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A Texas man was sentenced Tuesday to more than three years in federal prison for kicking a cat “as if kicking a football field goal” in a case of abuse that was recorded and shared on social media, prosecutors said. Donaldvan Williams, 30, was sentenced to three years and four months in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas said in a statement. “Williams did not render or try to procure aid for the cat, but instead kicked the cat as if kicking a football field goal,” prosecutors wrote in a statement that Williams signed. The kick was recorded by another man, Decorius Mire, who encouraged Williams to kick the cat, prosecutors said. Each man's guilty plea dealt with kicking the cat and recording it, not the animal's being set on fire, records show.

Persons: Donaldvan Williams, “ Williams, ”, Williams Organizations: Attorney’s, Eastern, Eastern District of Locations: Texas, U.S, Eastern District, Eastern District of Texas, Beaumont

☆ 16 Republican-Led States Challenge Program to Aid Undocumented Spouses
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-23 | by ( Miriam Jordan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Texas and 15 other Republican-led states sued the Biden administration on Friday seeking to halt a new program that could give legal status to hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants who are married to U.S. citizens. Filed just days after the program opened for applications, the lawsuit is the latest in a string of legal actions Texas has led challenging federal immigration policies and powers. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, seeks a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to immediately suspend the program. In court filings, the states assert that the program is illegal because it exceeds the discretion that the executive branch has to set policy.

Persons: Biden Organizations: Republican, Eastern, Eastern District of Locations: Texas, U.S, Eastern District, Eastern District of Texas

☆ US and allies arrest alleged cybercrime ringleader, seize millions in sports cars in major Covid-19 fraud bust
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The alleged cybercriminal conduct and the lavish lifestyle it funded “reads like it’s ripped from a screenplay,” Matthew Axelrod, a senior US Commerce Department official involved in the investigation, said in a statement. Wang used money he earned from renting the botnet to buy property in those locations, according to an indictment unsealed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Authorities in Singapore and Thailand worked with the FBI on the bust, the Justice Department said. The new charges are only the latest alleged example of opportunistic fraud that has been rampant across the US since Covid-19 emerged more than four years ago. The problem got so bad that the Secret Service named a senior official as National Pandemic Fraud Recovery Coordinator to try to claw back some of the many billions that were stolen.

Persons: YunHe Wang, Fraudsters, ” Matthew Axelrod, Brett Leatherman, Wang, Leatherman Organizations: CNN, Justice Department, Justice, Treasury, US Commerce Department, Royce, FBI, Court, Eastern, Eastern District of, Authorities, Service, IRS Locations: Singapore, East Asia, Caribbean, Eastern District, Eastern District of Texas, Thailand

☆ FTC is sued by business groups over its ban on noncompete agreements, which may delay enforcement
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Jeanne Sahadi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Another lawsuit was filed in federal court in the Northern District of Texas by business tax services firm Ryan. “The FTC contends that by using regulation they can simply declare common business practices to be ‘unfair methods of competition’ and thus illegal. “If the FTC can regulate noncompete agreements, then they can decide to regulate or even ban any other business practice. Long delays may be on tap before the rule takes effectThe FTC rule isn’t set to go into effect until 120 days from the day it is published in the Federal Register. In the near term, “I’m generally telling clients to take a wait-and-see approach with respect to the FTC rule while court challenges play out in the next few weeks,” Turinsky said.

Persons: Ryan, ”, Daniel Turinsky, DLA Piper, Lina Khan, Jake Tapper ”, isn’t, —, ” Turinsky, James Witz, ” Witz Organizations: New, New York CNN, Federal Trade Commission, US Chamber of Commerce, Business, Eastern District of Texas, Northern District of, US Chamber, FTC, Chamber, Longview Chamber, Commerce, Federal Locations: New York, United States, Eastern District, Northern District, Northern District of Texas, Longview, Longview , Texas, Texas, Littler

☆ U.S. Chamber of Commerce, business groups sue FTC over ban on noncompete clauses
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and several other business groups on Wednesday sued the Federal Trade Commission in Texas federal court over the commission's vote to ban noncompete clauses, which are used to block employees from leaving to work for competitors in the same industry. On Tuesday, the FTC voted to enact the ban on the basis that noncompete clauses stifle the efficiency of the labor market, hinder competition and can lead to higher prices for consumers. The business groups claimed that the FTC's ban, "breaks with centuries of state and federal law." In addition to the Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable, Texas Association of Business and Longview Chamber of Commerce are all plaintiffs in the suit. The FTC suggested that instead of relying on noncompete clauses, companies should look to other safeguards of information, like nondisclosure agreements.

Persons: Lina Khan, Douglas Farrar Organizations: House Energy, Commerce, U.S . Chamber of Commerce, Wednesday, Federal Trade Commission, Federal, U.S . Chamber, Eastern District of Texas, Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable, Texas Association of Business, Longview Chamber, FTC, CNBC Locations: Texas, Eastern District

Signage is seen at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 29, 2020. U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker ruled in favor of the groups on Friday, saying the Dodd–Frank Act, which created the CFPB, treats discrimination and unfairness as distinct concepts. The CFPB in March 2022 announced that it would examine consumer financial institutions' practices for illegal discrimination as part of its broader mandate to combat unfair practices. The industry groups said the CFPB unlawfully stretched that mandate to include discrimination, expanding its authority beyond existing fair lending laws. The industry groups argued that the CFPB acted arbitrarily by scrutinizing "disparate impacts" on consumers.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, District Judge J, Campbell Barker, Dodd, Frank, Rob Nichols, Jody Godoy, Andy Sullivan, Mark Porter Organizations: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Washington , D.C, REUTERS, Consumer Financial, U.S . Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, American Bankers Association, U.S . Chamber of Commerce, U.S, District Judge, Circuit, Supreme, Commerce, Court, Eastern District of Texas, Thomson Locations: Washington ,, U.S, Texas, Eastern District, New York

Tesla CEO Elon Musk pledged in 2014 not to "initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our technology." The company says the legal action comes in response to a lawsuit that Cap-XX originally filed against Tesla subsidiary Maxwell Technologies in 2019 for patent infringement. Like Cap-XX, Maxwell makes capacitors for electric vehicles that increase their energy-storage capabilities. The patents that Cap-XX allegedly infringed relate to electrodes used in supercapacitors, which Tesla called the "primary source of the device's power capabilities." Tesla said the electrodes used in Cap-XX's supercapacitors work in the same way as Maxwell's patented technology.

Persons: Elon Musk, Maxwell, Tesla, Blake Brittain, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Australian, Tesla, Maxwell Technologies, Eastern, Eastern District of Texas, Thomson Locations: Texas, U.S, Eastern District, supercapacitors, Delaware, Washington

Companies Alphabet Inc FollowWASHINGTON, June 5 (Reuters) - Texas won the latest round in its antitrust lawsuit against Alphabet's Google on Monday as a U.S. judicial panel ordered the case returned to federal court in Texas. At Google's request the lawsuit had been moved in August 2021 to a federal court in New York, where other advertising technology cases were being heard. Texas had asked for the lawsuit to be moved back after the U.S. Congress passed the Venue Act in 2022 that grants state attorneys general the right to choose where an antitrust lawsuit will be litigated. The Texas lawsuit accuses Google of violating the law by dominating the process that advertisers use to put ads online. And states led by Utah filed a lawsuit in 2021 saying the company broke antitrust law in handling its play store.

Persons: Texas Attorney General's, Karen Caldwell, Diane Bartz, Chris Reese, Mark Porter, Aurora Ellis Organizations: WASHINGTON, Texas, Alphabet's Google, U.S, Congress, Google, Texas Attorney, Multidistrict, Thomson Locations: Texas, New York, The Texas, Utah

April 21 (Reuters) - Computer-memory company Netlist Inc (NLST.PK) convinced a federal jury in Texas on Friday to award it more than $303 million for Samsung Electronics Co's (005930.KS) infringement of several patents related to improvements in data processing. Irvine, California-based Netlist sued Samsung in 2021, alleging Samsung memory products used in cloud-computing servers and other data-intensive technology infringe its patents. A Netlist attorney told the jury that Samsung took its patented module technology after the companies had collaborated on another project, according to a court transcript. Samsung had argued that the patents were invalid and that its technology worked in a different way than Netlist's inventions. The case is Netlist Inc v. Samsung Electronics Co, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, 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.

U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap said halting the lawsuit until the Patent Trial and Appeal Board reviews the patents would unnecessarily delay the court case and prejudice Caltech. Representatives for Samsung and Caltech did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The school's 2021 lawsuit alleges Samsung's Galaxy phones, tablets, watches and Wi-Fi-enabled Samsung products like televisions and refrigerators infringe its data-transmission patents. The Texas case is scheduled to go to trial in September. The case is California Institute of Technology v. Samsung Electronics Co, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, No.

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☆ Feds charge 21 people in global crypto money laundering bust
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A member of the US Secret Service speaks on a cellphone as US President-elect Donald Trump attends meetings at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, November 10, 2016. The charges were unsealed as part of "Operation Crypto Runner," which was established by U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston of the Eastern District of Texas, the Secret Service and the U.S. We are committed to bringing each of the remaining perpetrators to justice," Secret Service Special Agent William Smarr said. "This case proves that we can track these people down and charge them," Secret Service Resident Agent in Charge Bill Mack told CNBC's Eamon Javers. The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas also shared further details about some of the individuals named in indictments or who had pled guilty.

☆ U.S. charges 21 individuals for role in global crypto money laundering networks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Nov 30 (Reuters) - The United States has charged 21 individuals for their roles in global cryptocurrency money laundering networks, the U.S. Attorney's Office For Eastern District Of Texas said on Wednesday. "These defendants orchestrated highly organized and sophisticated schemes to launder fraud proceeds through cryptocurrency," U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston said in the statement. Reporting by Ismail ShakilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The lawsuit marks a major escalation of tensions between the industry and the consumer watchdog, which industry groups say has repeatedly overstepped its mandate under President Joe Biden's director Rohit Chopra. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe groups said the agency does not have the legal authority to make that change. Certain financial products, like no-fee checking accounts, could be seen as discriminatory using a disparate impact analysis, the Chamber said. "The CFPB is attempting to pretend that they are Congress and impose new theories of disparate impact through an extra-legal process," Bradley said. The Chamber was joined in the lawsuit, filed in the Eastern District of Texas, by the American Bankers Association and Consumer Bankers Association, among other state groups.

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