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☆ DoJ moves to seize 6 luxury properties in New York, the Hamptons, and Florida worth $75 million from sanctioned Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Department of Justice has moved to seize six luxury properties owned by a sanctioned oligarch. Viktor Vekselberg's homes in New York, the Hamptons, and Florida, are worth $75 million. Vekselberg bought the homes via shell companies in Panama and The Bahamas, prosecutors alleged. Court documents show Vekselberg purchased the properties using two shell companies based in Panama, and The Bahamas. Prosecutors say Vekselberg attempted to sell two properties without informing the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

☆ U.S. prosecutors seize properties, charge Russian on Ukraine invasion anniversary
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Feb 24 (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors on Friday said they were seeking to forfeit six properties in New York and Florida allegedly belonging to a sanctioned Russian oligarch, and separately charged a Russian national with illegally exporting counterintelligence equipment. The announcements came on the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special military operation." The Department of Justice has sought to use asset seizures and criminal charges to squeeze business executives aligned with Russian President Vladimir Putin to press him to stop the war. Two of the properties - an apartment on Park Avenue in Manhattan and an estate in Southampton, New York - had been searched by FBI and Homeland Security Investigations agents last year. Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York and Susan Heavey in Washington; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Baldwin's lawyers had called the so-called firearm enhancement unconstitutional in a motion filed Feb. 10. Two days after Baldwin's defense filed the Feb. 10 motion, special prosecutor Andrea Reeb wrote in an email: "We are a tad confused on your motion on the firearm enhancement." A couple hours later, Reeb sent a third email, admitting that the prosecutors were wrong and that she "100 percent" agreed with Baldwin's lawyers' evaluation of the firearm enhancement. "I will have our documents drafted to amend the criminal information to take off the firearm enhancement," she wrote. Days later, the prosecutors officially downgraded the charges, removing the firearm enhancement that could have landed Baldwin more than five years in prison if convicted.

☆ A Trader Says Code Allowed Him to Withdraw Millions From a Crypto Exchange. Prosecutors Say He Crossed a Line.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Justin Baer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Federal authorities arrested Avraham Eisenberg in Puerto Rico in December, accusing the 27-year-old trader of manipulating prices on a crypto exchange called Mango Markets and draining more than $100 million from the platform. Mango Markets all but collapsed after Mr. Eisenberg withdrew the money on a single day in October, authorities said. Mr. Eisenberg had defended his actions, saying he did only what Mango’s software code made possible.

☆ Former Freepoint Commodities Trader Charged With Bribing Brazilian Officials
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Dylan Tokar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +2 min

A former employee of U.S. oil trader Freepoint Commodities LLC and its Brazilian agent were indicted Friday for their alleged role in a scheme to bribe Brazilian officials to win contracts with the country’s state-owned oil company, Petróleo Brasileiro SA. Mr. Innecco, who acted as a broker for the firm, remains at large, the spokesman said. A lawyer for Mr. Oztemel said his client denied the allegations. Mr. Oztemel began working for Stamford, Conn.-based Freepoint around 2012. A spokeswoman for Freepoint, which wasn’t named in the indictment, said Mr. Oztemel had retired from the company more than two years ago.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried's $250 million bail bond is a 'joke' and prosecutors have been too 'lenient' with the FTX founder, securities lawyer says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Parts of Sam Bankman-Fried's bail conditions are "ludicrous," a securities lawyer said. For Bankman-Fried's $250 million bond, there was no cash exchanged for his release, but a promise not to flee the country. Bankman-Fried was released on a $250 million bail bond in late December, which was cosigned by his parents, who pledged their home in Palo Alto as collateral. Murphy says there was no real money used for Bankman-Fried's bond, but a promise not to flee the country. Bankman-Fried's bail conditions tightened earlier this month after he sent a text to a former top FTX executive, which an overseeing judge described as a "material threat of inappropriate contact with prospective witnesses."

☆ Exclusive: Trump lawyer hires own attorney in classified documents probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Andrew Goudsward | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Levy was hired by Corcoran's law firm, Silverman Thompson Slutkin & White, to represent Corcoran in the probe, according to one of the people. Levy, a principal at the Washington law firm Ellerman Enzinna Levy, declined to comment. Corcoran has appeared before a grand jury in connection with U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into classified documents taken to Mar-a-Lago following Trump's term in office and possible attempts to obstruct that probe. Another Trump lawyer, Christina Bobb, signed a certification that all classified documents had been returned before the FBI found about 100 additional classified documents during an August 2022 search, according to prosecutors. Trump has denied wrongdoing and claimed, without offering evidence, that all documents at his residence had been declassified.

☆ Proud Boys defendants plan to subpoena Trump to force him to testify in their January 6 riot trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Lawyers representing the Proud Boys plan to subpoena Trump to testify in the January 6 trial. Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and four other members have been charged with seditious conspiracy. "We're calling on Donald Trump to take the stand," a defense attorney said. Proud Boys' lawyers are seeking the federal government's help to serve the subpoena, according to Politico. Prosecutors have said that Proud Boys' members responded to Trump's calls to his supporters to come "protest" on January 6 when Congress met to certify the results.

☆ What Trump allies have faced criminal charges?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Here is a look at some of the Trump aides and allies who have faced criminal prosecution. Weisselberg pleaded guilty in 2022 and served as a star witness in the Trump Organization's criminal trial on tax fraud charges. Two other close Trump associates, Mark Meadows and Daniel Scavino, did not face similar criminal charges despite a House vote recommending them. Trump pardoned Broidy. Roughly 570 have pleaded guilty and 78 have been found guilty at trial.

Persons: Steve Bannon, Shannon Stapleton, Donald Trump, Six, Prosecutors, Trump, STEVE BANNON Trump's, Bannon, Joe Biden's, swindling Trump, ROGER, Stone, ALLEN WEISSELBERG, Weisselberg, PETER NAVARRO, Navarro, Mark Meadows, Daniel Scavino, MICHAEL COHEN, Stormy Daniels, Karen McDougal, Cohen, MICHAEL FLYNN, Flynn, PAUL MANAFORT, Manafort, RICK, Gates, ELLIOT BROIDY, Broidy, Stewart Rhodes, Andy Sullivan, Will Dunham, Scott Malone, Daniel Wallis Organizations: White House, REUTERS, Companies Trump Organization Inc, WASHINGTON, Six Trump, House, . House, Capitol, Trump, Trump White House, U.S, Army, Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency, FBI, Thomson Locations: New, New York City, U.S, New York, Mexico, Moscow, United States, Russian Ukrainian, Russia

☆ Father of accused July 4th gunman to be arraigned in Chicago suburb
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Brendan O'Brien | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

His son, Robert Crimo III, is accused of opening fire on spectators watching an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Illinois, last summer, killing seven people and injuring dozens. The younger Crimo pleaded not guilty in August to 117 counts, including 21 charges of first-degree murder. The alleged threat in September 2019 followed a prior incident in which police responded to an emergency call reporting that the younger Crimo had attempted suicide. The younger Crimo could not have legally applied for a FOID card in 2019 without a parent or guardian signing for him because he was under 21 at that time. Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; Editing by Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Father of accused 4th of July parade gunman indicted in Chicago
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Brendan O'Brien | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CHICAGO, Feb 15 (Reuters) - The father of the Illinois man accused of killing seven people and injuring dozens at a Fourth of July parade in a Chicago suburb was indicted by a grand jury on Wednesday, local NBC5 reported. The younger Crimo used the FOID card he later received to legally purchase five guns between 2020 and 2021, including the one police said he used to shoot his victims from a sniper's perch on a rooftop above the parade route. The alleged threat in September 2019 followed a prior incident in which police responded to an emergency call reporting that the younger Crimo had attempted suicide. The younger Crimo could not have legally applied for a FOID card in 2019 without a parent or guardian signing for him because he was under 21 at that time. Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; additional reporting by Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Judge orders Samuel Bankman-Fried to stop using a VPN after his lawyers claim he only used one to watch the Super Bowl
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A judge on Tuesday ordered Bankman-Fried to stop using a VPN. To allay any concerns, however, the attorneys said Bankman-Fried would immediately stop using the VPN. On Tuesday afternoon, Judge Kaplan made that a condition of his bail, adding the use of a VPN to a list of other prohibited internet activities, Reuters reported. Use of a VPN, Kaplan ruled, "presents many of the same challenges." Prosecutors allege that Bankman-Fried used deposits in the cryptocurrency exchange to finance investments placed through Alameda Research, another company he founded.

☆ Sam Bankman Fried used a VPN, raising 'potential concerns' he may have accessed crypto exchanges or the dark web. His lawyers say he was just streaming the Super Bowl.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

On Monday, federal prosecutors raised concerns over Sam Bankman-Fried's use of a VPN on two occasions. They told the judge how VPNs could let him access international crypto exchanges or the dark web. Prosecutors also worried that VPNs would let him access international crypto exchanges or the dark web. Bankman-Fried's FTX was one of four crypto companies to have ads during last year's Super Bowl, but this year there were none. "The defense is prepared to adopt a reasonable bail condition that allays any concerns," Bankman-Fried's lawyers told the judge, adding that he won't use a VPN "in the interim."

☆ The wife of the doctor accused of driving his family off a cliff in a Tesla doesn't want him to be prosecuted. A domestic violence expert says this kind of behavior isn't uncommon.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The wife of a man accused to driving his family off a cliff in a Tesla doesn't want him prosecuted. A domestic violence expert told Insider this type of behavior in victims is not uncommon. Prosecutors handling the case are treating it like a domestic violence case, a local DA said. A domestic violence expert and the local district attorney handling the case told Insider on Tuesday this type of behavior in victims is not uncommon. San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe told Insider that his office is "viewing" the case as a domestic violence case.

☆ Trump, after reported subpoena, defends keeping classified folders
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Susan Heavey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he kept folders with classified markings at his resort but they were empty. The reported subpoena and newly turned-over material comes amid scrutiny over the handling of presidential and vice presidential materials -- particularly classified records -- that has made Trump the subject of a federal criminal investigation. Biden's documents date to his time as former President Barack Obama's vice president. Trump resisted efforts to have documents in his possession returned, and the FBI in August conducted a court-approved search of Trump's Florida property. Trump said folders found at his Florida estate "were merely inexpensive and very common folders with ... 'Presidential Reading,' 'Confidential,' 'Classified,' or other words stamped on the front cover" but were empty.

They stressed that the reallocation would be gradual and not result in fire sales, with new money going largely into fixed income rather than alternative investments. Goldman Sachs' asset management arm is planning to significantly reduce its $59 billion of alternative investments. Credit rating agencies Moody's and S&P, which both give Allianz high marks, have pointed to the greater risk posed by comparatively illiquid alternative investments in Allianz's portfolio. Alternative investments come at a price, requiring Allianz and other insurers to set aside more capital to own them because they are less liquid than bonds. In its wake, Allianz has had to close down Allianz Global Investors in the United States in a serious blow to the company.

☆ Ex-Honduras president bribed by prominent family, U.S. prosecutors say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez was bribed by the country's prominent Rosenthal family, which owned a "massive" group of businesses in the Central American country, U.S. prosecutors said on Friday. Marlon Duarte, a lawyer for the Rosenthal family in Honduras, denied the allegations. The wealthy and politically connected Rosenthal family once controlled businesses including a soccer club, an automobile importer and one of the country's largest banks through their Grupo Continental conglomerate. Duarte noted that Hernandez was president when the Honduran government seized Grupo Continental's assets. "Juan Orlando Hernandez was against all the Rosenthals," Duarte told Reuters in a telephone interview, arguing that prosecutors would struggle to prove the family bribed Hernandez.

☆ Exclusive: The FBI's McGonigal labyrinth
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +28 min

She never saw McGonigal pay. "The notion that Mr. Deripaska is some proxy for the Russian state is a blatant lie," Ruben Bunyatyan, a spokesperson for Deripaska, told Insider by email. McGonigal was not charged with espionage, and although there is currently no evidence that McGonigal committed espionage, an FBI source told Insider that the investigation is ongoing. At the FBI, McGonigal racked up a string of big cases and promotions. "He said he needed to make more money," Guerriero told Insider.

☆ Huawei's Meng Wanzhou to take over as rotating chairperson -report
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHENZHEN, China, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Meng Wanzhou will begin her term as the rotating chairperson of Huawei Technologies (HWT.UL) on April 1, Shanghai Security News reported on Wednesday. Meng returned to China in September 2021 after nearly three years detention over alleged attempts by Huawei-linked companies to sell equipment to Iran in breach of U.S. sanctions. Meng, the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, was allowed to return home after reaching an agreement with U.S. prosecutors. Huawei’s website announced last year that Meng, the company's finance chief, would become rotating chairperson, but did not specify when her term would begin. In the role, she will act as the company's top leader and head Huawei's board of directors for six months.

Ishan Wahi, 32, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, after initially pleading not guilty last year. "I knew that Sameer Ramani and Nikhil Wahi would use that information to make trading decisions," Ishan Wahi said during Tuesday's hearing in federal court in Manhattan. As part of a plea deal, prosecutors stipulated that sentencing guidelines called for Ishan Wahi to be imprisoned for between 36 and 47 months. In pleading guilty to the criminal charges on Tuesday, Ishan Wahi said he did not believe any of the relevant tokens were securities. Noah Solowiejczyk, a prosecutor, said the question of whether or not the tokens are securities was not an element of prosecutors' case.

☆ Owner of Spain's Cosentino admits negligence over silicosis in workers - documents
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The logo of Spain's kitchen worktop manufacturer Cosentino is seen outside its showroom in Madrid, Spain, February 7, 2023. REUTERS/Violeta Santos MouraMADRID, Feb 7 (Reuters) - A Spanish businessman has admitted in court that he covered up the dangers of his company's star product, which allegedly led to nearly 1,900 workers contracting the occupational lung disease silicosis, court documents showed on Tuesday. Cosentino, based in the southern province of Almeria, is planning an IPO that could be worth more than 3 billion euros. Cosentino said managers at stone-cutting workshops "are responsible for ensuring that their workers have the necessary means of protection and that they implement them appropriately". "It is entirely incorrect that Cosentino has admitted to having concealed the fact that the handling of Silestone has caused the majority of cases of silicosis that have affected 1,856 workers," it added.

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.

☆ Neo-Nazi and woman charged with conspiring to attack Maryland power grid
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Pinellas County Sheriff's Office via APAn admitted neo-Nazi and a Maryland woman were arrested and charged with plotting to attack several electrical substations in the Baltimore area, federal authorities announced Monday. Russell, who lives in Orlando, Florida, is due to appear in federal court in that city on the charges Monday afternoon. Clendaniel, a resident of Catonsville, Maryland, is due to appear in Baltimore federal court on Monday afternoon. That interview was conducted after Devon Arthurs, a roommate of Russell's in Tampa, killed their two other roommates, the complaint said. Arthurs told law enforcement authorities at the time "that he had recently converted from Neo-Nazi beliefs to Islam," the complaint said.

☆ A tiny-home startup has attracted 160,000 customers, including Elon Musk. But disgruntled customers, an empty factory, and a tie to an alleged Iranian agent cloud its future.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Daniel Geiger | Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

A Boxabl Casita being delivered to a SpaceX facility in Texas. Tackling the US housing crisisStamped out on an assembly line, Boxabl homes could finally begin to help quench America's perpetual housing shortage. Homeowners, meanwhile, could rent out Boxabl units as secondary dwellings in their backyards or as Airbnbs. Firooznia, Tiramani said, sometimes provided a tiebreaking vote when the father and son disagreed on business decisions. During a tour of Boxabl's factory in December, a freelance reporter for Insider saw Tiramani's wife, Shauna, arrive with their four young children.

☆ Trump called his CFO Allen Weisselberg 'My Jewish CPA' to his face, and threatened him to 'make me happy or else,' according to a new book
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Donald Trump called his CFO Allen Weisselberg his "Jewish CPA," according to a new book. Jennifer described how Allen Weisselberg received lavish benefits from the Trump Organization without paying taxes on them, according to the book. Allen Weisselberg worked for the Trump Organization for decades, rising to the role of CFO and managing the personal finances of Trump's family members. Prosecutors at the Manhattan district attorney's office have sought his cooperation for their long-running investigation into Trump's finances, which remains ongoing. Pomerantz's book, titled "People vs. Donald Trump: An Inside Account," has drawn criticism from Bragg, who has stressed the Trump Organization investigation is ongoing.

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