorney urged the judicial panel not to block the congressman's cellphone from investigators. Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] A person uses virtual reality headset at Meta stand during the ninth Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 8, 2022. The FTC sued Meta in July to stop the Within deal, arguing that Meta's purchase would reduce competition in a new market. Judge Edward Davila of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California rejected the FTC's concerns, and declined to order a preliminary injunction. The FTC's effort had been seen as a test of the agency's ability to prevent Meta from acquiring small would-be rivals. Reporting by Diane Bartz in Washington Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Feb 24 (Reuters) - Twelve Democratic-led states have sued the federal government to challenge special restrictions on the distribution of the abortion pill mifepristone, saying those restrictions are not supported by evidence. The lawsuit, led by Washington and Oregon and filed Thursday in Washington federal court against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, comes as a separate lawsuit by anti-abortion activists seeks to end access to the drug altogether. Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York Editing by Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Feb 24 (Reuters) - Prosecutors will cross examine Richard "Alex" Murdaugh for a second day on Friday, one day after the disbarred South Carolina attorney took the stand and denied any involvement in the murder of his wife and son but admitted to lying to investigators. Waters told the judge that he stil had some financial matters to go over before tackling the "other evidence". He said would likely need three to four hours to finish cross examination when court resumes on Friday at 9:30 a.m. Murdaugh, 54, testified that he lied because he was suffering from paranoia tied to a years-long addiction to opiods, and did not trust the police. Murdaugh, the scion of an influential South Carolina legal family, was indicted by a grand jury in July on two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon in connection with the shootings.

Feb 23 (Reuters) - A group of four conservative-leaning U.S. states is challenging a new rule from Wall Street's top regulator that requires certain investment funds to reveal more about how they vote on shareholder ballots, including on pay packages for top executives. The new rule, which the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission adopted in November, will put shareholders at increased risk of loss, encouraging political activism and raising administrative costs, according to the office of Utah's attorney general. West Virginia, Texas and Louisiana also joined the lawsuit, which was filed on Tuesday before the 5th U.S. Republican legislators and elected officials have voiced increasing opposition in recent years to what they view as progressive activism among large Wall Street investors and attempts to enable this through regulation. Reporting by Douglas Gillison in Washington Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

NEW YORK, Feb 23 (Reuters) - A new superseding indictment against FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried containing 12 charges was unsealed on Thursday in Manhattan federal court. Bankman-Fried was previously charged with eight counts of fraud, money laundering and other charges over the collapse of the now-bankrupt exchange. He has pleaded not guilty. Reporting by Luc Cohen and Jonathan Stempel in New York;Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Feb 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department is preparing an antitrust lawsuit to block software maker Adobe Inc's (ADBE.O) $20 billion bid for cloud-based designer platform Figma, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Responding to the report, Adobe said it and Figma were in different product areas, with Figma focusing on interactive designs. The Justice Department declined comment. Adobe shares edged lower in trading post-market trading after the story came out. Adobe, which makes Photoshop, said in September it would buy Figma, with investors concerned about the hefty price tag.

[1/2] Representations of cryptocurrency Bitcoin are seen in this illustration, August 10, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationNEW YORK, Feb 22 (Reuters) - CoinEx was sued on Wednesday by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who accused the cryptocurrency exchange of transacting business without registering with the state. In a complaint filed with a New York state court in Manhattan, James said CoinEx's activities violated the Martin Act, a powerful state law used to fight financial fraud. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

WASHINGTON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The foreperson of a Georgia grand jury that investigated former U.S. President Donald Trump's attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat in the state told media on Tuesday that the panel recommended multiple criminal indictments. The foreperson of the recently concluded Fulton County, Georgia, special grand jury, Emily Kohrs, did not discuss specific charges that the grand jury in interviews with outlets including CNN and the New York Times. The special grand jury did not have the authority to issue indictments. Willis opened the special grand jury investigation shortly after Trump's January 2021 phone call to a state official asking him to "find" more votes to overturn Democratic President Joe Biden's election victory. Trump called Georgia's top election official, Brad Raffensperger on Jan. 2, 2021, and claimed falsely that the election results were fraudulent.

Feb 17 (Reuters) - Insurance brokerage firm PCF Insurance said on Friday it had secured a $500 million investment at a valuation of $4.7 billion in a fundraising led by private equity firms Carlyle Global Credit and minority shareholder HGGC. Minority investors Crescent Capital and Owl Rock, a unit of alternative asset manager Blue Owl, also took part in the funding round, PCF said. HGGC, which was previously the owner of PCF, sold the company in 2021 to the insurance firm's management and Owl Rock, in a deal that had valued it at $2.2 billion. The brokerage connects its more than 415,000 clients to insurance agencies in its network, providing advisory services with its risk management programs. Reporting by Niket Nishant and Anirban Chakroborti in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun KoyyurOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel in Manhattan granted a Justice Department motion to stay the lawsuits filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Prosecutors said it made sense to delay those lawsuits because the cases substantially overlapped, and the outcome of the criminal case would likely affect what issues remained in the civil cases. They also cited the risk that Bankman-Fried could gather evidence in the civil cases to improperly impeach government witnesses, circumvent discovery rules in criminal cases, and tailor his criminal defense. Bankman-Fried consented to putting the civil cases on hold. Stays of SEC and CFTC lawsuits are common when the Justice Department files parallel criminal cases.

Feb 10 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge in Texas late on Thursday denied a legal bid by families of the victims of two Boeing (BA.N) 737 MAX crashes to reopen or reject a January 2021 deferred prosecution agreement. Boeing won immunity from criminal prosecution as part its $2.5 billion Justice Department deferred prosecution agreement over a 737 MAX fraud conspiracy charge related to the plane's flawed design. U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor ruled he did not have legal authority to grant the relatives' request, saying he had "immense sympathy for the victims and loved ones of those who died in the tragic plane crashes resulting from Boeing’s criminal conspiracy." Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, U.S., October 19, 2022. Pence was issued a subpoena by special counsel Jack Smith, though the nature of the request was not immediately known, ABC News reported, citing sources. The first probe involves Trump's handling of highly sensitive classified documents he retained at his Florida resort after leaving the White House in January 2021. Last month, Garland named a separate special counsel, Robert Hur, to probe the improper storage of classified documents at President Biden's home and former office. In late January, Pence said he was not aware though he takes "full responsibility" after classified documents were found at his Indiana home.

NEW YORK, Feb 7 (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors on Tuesday asked a judge to postpone civil cases brought against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried by federal regulators until a parallel criminal case against the former billionaire concludes. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have each filed civil fraud cases against Bankman-Fried over the collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange. Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to criminal fraud charges in Manhattan federal court. Reporting by Luc Cohen in New YorkOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Feb 6 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Monday ordered regulators to reconsider part of the permit approving Lithium Americas Corp's (LAC.TO) Thacker Pass lithium mine project in Nevada, though the mixed ruling rejected claims that the project would cause unnecessary harm to the environment or wildlife. Chief Judge Miranda Du of the federal court in Reno, Nevada, ordered the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to determine whether the company has the right to dump waste rock at the site, a ruling based on a complex set of case law. Du's ruling can be appealed. Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Kannon Shanmugam of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison represented PayPal, while CFPB senior counsel Christopher Deal represented the regulator. The CFPB created its Prepaid Rule to offer consumers legal protections on prepaid accounts similar to those on products such as checking accounts, including the ability to challenge payment errors, unauthorized transactions and fraud. Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan and Circuit Judge Cornelia Pillard joined Rao's decision. The appeals court returned the case to Leon to consider PayPal's other challenges to the Prepaid Rule, including constitutional and administrative law claims. Circuit Court of Appeals, No.

Nanoco and Chicago-based litigation funding firm GLS Capital said in a release that the settlement, which includes a license agreement and the "transfer of certain patents," resolves litigation in the United States, Germany and China. Nanoco's quantum dots improve the backlighting of LED displays without the use of toxic heavy metals like cadmium. The Texas lawsuit said Samsung began incorporating Nanoco's technology into high-end QLED TVs launched in 2017. Third-party funding of lawsuits has becoming increasingly common in recent years, though details about specific investments are rarely publicized. The case is Nanoco Technologies Ltd v. Samsung Electronics Co, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, No.

"This case ultimately is about whether rules that apply to everyone else should also apply to Elon Musk," the shareholders' lawyer Nicholas Porritt said in his closing argument in San Francisco federal court, with Musk looking on in the courtroom. The trial is a test of whether Musk, the world's second-richest person, can be held liable for his sometimes impulsive use of Twitter. They also accused Musk of lying when he tweeted later that day that "investor support is confirmed." Investors are seeking billions in damages from Musk, Tesla and several of the company's directors. During the three-week trial, jurors heard testimony from witnesses including Tesla directors, Musk's financial advisers and Musk himself.

☆ Self-proclaimed bitcoin inventor's $2.5 bln lawsuit can go to trial - London court
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Industry Insight | Upcoming Sec Climate Disclosure Rules Bring Urgency To Esg Data Strategy Planning | Zach Warren | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Self-proclaimed bitcoin creator Craig Wright's lawsuit against bitcoin network developers to try to recover billions of dollars can continue to trial, a London court said on Friday. Wright’s Seychelles-based company Tulip Trading is taking legal action against the developers of three networks, arguing they are obliged to write software patches to help Tulip recover the bitcoin. Tulip’s case was thrown out last year, but the Court of Appeal ruled on Friday that developers arguably do owe duties to owners, which should be determined at a full trial. Judge Colin Birss said Tulip had a realistic argument that cryptocurrency is “entrusted” to network developers, who could therefore have a duty to, for example, “introduce code so that an owner’s bitcoin can be transferred to safety”. He added that the outcome of any trial will affect “all aspects of (decentralised finance), whether it involves value tokens or NFTs (non-fungible tokens) or the wider blockchain system”.

A jury of nine will decide whether the tweet artificially inflated Tesla's share price by playing up the status of funding for the deal, and if so, by how much. Investors are seeking billions in damages from Musk, Tesla, and several of the company's directors. The trial is testing whether Musk, the world's second-richest person, can be held liable for his sometimes impulsive use of Twitter. Tesla's share price traded above where it had been before Musk's tweets for much of the 10-day period covered by the lawsuit, but fell as it became clear no buyout would happen. During the three-week trial, jurors heard testimony from witnesses including Tesla directors, Musk's financial advisors, and Musk himself.

Google said the new DOJ case, filed jointly with eight states last month, which also alleges advertising-related abuses, overlaps with multidistrict litigation in New York that formed in 2021. Google has disputed the claims in the new lawsuit, saying it "duplicates an unfounded" one that Texas filed and now is part of the New York litigation. "They just want DOJ versus Google, nobody else," Vladeck said. Fox also said there is a new federal law that gives state plaintiffs their preference for venue in antitrust litigation. The case is In re Google Digital Advertising Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, 1:21-md-03010-PKC.

A lawyer for Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary said in a statement that the company would seek a rehearing of the panel’s decision by the full 3rd Circuit court. Gordon’s strategy worked in bankruptcy court but set up J&J for failure when it faced the 3rd Circuit appeals panel. Gordon, at the bankruptcy conference, described the lawsuits as “completely unmanageable” and a dire threat to J&J that could go on for decades. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to hear arguments in coming months on a challenge to the 3M subsidiary’s bankruptcy. The litigation, they asserted, should be allowed to proceed against Georgia-Pacific because the parent company did not file for bankruptcy.

Musk's Aug. 7, 2018 tweets sent Tesla stock soaring and after they fell back down, shareholders sued, alleging they lost money. But board members James Murdoch and Ira Ehrenpreis each said the tweets did not need to be vetted by the company before Musk sent them because he had done so in his individual capacity. The stock price soared after the tweet and then fell as it became clear the buyout would not happen. Tesla shareholders say they lost billions of dollars on their investments in stocks and other securities of the company. The buyout deal never came together because investors, particularly retail shareholders, expressed their interest in keeping the company public, according to testimony by Musk.

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