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☆ 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

☆ 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

☆ Shvartsman brothers plead guilty to insider trading on Trump Media merger plans
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"I've made a terrible mistake," Gerald Shvartsman, 46, told Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan federal court as he pleaded guilty, according to the Associated Press. Michael Shvartsman, 53, and Gerald Shvartsman, who owns a furniture manufacturing company, are scheduled to be sentenced on July 17. Sentencing guidelines recommend that Gerald Shvartsman, who netted about $4.6 million in illegal trading profits, receive a prison term of between 33 and 41 months. Alan Futerfas, a lawyer for Michael Shvartsman, declined to comment on the guilty plea. A lawyer for Gerald Shvartsman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Persons: Donald Trump's, Michael Shvartsman, Gerald Shvartsman, DWAC, I've, Judge Lewis Liman, Bruce Garelick, Michael Shvartsman's, Liman, Damian Williams, Alan Futerfas Organizations: Trump Media & Technology Group, Trump Media, Associated Press, Rocket, Manhattan U.S Locations: Florida, New York, Manhattan, Michael Shvartsman's Miami

☆ 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

Related storiesEven so, he said he did not think the story of why customers suffered "has been told or told correctly." Customers "could have been paid back" at 2022 prices or current prices, including inflation, Bankman-Fried claimed. Kaplan didn't buy the argument, calling it "speculative" and "misleading." Before handing down Bankman-Fried sentence, Kaplan said he wanted to prevent him from committing more harm, noting that he has previously marketed himself to the media to rebrand his image and version of events at FTX. Bankman-Fried faced a maximum of 110 years in prison following the collapse of FTX.

Persons: —, Sam Bankman, Fried, Lewis Kaplan, It's, Sunil Kavuri, Adam M, Moskowitz, Kavuri, FTX, Kaplan, that's, Kaplan didn't, Fried perjured, didn't, it's, Prosecutors, Bernie Madoff, Damian Williams, " Williams, Williams Organizations: Service, Business, Southern, of Locations: Manhattan, FTX, of New York

watch nowFTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Thursday for the massive fraud and conspiracy that doomed his cryptocurrency exchange and a related hedge fund, Alameda Research. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried leaves the U.S. courthouse in New York City on July 26, 2023. Instead, "He's an awkward math nerd" with a "tireless work ethic," said the lawyer, who also compared the FTX founder to "a beautiful puzzle." In this courtroom sketch, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried attends his sentencing hearing at federal court in New York City on March 28, 2024. Barbara Fried and Allan Joseph Bankman, parents of FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried, arrive at court in New York on March 28, 2024.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, Lewis Kaplan, Kaplan, FTX, District Judge Lewis Kaplan, Jane Rosenberg, Bankman, convicting, Prosecutors, Amr Alfiky, It's, Marc Mukasey, Torrey Young, Nicolas Roos, scoffed, Roos, Mukasey, Sam, Sunil Kavuri, Damian Williams, Samuel Bankman, " Williams, General Merrick Garland, Joseph Bankman, Barbara Fried, Allan Joseph Bankman, Yuki Iwamura, Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh, Gary Wang Organizations: Alameda Research, ., U.S, District, Reuters, Republicans, Manhattan U.S, Stanford Law, Bloomberg, Getty, Bankman Locations: Manhattan, New York City, U.S, FTX, Kavuri, New York

☆ How Sam Bankman-Fried's ex-girlfriend and early recruit helped put the FTX founder behind bars for 25 years
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Yuki Iwamura | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesIn sentencing FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried to a 25-year prison sentence on Thursday, Judge Lewis Kaplan cited testimony from Caroline Ellison, an ex-girlfriend of the defendant and early recruit into his crypto enterprise. In a Google document from February 2022 shared with the Times, Ellison wrote, "I have been feeling pretty unhappy and overwhelmed with my job. The government presented a series of Signal exchanges involving Bankman-Fried, Ellison, Wang and other top execs. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Prosecutors relied heavily on text messages sent among FTX and Alameda Research executives in the case against Sam Bankman-Fried. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Prosecutors relied heavily on text messages sent among FTX and Alameda Research executives in the case against Sam Bankman-Fried.

Persons: Caroline Ellison, Yuki Iwamura, FTX, Sam Bankman, Judge Lewis Kaplan, Kaplan, Ellison, FTX spiraled, Damian Williams, she's, Fried, District Judge Lewis Kaplan, Jane Rosenberg, SBF Ellison, She'd, Michael Lewis, Caroline, Sam, Lewis, Nishad Singh, Gary Wang, Attorney Thane Rehn, Bankman, Binance, Sam Trabucco, Danielle Sassoon, Wang, SDNY Ellison, Um Organizations: Alameda Research, Bloomberg, Getty, Department of Justice, Manhattan U.S, U.S, District, Federal Court, Reuters, Jane, Stanford, Alameda, The New York Times, Times, Attorney, Google, Alameda's Locations: New York, Manhattan, FTX, New York City, Fried, California, Hong Kong, Bahamas, Alameda

☆ Penthouse to prison: Sam Bankman-Fried's journey from crypto king to convicted conman
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of failed crypto exchange FTX, will head on Thursday to a federal court in downtown Manhattan, where U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan will deliver his sentencing. After a month of personally dabbling in the market, Bankman-Fried launched Alameda Research, named after the California county that housed his first office. The so-called crypto winter of 2022 wiped out hedge funds and lenders across the crypto universe. May of 2022 brought the crash of stablecoin Luna, creating a domino effect that sent crypto prices plunging, devastating other lenders. On Nov. 2, 2022, crypto trade site CoinDesk publicized details of Alameda's balance sheet, which showed $14.6 billion in assets.

Persons: Samuel Bankman, MacKenzie Sigalos, Sam Bankman, Fried, Damian Williams, District Judge Lewis Kaplan, they'd, FTX, Amr Alfiky, Jane Street, Goldman Sachs, stablecoin Luna, Solana, Changpeng Zhao, Binance, Zhao, Jane Rosenberg, he'd, Cromwell, John J, Ray, confidants, — CNBC's Rohan Goswami Organizations: CNBC, Metropolitan Detention, U.S, District, Prosecutors, Reuters, Jane, Alameda Research, Formula, Democratic, Voyager, Alameda, FTX, Industry, Investors, Enron, Securities and Exchange Commission, Stanford University Locations: San Francisco, he's, Brooklyn, Manhattan, U.S, New York City, South Korea, Alameda, California, Miami, Washington, Solana, FTX, New York, Palo Alto , California

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said conspiracy charges against KuCoin and two executives should warn other crypto exchanges that they cannot serve U.S. customers without following U.S. laws. An indictment in Manhattan federal court said the company and its founders tried to conceal the existence of its U.S. customer base. KuCoin was also required to cease New York operations after falsely representing itself as a crypto exchange without registering as a securities and commodities broker-dealer, James said. “KuCoin grew to service over 30 million customers, despite its alleged failure to follow laws necessary to ensuring the security and stability of our world’s digital banking infrastructure,” McCormack said. Three companies doing business as KuCoin were incorporated in the Cayman Islands, the Republic of Seychelles and Singapore.

Persons: Damian Williams, KuCoin, Letitia James, James, Williams, “, ”, Darren McCormack, “ KuCoin, ” McCormack, Johnny, Chun Gan, Ke Tang Organizations: New York, Homeland Security Investigations Locations: U.S, Manhattan, York, New York, China, Cayman Islands, Republic of Seychelles, Singapore

☆ FTX fraudster Bankman-Fried seeks less than 7 year sentence, claims he is at risk of 'harm and extortion' in prison
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder of FTX Cryptocurrency Derivatives Exchange, arrives at court in New York, US, on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023. "The harm to customers, lenders, and investors is zero," Bankman-Fried's lawyers wrote. The lawyers wrote that Bankman-Fried has a "neurodiversity" that "greatly affects how he perceives and is perceived." It is not a disease or a condition that needs to be cured," the lawyers wrote. "Individuals with ASD are often at considerably greater risk of physical harm and extortion in prison than other inmates," the lawyers wrote.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, Joseph Bankman, Barbara Fried, Lewis Kaplan, —, Michael Milken, Damian Williams, Williams, Kaplan, Marc Mukasey, Sam, Drexel Burnham Lambert, Milken Organizations: Bankman, Alameda Research, The Manhattan U.S, PSR, Defense, Drexel, CNBC PRO Locations: New York, FTX, Manhattan, Alameda, Brooklyn , New York

☆ Personal pilot for billionaire Joe Lewis pleads guilty to insider trading scheme
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 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 personal pilot for British billionaire investor Joe Lewis pleaded guilty Monday to securities fraud related to the same insider trading scheme that Lewis admitted guilt in a month ago, federal prosecutors in New York said. The pilot, Patrick O'Connor, on multiple occasions, received material, nonpublic information about companies from Lewis that O'Connor then used to trade in shares of those firms, prosecutors said. Lewis is the principal owner of the Tavistock Group, a private investment firm, and controlled one or more board of director seats at companies in which he shared nonpublic information with O'Connor that the pilot then traded on, prosecutors said. Lewis, through a family trust, formerly controlled a majority ownership stake in the English Premier League soccer team Tottenham Hotspur.

Persons: Damian Williams, Joe Lewis, Lewis, Patrick O'Connor, O'Connor, Mirati Organizations: Attorney, Southern, of, Tavistock Group, English Premier League soccer, Tottenham Hotspur, Mirati Therapeutics, Manhattan U.S, Attorney's Locations: U.S, of New York, New York City, New York

☆ US agents fooled a yakuza boss into giving them weapons-grade plutonium he thought would be sold to Iran: court docs
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Mikhaila Friel | Haven Orecchio-Egresitz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

US officials say they arrested a Japanese crime boss trying to sell nuclear fuel. The documents said Takeshi Ebisawa thought the fuel would go to an Iranian nuclear-weapons program. AdvertisementUS agents say they tricked a Japanese crime lord into handing over nuclear fuel to them in an audacious sting operation. They said the DEA fooled Ebisawa into believing he was selling them a shipment of plutonium and uranium to help Iran to build nuclear weapons. AdvertisementThey say Ebisawa was invited onto a video call with somebody posing as an Iranian general as part of the ruse.

Persons: Takeshi Ebisawa, —, Ebisawa, Damian Williams, Somphop Singhasiri Organizations: Service, Business, Department of Justice Locations: Iranian, Iran, Brooklyn, Myanmar, Thailand, Burma

☆ Japanese Crime Boss Trafficked Nuclear Material From Myanmar, U.S. Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Ed Shanahan | More About Ed Shanahan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A man identified by federal prosecutors as a leader of Japan’s Yakuza organized crime syndicate was charged on Wednesday with trafficking uranium and plutonium from Myanmar with the expectation that Iran would use the material to make nuclear weapons. The man, Takeshi Ebisawa, is accused of conspiring with a network of associates to sell the weapons-grade material and illegal narcotics and to buy surface-to-air missiles on behalf of an ethnic insurgent group in Myanmar, the country formerly known as Burma. “It is impossible to overstate the seriousness of the conduct alleged in today’s indictment,” Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, said in announcing the charges. Mr. Ebisawa, 60, is being held in a federal jail in Brooklyn after being charged, along with three co-defendants, with international drug and weapons trafficking crimes in 2022. A lawyer representing him in connection with that indictment did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

Persons: Japan’s, Takeshi Ebisawa, ” Damian Williams, Ebisawa Locations: Myanmar, Iran, Burma, U.S, Manhattan, Brooklyn

☆ Feds charge Japanese Yakuza leader with nuclear materials trafficking
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The DOJ alleges that a high-ranking member of the Yakuza, Takeshi Ebisawa, was the central figure in a plot to funnel American weapons to ethnic militias in Myanmar in exchange for heroin and meth. Federal prosecutors in New York on Wednesday said they charged a Japanese Yakuza leader with conspiring to traffic nuclear materials from Burma to other countries in the belief that they would be used by Iran to make a nuclear weapon. "A U.S. nuclear forensic laboratory later analyzed the samples and confirmed that the samples contain uranium and weapons-grade plutonium," the statement said. Williams said Ebisawa "brazenly trafficked" the nuclear material while believing it would be used to develop a nuclear weapons program." The top prosecutor also said that even as he tried to sell the nuclear materials, the Yakuza leader "also negotiated for the purchase of deadly weapons, including surface-to-air missiles," M60 machine guns, AK-47s and armor-piercing ammunition.

Persons: Takeshi Ebisawa, Ebisawa, Damian Williams, Williams Organizations: DOJ, U.S . Drug, Administration, Attorney's, U.S, AK Locations: Myanmar, New York, Japanese, Burma, Iran, Thailand, Iranian, Manhattan, U.S

NEW YORK (AP) — In announcing 70 arrests, a federal prosecutor said Tuesday that the largest public housing authority in the nation was infested by a “classic pay-to-play” culture of corruption that dispensed repair jobs valued at under $10,000 to contractors willing to pay bribes. Bribery and extortion charges led to a roundup of current and former employees of the New York City Housing Authority that represented the largest single-day bribery takedown in the history of the U.S. Justice Department, Williams said. Photos You Should See View All 45 Images“If the contactors didn’t pay up, the defendants wouldn’t give them the work. The city's public housing authority receives over $1.5 billion in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development each year. Some defendants, authorities said, demanded even greater amounts of money in return for using their discretion to favor one contractor over another.

Persons: —, Damian Williams, Williams, ” Organizations: Yorkers, New, New York City Housing Authority, U.S . Justice Department, U.S . Department of Housing, Urban Development Locations: New York City, ”, New York , New Jersey , Connecticut, North Carolina

☆ Former CIA employee sentenced to 40 years in prison after carrying out largest data leak in agency’s history
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Rob Frehse | Mark Morales | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A former CIA employee was sentenced to 40 years in prison after carrying out the largest data leak in the agency’s history, the US Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York announced Thursday. He was also found guilty in 2023 of receiving, possessing and transporting child pornography, according to the US Attorney’s Office. He had worked as a computer engineer within the CIA’s Center for Cyber Intelligence, and created cyber tools that could grab data undetected from computers. A year later, investigators said Schulte stole cyber tools and source code and transferred them to WikiLeaks, according to court records. Schulte, who also allegedly lied to CIA and FBI investigators to cover his tracks, was arrested in August 2017 on child pornography charges.

Persons: CNN —, Joshua Schulte –, –, Schulte, “ Joshua Schulte, Damian Williams, ” Williams, Joshua Schulte, Elizabeth Williams, James Smith Organizations: CNN, CIA, US, Office, Southern, of New York, WikiLeaks, CIA’s, Cyber Intelligence, FBI, AP “, Investigators Locations: New York

☆ British billionaire Joe Lewis pleads guilty to U.S. insider trading charges
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

British billionaire Joe Lewis pleaded guilty to U.S. insider trading charges on Wednesday, and apologized to a judge for his conduct. Lewis, 86, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and two counts of securities fraud, as part of an agreement with the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan. Addressing U.S. District Judge Jessica Clarke, Lewis said he knew at the time that what he was doing was wrong. Lewis was charged by federal prosecutors with 16 counts of securities fraud and three counts of conspiracy, for alleged crimes spanning from 2013 to 2021. While Lewis will not plead guilty to the other counts under the terms of his deal, Clarke said she may consider them for sentencing purposes.

Persons: Joe Lewis, David Zorno, Valerie Figueredo, Lewis, David Zornow, Jessica Clarke, Patrick O'Connor, Bryan Waugh, Clarke, Damian Williams Organizations: U.S, Tottenham Hotspur, Tavistock Group, Forbes, Aviva, Prosecutors, Mirati Therapeutics, BCTG, Tango Therapeutics, Manhattan U.S Locations: Manhattan, New York City, United States, New York , Florida, Georgia, Mirati

NEW YORK (AP) — British billionaire Joe Lewis, whose family trust owns the Tottenham Hotspur soccer club, pleaded guilty Wednesday to insider trading and conspiracy charges in New York. The 86-year-old businessman entered the plea in Manhattan federal court six months after he was charged in the case. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said the plea deal includes the largest financial penalty for insider trading in a decade. Broad Bay Limited, which Lewis owns, will pay more than $50 million in financial penalties, the prosecutor said in a release. Federal sentencing guidelines call for a prison sentence of between 18 and 24 months, though Lewis can seek less than that.

Persons: Joe Lewis, Lewis, Damian Williams, —, Joseph Lewis, Williams, Forbes, Lewis ’, Picasso, Matisse, Degas, Woods, Ernie Els, Justin Timberlake, Prosecutors, Jennifer Peltz Organizations: Tottenham Hotspur, Broad, U.S, Premier League, Lewis ’ Tavistock Group, Associated Locations: British, New York, Manhattan, United States, oceanside

☆ British billionaire Joe Lewis pleads guilty to insider trading, securities fraud
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

British billionaire and Tottenham Hotspur owner Joe Lewis exits the United States Courthouse in Manhattan, following his appearance on insider trading charges, in New York City, U.S., July 26, 2023. British billionaire Joseph Lewis pleaded guilty Wednesday in New York federal court to securities fraud related to insider trading. Lewis' company, Broad Bay Ltd., also pleaded guilty in the same proceeding to participating in a scheme to hide his ownership of shares of a pharmaceutical company by making false filings and misleading financial statements. "Now, he will pay the price with a federal conviction, the prospect of time in prison, and the largest financial penalty for insider trading in a decade." Lewis, 86, faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison on the charges he pleaded guilty to in U.S. District Court in Manhattan: one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and two counts of securities fraud.

Persons: Joe Lewis, Joseph Lewis, Lewis, Broad, Damian Williams Organizations: Tottenham Hotspur, United, Broad, Broad Bay Ltd, Manhattan U.S Locations: Manhattan, New York City, U.S, New York, Broad Bay

☆ Lawyer and Son Ensnared Hundreds of Immigrants in Fraud Scheme, U.S. Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Claire Fahy | More About Claire Fahy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A Bronx lawyer and his son were arrested on Monday and charged with orchestrating a seven-year immigration scheme that defrauded hundreds of immigrants and caused some of them to be deported, federal prosecutors said. The lawyer, Kofi Amankwaa, 69, and his son, Kofi Amankwaa Jr., 37, advised clients seeking green cards to sign petitions under the Violence Against Women Act, which enables undocumented immigrants who are victims of abuse to gain lawful permanent residence in the United States, prosecutors said. The petitions falsely claimed that the clients were being abused by their children, who were American citizens. The applications for legal residency were often found to be fraudulent and denied, and some of the Amankwaas’ clients were deported. Their services cost as much as $6,000, plus administrative fees, the complaint said.

Persons: Kofi Amankwaa, Kofi Amankwaa Jr, Damian Williams Organizations: U.S, Southern, of Locations: United States, of New York, U.S

Here's the state of play globally for crypto regulation and enforcement in 2023 — and a look at what to expect in 2024. "However, much of their work has involved providing guidance to the industry through enforcement actions," continued Levin. Crypto market participants nevertheless hope that the spate of legal challenges brought to crypto companies in 2023 will bring clarity in the form of new regulations. The U.S.'s dominant role in global finance and its focus on consumer protection plays a crucial role in its leading position in crypto regulation enforcement. The region has been increasingly warming to crypto assets, despite a broader anti-crypto push from China, which banned bitcoin trading and mining in 2021.

Persons: Al Drago, Binance, Sam Bankman, Renato Mariotti, Mariotti, Richard Levin, Nelson Mullins Riley, Levin, ada, Changpeng Zhao, Damian Williams, Brian Armstrong, Armstrong, Alyse Killeen, Scarborough's Levin, FinCEN, Killeen, Diem, USDC, Braden Perry, it's, Kennyhertz Perry, Perry, Bafin Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Bloomberg, Getty, Regulators, Securities and Exchange Commission, U.S, Alameda Research, U.S . Justice Department's Securities, Commodities, CNBC, Capitol, SEC, Futures Trading Commission, Department of Justice, Scarborough, CFTC, Protocol Labs, Southern, of, Stillmark, Meta, Visa, Mastercard, U.S ., European, IRS, European Union, EU, France's Financial Markets Authority, AMF, Treasury, Monetary Authority of, Three Arrows, Terra Labs, Terra, Hong Kong Securities, Futures Commission, SFC, OSL Locations: Washington, Europe, Asia, U.S, Alameda, of New York, European, Crypto, Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Singapore, Dubai, Hong Kong, Monetary Authority of Singapore, China, East, Africa

☆ Swiss bank Banque Pictet admits hiding $5.6 billion of Americans’ money from IRS
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Banque Pictet, the private banking division of the 218-year-old Pictet Group, will pay about $122.9 million in restitution and penalties as part of an agreement with prosecutors. As part of the deal, the bank also agreed to cooperate with ongoing investigations into hidden bank accounts. The Pictet Group said in a statement that the deal follows its "extensive cooperation with the US authorities, in full compliance with Swiss law." The Pictet Group helped clients evade U.S. taxes by opening, maintaining and concealing undeclared accounts for them, prosecutors charged. The Pictet Group maintained about 529 offshore entities for the U.S. accounts in question during the relevant timeframe.

Persons: Damian Williams Organizations: Internal Revenue Service, Department of Justice, Banque Pictet, DOJ, Justice Department, Attorney, Southern, of, Pictet, Swiss, U.S Locations: Swiss, U.S, of New York, United States

Prosecutors did not name the Indian official or the target, although they did describe the latter as a U.S. citizen of Indian origin. The Indian official is described in the related indictment as a "senior field officer" with responsibilities in "security management" and "intelligence" employed by the Indian government who "directed the plot from India." It was a "matter of concern" that an Indian government official was linked to the plot, foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday, adding, "This is also contrary to government policy." 'WE HAVE SO MANY TARGETS'According to U.S. prosecutors, the Indian official recruited Gupta in May 2023 to orchestrate the assassination. The groups have kept alive the movement for Khalistan, or the demand for an independent Sikh state to be carved out of India.

Persons: Nikhil Gupta, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Gupta, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Damian Williams, Biden, Bill Burns, Narendra Modi, Jake Sullivan, Antony Blinken, National Intelligence Avril Haines, Arindam Bagchi, Bagchi, Adrienne Watson, credibly, Pannun, Nijjar, Luc Cohen, Krishn Kaushik, Shivam Patel, Jeff Mason, David Brunnstrom, Heather Timmons, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: U.S . Department of Justice, Indian, U.S . Justice, New, New York City, Prosecutors, Biden, National, National Intelligence, White House National Security Council, Reuters, Administration, Air, Air India Boeing, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City, U.S, New York, India, United States, Canada, Czech, Vancouver, New Delhi, China, Air India, Washington

☆ Indian gov't official directed Sikh separatist's assassination plot in US, DOJ says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | 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: +3 min

NEW YORK, Nov 29 (Reuters) - An Indian government official directed an unsuccessful plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist on U.S. soil, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday, in announcing charges against a man accused of orchestrating the attempted murder. Prosecutors did not name the Indian official or the target. According to prosecutors, the official recruited Gupta in May 2023 to orchestrate the assassination. The Indian government has complained about the presence of Sikh separatist groups outside India, including in Canada and the United States. The groups have kept alive the movement for Khalistan, or the demand for an independent Sikh state to be carved out of India.

Persons: Nikhil Gupta, Gupta, Damian Williams, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Nijjar, Luc Cohen, Doina Chiacu, Susan Heavey, Chizu Nomiyama, Mark Porter, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Indian, U.S . Justice, New York City, Prosecutors, Biden, Administration, Air, Air India Boeing, Thomson Locations: U.S, Manhattan, New York, India, Czech, New York City, Washington, United States, New Delhi, Canada, India's Punjab, Vancouver, Air India

☆ Manhattan counterfeit goods: Two arrested in largest seizure in US history, retailing at more than $1 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Sara Smart | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Two people have been arrested in the largest seizure of counterfeit goods in US history, including knock-off designer goods with an estimated retail value of more than a billion dollars, officials in New York said. Sow and Jalloh ran the trafficking operation out of a Manhattan storage facility from January to October, the news release from the attorney’s office said. Counterfeit goods were also found during searches of separate locations controlled by Sow and Jalloh, according to prosecutors. NY/ Two arrested in largest counterfeit goods seizure in Manhattan, retailing at more than $1B U.S. Attorney's OfficeApproximately 219,000 counterfeit items with an estimated retail value of $1.03 billion were found during the seizure, including bags, clothes, shoes and other products, prosecutors said. The trafficking charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, the attorney’s office said.

Persons: Adama Sow, Abdulai Jalloh, Jalloh, Damian Williams Organizations: CNN, US, Office, Southern, of, Attorney's Locations: New York, of New York, Sow, Manhattan, New York City

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