DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Shareholders sue Southwest Airlines over flight meltdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Shelby Tauber//File PhotoJan 12 (Reuters) - Shareholders filed a lawsuit against Southwest Airlines Co (LUV.N) on Thursday, accusing the carrier of fraudulently concealing problems that led last month to an operational meltdown and more than 15,000 flight cancellations. Flight operations at Dallas-based Southwest buckled shortly before Christmas as a fierce winter storm swept across the United States. The carrier largely restored normal operations by Dec. 30, several days after other airlines had recovered. In an interview on Thursday, Jordan said Southwest was looking at all operations to avoid a repeat of the meltdown. The case is Teroganesian v Southwest Airlines Co, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas, No.

NEW YORK, Jan 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice forcefully rejected Bill Hwang's claim that it sandbagged him by concealing its plan to charge him with fraud over the collapse of his $36 billion Archegos Capital Management LP. In a Thursday night filing in Manhattan federal court, prosecutors said there was no basis to grant Hwang's motion to dismiss his indictment because of prosecutorial misconduct prior to his April 27, 2022, arrest. "Hwang's motion is predicated on a series of inflammatory claims about the government's conduct that are entirely baseless," prosecutors said. Archegos collapsed in March 2021 after failing to meet margin calls following trades through so-called total return swaps. In a separate Thursday night filing, prosecutors rejected the defendants' claims that they committed no crimes because Archegos' trading was legal.

☆ Former top FTX engineer who lived in Sam Bankman-Fried's Bahamas penthouse is trying to cut a deal with fraud prosecutors, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

FTX's ex-chief engineer last week met prosecutors probing the crypto exchange's collapse, per Bloomberg. Sam Bankman-Fried's ex-roommate Nishad Singh could become the 3rd top FTX exec to cut a deal. Prosecutors hope Singh will shed light on Bankman-Fried's political donations, per Bloomberg. He worked as an engineer at Facebook before joining FTX, according to a LinkedIn profile that has now been taken down. Read more: FTX fraud investigators are digging deeper into Sam Bankman-Fried's inner circle – and reportedly have ex-engineer Nishad Singh in their sights

An Italian man who authorities say used a sophisticated scheme to steal unpublished works of authors pleaded guilty Friday, prosecutors said. Filippo Bernardini, who worked for Simon & Schuster UK, stole more than 1,000 unpublished manuscripts between August 2016 and January 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said in a statement. Among those tricked was a Pulitzer Prize recipient, who sent Bernardini a copy of their unpublished manuscript, according to an indictment. “Filippo Bernardini used his insider knowledge of the publishing industry to create a scheme that stole precious works from authors and menaced the publishing industry,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. A representative for Simon & Schuster said at the time that they were "shocked and horrified" to learn of the allegations, and they were grateful to the FBI for investigating the case.

There’s no parole in the federal prison system and good behavior credits are in short supply compared to most states. More likely, Shah would be told a date, at least a month out, to surrender herself at a federal facility. Her best hope would be to be deemed most appropriate for a minimum security camp. “A minimum-security camp, I mean even moving up to next level, which is still ‘low security’ that’s a huge difference. If you’re eligible for a camp, you’ll go to Alaska if you can go to a camp.” Share this -Link copied

☆ Trader Joe's is being sued after tests suggested some of its dark chocolate contains potentially unsafe levels of lead and cadmium
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Trader Joe's was hit by two lawsuits over alleged high levels of lead and cadmium in its chocolate. Consumer Reports found that two of its own-brand dark chocolate bars contain potentially unsafe quantities of heavy metals. The lawsuits relate to two of Trader Joe's own-brand products: its 72% cacao dark chocolate and its Dark Chocolate Lover's 85% cacao chocolate. For the Dark Chocolate Lover's 85% cacao chocolate, these levels were 127% for lead and 229% for cadmium. Because dark chocolate contains more cacao than milk chocolate, it generally has higher levels of lead and cadmium as a result.

☆ A mysterious 'Doe 183' is trying to keep Jeffrey Epstein documents under seal. Could it be Les Wexner?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

"In the court's view, there's no reason to redact Doe 183 from the documents." And when Insider asked that lawyer about his work for Doe 183, a representative for Wexner responded, declining to comment. But if Doe 183 wins their fight to keep the documents redacted, their name and the context surrounding it would remain behind those blacked-out lines. While he never identified himself verbally, the transcript's cover sheet identifies him as an attorney representing Doe 183. Of those 21 documents, there are seven docket entries where Doe 183 is the sole Doe mentioned.

☆ How 'Real Housewife' Jen Shah's fabulous life came crashing down
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Stephanie Clifford | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +43 min

The woman wrote to the judge overseeing Shah's case that she'd had to remortgage her house, almost divorced, and "thought about ending my own life." The couple decided that he should get his degree while Jen Shah dropped out of college to work. (Shah told a judge at her 2022 plea hearing that she had been treated for "alcohol and depression" two years prior. Koa Johnson, Jen Shah's former fashion designerWhen Sharrieff Shah did participate in filming, he quickly became a fan favorite, calm and sensible. Once the show aired and Jen Shah developed a fan base, her behavior became more dramatic, Johnson said.

The Justice Department said Wednesday that has moved to seize millions of shares of Robinhood, the popular stock-trading app, whose ownership is disputed by several parties, including Bankman-Fried himself, his bankrupt crypto exchange FTX and another bankrupt crypto company. Four separate entities have laid claim to the approximately 56 million shares, worth about $460 million. That company, Emergent Fidelity Technologies, borrowed more than $546 million from crypto hedge fund Alameda Research, according to an affidavit Bankman-Fried filed in December. Also claiming the Robinhood shares are bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi and an individual FTX creditor. As of December 31, roughly $150 million of Silvergate’s deposits were from customers that have filed for bankruptcy.

☆ FTX's ex-top lawyer is reportedly cooperating with investigators, revealing details about what Sam Bankman-Fried did with customer funds
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

FTX's ex-top lawyer has cooperated with US agencies investigating the crypto exchange, per Reuters. Daniel Friedberg spoke about how Sam Bankman-Fried used customer funds to finance the FTX empire. FTX's ex-CEO is facing fraud charges, and billions of dollars of customer funds are missing. Since FTX collapsed in November, reports have emerged that billions of dollars in trading customer funds were funneled to Alameda to prop up the crypto hedge fund. FTX's former regulatory chief was willing to share information about the crypto exchange right after it filed for bankruptcy on November 11, the report said.

☆ Exclusive: FTX's former top lawyer aided U.S. authorities in Bankman-Fried case
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Angus Berwick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Friedberg gave details about FTX in a Nov. 22 meeting with two dozen investigators, the person said. "THROUGH THICK AND THIN"Prior to his work advising FTX, Friedberg advised a mix of banking, fintech, and online gaming companies. At the time, the source said Friedberg advised Bankman-Fried on running Alameda, which he founded that year. In 2020, when Bankman-Fried launched a separate exchange for U.S. customers called FTX.US, Friedberg moved in-house as FTX's chief regulatory officer. In a now-deleted blog post published that year on FTX's website, Bankman-Fried wrote that Friedberg was FTX's legal advisor "from the very beginning," noting he had been "with us through thick and thin."

☆ U.S. court sentences ex-Bolivian interior minister to 6 years in bribery scheme
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 4 (Reuters) - A federal U.S. court sentenced former Bolivian Interior Minister Arturo Murillo to nearly six years behind bars on Wednesday for conspiracy to commit money laundering, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement. Murillo was sentenced to 70 months in prison in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Another former Bolivian official and three Americans were sentenced in the United States last June after they also pleaded guilty to roles in the same scheme, the department said. Bolivia's government has requested Murillo's extradition to Bolivia, where he faces a host of criminal charges. "Justice has spoken in the United States.

☆ Former SPAC exec pleads guilty to defrauding people of $5 million to trade crypto and meme stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The former chief financial officer for two SPACs pleaded guilty to wire fraud, the DOJ said Wednesday. Cooper Morgenthau was charged with embezzling $5 million to trade crypto and meme stocks. Morgenthau falsified bank statements to shield his losses to accountants and auditors, the DOJ said. Cooper Morgenthau used the funds to trade cryptocurrencies and meme stocks and later falsified bank statements to hide his losses of nearly the entire sum. Wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and Morgenthau agreed to make restitution on $5,111,335.

☆ US prosecutors have launched an FTX Task Force to track down and recover missing crypto customer funds totalling at least $3 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

New York prosecutors have set up an FTX Task Force team to probe the collapse of the crypto exchange. The team will work to trace and recover missing FTX customer funds, which total at least $3 billion. More than 1 million customers could be affected by what the US government has described as an epic fraud at FTX. The task force team brings together senior prosecutors with expertise in securities and commodities fraud, public corruption, money laundering and transnational criminal enterprises. The FTX businesses are estimated to owe their biggest creditors up to $3 billion, per the Financial Times, while Reuters reported that Bankman-Fried transferred at least $4 billion in FTX funds, including customers' money, to Alameda.

Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty in New York federal court Tuesday to eight charges related to the collapse of his former crypto exchange FTX and hedge fund Alameda Research. The onetime crypto billionaire was indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud, individual charges of securities fraud and wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to avoid campaign finance regulations. Federal prosecutors also announced the launch of a new task force to recover victim assets as part of an ongoing investigation into Bankman-Fried and the collapse of FTX. Federal prosecutors built the indictment against Bankman-Fried with unusual speed, packaging together the criminal charges against the 30-year-old in a matter of weeks. The federal charges came alongside complaints from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

☆ Feds launch FTX task force to recover victim assets, continue probes as Bankman-Fried pleads not guilty
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Former FTX chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried (C) arrives to enter a plea before US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in the Manhattan federal court, New York, January 3, 2023. The Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office said Tuesday it had created an FTX Task Force to trace and recover assets of victims of the cryptocurrency exchange firm's collapse and to handle investigations and prosecutions related to the company and other entities. The announcement came as FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried appeared in U.S. District Court in Manhattan to plead not guilty in his criminal case, where he is charged with multiple counts of financial fraud and campaign finance crimes. "The Southern District of New York is working around the clock to respond to the implosion of FTX," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. "It is an all-hands-on-deck moment," Williams added.

☆ JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank seek dismissal of lawsuits by Jeffrey Epstein accusers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Epstein was a JPMorgan client from about 2000 to 2013, and a Deutsche Bank client from 2013 to 2018, court papers show. The JPMorgan plaintiff is a former ballet dancer who said Epstein abused and trafficked her from 2006 to 2013, while the Deutsche Bank plaintiff said she suffered from similar misconduct between 2003 and 2018. New York state's financial regulator in July 2020 fined Deutsche Bank $150 million over its relationship with Epstein. The cases are Jane Doe 1 v Deutsche Bank AG et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

☆ U.S. examining crypto wallets linked to FTX's Bankman-Fried - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 30 (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors are looking into a series of crypto transactions that online analysts have tied to digital wallets associated with Sam Bankman-Fried, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing a person familiar with the matter. A spokesperson for the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office and an attorney for Bankman-Fried did not respond immediately to Reuters requests for comment. Bankman-Fried, the former chief executive officer of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, tweeted that he was not behind the transactions. "I'm not and couldn't be moving any of those funds; I don't have access to them anymore," he said. Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried Likely to Plead Not Guilty to Fraud Charges
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Caitlin Ostroff | Vicky Ge Huang | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is likely to plead not guilty to fraud and other charges at his arraignment next week, according to people familiar with the matter. The U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York earlier this month charged Mr. Bankman-Fried with engaging in criminal conduct that contributed to the cryptocurrency exchange’s collapse, alleging that he oversaw one of the biggest financial frauds in American history. Mr. Bankman-Fried is likely to appear in person in New York to enter his plea on Jan. 3, one of the people said.

☆ Prosecutors are in a good position against Sam Bankman-Fried, says fmr. assistant U.S. attorney
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailProsecutors are in a good position against Sam Bankman-Fried, says fmr. assistant U.S. attorneyDanya Perry, former assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, joins CNBC's 'Squawk Box' to weigh in on the case against FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried, who is expected to enter a plea next week.

☆ Novartis to pay $245 mln to end antitrust cases over Exforge drug generics
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW YORK, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Novartis AG (NOVN.S) said on Wednesday it will pay $245 million to end antitrust litigation accusing the Swiss drugmaker of trying to delay the launch in the United States of generic versions of its Exforge hypertension drug. The class-action litigation stemmed from a 2011 licensing agreement between Novartis and Endo International Plc's (ENDPQ.PK) Par Pharmaceutical unit. Novartis's annual U.S. sales of brand-name Exforge exceeded $400 million before generic versions were sold, court papers show. The case is In re Novartis and Par Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Bradley PerrettOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ JP Morgan 'pulled the levers' of Jeffrey Epstein's sex-trafficking operation, US Virgin Islands says in new lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A new lawsuit alleges JP Morgan facilitated Jeffrey Epstein's sex-trafficking scheme. Earlier this year, the US Virgin islands settled a separate lawsuit, first brought in 2020, with Epstein's estate and its executors. "JP Morgan ignored numerous red flags and failed to comply with federal banking regulations until years later after JP Morgan was no longer benefiting from Epstein's business," the lawsuit says. In addition to the US Virgin Islands, an anonymous "Jane Doe" filed lawsuits against JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank in November, alleging the financial institutions benefitted from Epstein's sex-trafficking operation. That same company, Hyperion Air, is identified by the US Virgin Islands Attorney General as one of Epstein's accounts with JP Morgan.

☆ The Winklevoss twins and their cryptocurrency exchange Gemini are being sued for fraud by investors
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Crypto exchange Gemini is facing a class action lawsuit over its interest-bearing accounts. Investors are accusing Gemini — along with founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss — of fraud, per a complaint filed on Tuesday. Gemini's Earn Program attracted customers because it offered up to 7.4% interest. Gemini Earn Program, which offered customers up to 7.4% interest, abruptly halted its offering last month, "effectively wiping out" customers who still had holdings in the program. Gemini "refused to honor any further investor redemptions, effectively wiping out all investors who still had holdings in the program," the complaint reads.

☆ The judge in the FTX fraud case stepped down because her husband works for a firm that advised Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto exchange last year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ronnie Abrams, the US district judge in the FTX fraud case, stepped down and has been replaced. She said that her husband is a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, which last year advised FTX. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan has taken over the FTX case. Ronnie Abrams, a judge at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, said in a filing on Friday that she was stepping down. On Tuesday, the case was reassigned to Lewis A. Kaplan, a senior judge at the court, legal filings show.

☆ This little-known firm with a weird website was central to the misappropriation of FTX customers' money, regulators say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Gretchen Morgenson | Gretchen Morgenson Is The Senior Financial Reporter For The Nbc News Investigative Unit. A Former Stockbroker | She Won The Pulitzer Prize In For Her | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Still, North Dimension had a crucial role in the FTX mess, regulators now say. In fact, they contend, the little-known company was central to the furtive misappropriation of FTX customers’ funds. But North Dimension Inc. also appears to have been a fake online electronics retailer, an NBC News investigation found. The second North Dimension website is sparse, with just two pages superimposed on a photo of a mountain range. An analysis by DomainTools shows this North Dimension site was created on Oct. 3, 2022, and registered in Ontario, Canada.

Search resuls for: "Southern District of"

25 mentions found