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Companies Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co Follow(Reuters) - Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co (GT.O) convinced an Ohio federal judge on Friday to throw out a $64 million jury verdict over its alleged theft of trade secrets related to self-inflating tires. A jury decided last year that Goodyear misappropriated five of the 12 trade secrets Coda accused it of misusing. But Lioi said Friday that four of the five secrets – related to Coda's design, development and placement of self-inflating tire pumps – were not specific enough to be considered protectable trade secrets. Lioi said Coda's fifth alleged secret, related to developing a functional self-inflating tire, was "no secret at all" because the concept was not new in 2009. The case is Coda Development SRO v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, No.

Founder Artak Hamazaspyan and a company he controlled, Beaxy Digital Ltd, raised $8 million in an unregistered offering of the Beaxy token (BXY), and Hamazaspyan also misappropriated at least $900,000 for personal use, the SEC said. The regulator also said executives Nicholas Murphy and Randolph Bay Abbott facilitated trading on the Beaxy platform since October 2019 through the company they managed, Windy Inc, the regulator said in a statement. Another executive, Brian Peterson, and his companies provided market making services for the Beaxy platform, acting as unregistered dealers, the SEC said. The other executives and firms, who did not admit or deny the SEC's findings, could not be reached immediately for comment. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Chris Prentice; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ DOJ charges Chinese businessman Guo Wengui, associate of Steve Bannon, in $1 billion fraud
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon greets fugitive Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui before introducing him at a news conference on November 20, 2018 in New York. The controversial exiled Chinese billionaire businessman Guo Wengui — an associate of former Trump White House advisor Steve Bannon — was arrested in New York on Wednesday for orchestrating what federal prosecutors called a more than $1 billion fraud conspiracy that duped online followers with promises of outsized investment returns. Former President Donald Trump months later pardoned Bannon in that case, shortly before Trump left the White House. IThe defendants are charged with wire fraud, securities fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering in the criminal case. Both Guo and Je face ossible sentences of up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

☆ Former Malaysia PM Najib cleared of audit tampering in 1MDB graft scandal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Rozanna Latiff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KUALA LUMPUR, March 3 (Reuters) - A Malaysian court on Friday acquitted jailed former Prime Minister Najib Razak of audit tampering in one of the many cases he faces over a multi-billion corruption scandal at state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). The acquittal comes amid renewed scrutiny on government graft under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, whose administration had to partner with Najib's corruption-tainted party to form a government late last year. Friday's acquittal was on a charge of abusing his position as prime minister to amend a government audit into 1MDB. The fund's former chief executive Arul Kandasamy was charged with abetting Najib and was also cleared and both had pleaded not guilty. Najib faces three more cases related to corruption at various government entities and 1MDB, a fund he co-founded in 2009.

☆ A self-proclaimed 'Airbnb Queen' who managed other people's properties is accused of stealing from homeowners then fleeing town
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Dan Latu | Aj Latrace | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Massey told Fox 23 that when she confronted Widell on the accounting "irregularities," Widell lashed out and responded "aggressively." A separate unnamed property owner told Fox 23 that he paid Widell $11,000 to stage his rental. Since then, seven of Widell's tenants told Fox 23 their water had been shut off and they risk losing electricity. "Honestly, the worst thing she has done is taken away everyone's peace of mind," one tenant, Traci Nunnelly, told Fox 23. After convincing landlords to switch to Airbnb, Neth said, she would then seek to manage their listings as a paid property manager.

☆ Abu Dhabi's IPIC and Aabar to pay Malaysia $1.8 bln to settle 1MDB dispute
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) and its unit Aabar Investments PJS have agreed to pay $1.8 billion to settle a legal dispute over the scandal at Malaysian state fund 1MDB, Malaysia's finance ministry said on Monday. Malaysia in 2018 had filed a challenge in a London court against a settlement agreement between 1MDB and IPIC that had been negotiated a year earlier during the premiership of former leader Najib Razak. Najib was sentenced to 12 years in jail last year after being found guilty in a 1MDB-related corruption case. In its challenge, Malaysia had argued that the 2017 settlement was procured by fraud. Malaysia's 1MDB is the subject of corruption and money-laundering investigations in at least six countries.

☆ Democratic Sen. Cortez Masto urges FEC to require campaigns to send illegal contributions to Treasury
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., center, her husband Paul, and Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, are seen in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., is calling on the Federal Election Commission to require campaigns to send illegal campaign contributions to the U.S. Treasury instead of refunding the money to the original donor. Cortez Masto's call for the new FEC rule comes after numerous foreign donors and companies have been caught making illegal campaign donations. Still, as Cortez Masto points out, the fine could have limited impact on Zekelman as there is expected to be a full refund of the illegal contribution. Though Cortez Masto does not mention cryptocurrency exchange FTX or its co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried in her letter, his contributions to campaigns could come under the same scrutiny by the FEC if it enacted such a rule.

☆ Former ASML Employee in China Misappropriated Data, Company Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Kyle Morris | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

ASML said it had reported the incident to the relevant authorities. ASML Holding NV said it had experienced an unauthorized misappropriation of data relating to proprietary technology by a former employee in China, but that it believes it isn’t material to the business. The Dutch semiconductor-equipment maker said in its annual report that it launched an internal review. As a result of the incident, certain export-control regulations might have been violated, it said.

☆ ASML says ex-China employee misappropriated data relating to its critical chip technology
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Dutch firm ASML makes one of the most important pieces of machinery required to manufacture the most advanced chips in the world. U.S. chip curbs have left companies, including ASML, scrambling to figure out what the rules mean in practice. ASML , one of the world's most critical semiconductor firms, said Wednesday that it recently discovered that a former employee in China had misappropriated data related to its proprietary technology. "We have experienced unauthorized misappropriation of data relating to proprietary technology by a (now) former employee in China," ASML said in its annual report. "However, as a result of the security incident, certain export control regulations may have been violated.

[1/4] Former FTX Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried, who faces fraud charges over the collapse of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, departs from his court hearing at a federal court in New York City's Manhattan, U.S. January 3, 2023. REUTERS/David Dee Delgado/Feb 8 (Reuters) - Failed crypto firm FTX received court approval on Wednesday to issue subpoenas to its founder Sam Bankman-Fried and members of his family as part of the company's investigation into "misappropriated and stolen" funds. FTX said in court papers filed Wednesday that most of the subpoena targets had begun cooperating with its investigation. FTX said that it is still in discussions with Ellison and that Sam Bankman-Fried "remains non-responsive." Mind the Gap has previously said that Sam Bankman-Fried did not make any direct contributions to the organization but did donate to some of its recommended programs.

☆ Why the ‘Crypto Bowl’ won’t be back this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Super Bowl LVI was the crypto world’s coming out party. You can expect a lot less noise from Team Crypto during Super Bowl LVII next Sunday. Of the four crypto or crypto-affiliated companies that advertised in the Super Bowl last year, one (FTX) has collapsed completely. “Crypto firms are focusing less on crypto advertising and more on investing in better user experiences, products, and customer service,” Lacayo added. Its Super Bowl ads featured Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen.

☆ Washington Property Linked to FTX Customer Funds Pulled From Market
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Akiko Matsuda | Alexander Gladstone | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A Washington, D.C., townhouse that FTX’s new management has linked to Sam Bankman-Fried‘s political spending has been pulled off the market after the company alleged that the $3.3 million property was purchased with FTX customer funds. Property records show the four-bedroom, 4,100-square-foot property in Capitol Hill is owned by Guarding Against Pandemics, a nonprofit organization founded by Mr. Bankman-Fried’s brother Gabriel. FTX’s newly appointed management team said in a court filing last month that Guarding Against Pandemics was also funded by FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and that the organization purchased a multimillion-dollar property using what the company believes are misappropriated customer funds.

☆ Blackouts, currency dives and corruption: Pakistan's economy is on the brink of collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Sajjad Qayyum | Afp | Getty ImagesPakistan's economy is on a cliff-edge. These are just the latest shocks amid months of crisis as endemic government corruption, depleted foreign reserves and crippling debt have sent Pakistan's economy spiraling. More than 30% of Pakistan's total foreign debt is owed to China, according to the IMF. An aerial view of the commercial district of Pakistan's port city of Karachi on January 27, 2023. Asif Hassan | Afp | Getty Images

Chicago prosecutors alleged that Girardi misappropriated more than $3 million in client funds owed to families of the victims of the 2018 Boeing (BA.N) 737 MAX Lion Air Flight 610 crash in Indonesia. Christopher Kamon, the former chief financial officer of Girardi's now-defunct law firm Girardi Keese, was also charged in the Chicago and Los Angeles cases. Girardi's son-in-law, David Lira, who worked at the firm, was charged with wire fraud and criminal contempt of court by the Chicago prosecutors. The California Supreme Court disbarred Girardi in June in connection with his alleged conduct in the Lion Air case. Kamon was separately charged with wire fraud in November for allegedly embezzling $10 million from the defunct Girardi Keese firm.

FTX said in a court filing in Wilmington, Delaware, late on Wednesday that the DOJ's proposed review would only add cost and delay to its bankruptcy case. As part of its own investigation, FTX asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey, who is overseeing its Chapter 11 proceedings, to help it secure documents from Bankman-Fried, members of his family and other insiders with information about FTX transactions that used "misappropriated and stolen" funds. FTX is also seeking information about political donations by Mind the Gap, a political action committee founded by Barbara Fried, and Guarding Against Pandemics, an advocacy organization founded by Sam Bankman-Fried and his brother, Gabriel Bankman-Fried. The U.S. Department of Justice's bankruptcy watchdog has called for an independent investigation into its collapse, a request that received backing from a bipartisan group of U.S. senators. Sam Bankman-Fried, who has been accused of stealing billions of dollars from FTX customers to pay debts incurred by his crypto-focused hedge fund, has pleaded not guilty to fraud charges.

Sam Bankman-Fried published an extensive blog post Thursday morning attempting to explain the collapse of FTX, the crypto platform he co-founded, and denying allegations that he stole any funds. “I didn’t steal funds, and I certainly didn’t stash billions away,” Bankman-Fried wrote in the blog post. NBC News has not verified any of the various balance sheets Bankman-Fried published in the blog post. Bankman-Fried wrote: “FTX International has many billions of dollars of assets, and I am dedicating nearly all of my personal assets to customers. In the blog post, Bankman-Fried called the move by Zhao “a targeted attack” on Alameda.

☆ 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.

Critically, experts say, nothing that's transpired in the crypto market in 2022 undermines the inherent value of the blockchain. "So while this has been a shock to the market, a lot of people in the space remain sanguine about the future of blockchain technology." He said stock trading, buying and selling real estate, and borrowing and lending money remain ripe for disruption by blockchain technology. "The ethereum blockchain could turn out to be this major infrastructure layer for the future of technological services," Abner said. He said prospective crypto users must prepare for a steep learning curve going forward, because it ultimately involves trusting only yourself to be in charge of your assets.

Dec 27 (Reuters) - FTX customers filed a class action lawsuit against the failed crypto exchange and its former top executives including Sam Bankman-Fried on Tuesday, seeking a declaration that the company's holdings of digital assets belong to customers. The proposed class, which wants to represent more than 1 million FTX customers in the United States and abroad, seeks a declaration that traceable customer assets are not FTX property. The customer class also wants the court to find specifically that property held at Alameda that is traceable to customers is not Alameda property, according to the complaint. The lawsuit seeks a declaration from the court that funds held in FTX U.S. accounts for U.S. customers and in FTX Trading accounts for non-U.S. customers or other traceable customer assets are not FTX property. If the court determines it is FTX property, then the customers seek a ruling that they have a priority right to repayment over other creditors.

☆ EV startup Canoo claims former execs joined the company just so they could steal its secrets — and launch a rival automaker
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Electric vehicle maker Canoo is suing some of its former employees who launched a rival company. Canoo claims the employees used Canoo trade secrets and IP for their new startup, Harbinger. Harbinger, a Los Angeles-based EV-maker that launched in September, is led by a team of former Canoo, Faraday Future, and QuantumScape executives. A Canoo spokesperson told Insider in a statement Tuesday that, "As this lawsuit demonstrates, we take the protection of our IP seriously." Several former Canoo employees have announced plans to join Harbinger on LinkedIn in recent months.

☆ Sam-Bankman Fried to be released on $250 million bail and will be required to stay with parents ahead of FTX trial
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Sam Bankman-Fried was granted release on $250 million bail at a court hearing Thursday. He will be required to surrender his passport and stay with his parents ahead of a federal trial on a list of charges tied to the failure of FTX. Bankman-Fried will be required to attend a court hearing in California at 10 a.m. Friday, Gorenstein ruled. Another court hearing is scheduled for January 3 in Manhattan, where Bankman-Fried is expected to enter a plea. Criminal allegations against Ellison and Wang, first filed on December 19, were unsealed in court on Thursday morning ahead of Bankman-Fried's court appearance.

☆ Prosecutors charge two top executives in connection with FTX collapse
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors on Wednesday said they have charged Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, and Zixiao (Gary) Wang, the former Chief Technology Officer of FTX Trading Ltd. (FTX) with defrauding investors in the crypto trading platform. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a video statement that both Wang and Ellison have pleaded guilty to the charges and have agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. He said that Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of FTX, is now in FBI custody and is on his way to the United States. Williams also gave a stark warning in the video: "If you participated in misconduct at FTX or Alameda, now is the time to get ahead of it. Reporting by Chris Prentice and Luc Cohen; Editing by Megan Davies & Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Read the SEC complaint accusing former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX cofounder Gary Wang of participating in a years-long fraud with Sam Bankman-Fried
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

It said Alameda Research's Caroline Ellison and FTX's Gary Wang were "active participants" in fraud. The SEC complaint was published Wednesday. Bankman-Fried has been accused of siphoning off FTX customers' money for his personal use on venture investments, real-estate purchases, and political donations. The SEC said that Wang created software that helped divert FTX customer funds to Alameda and that Ellison misappropriated these funds for Alameda's trading activity. The SEC said Ellison and Wang were cooperating with the investigation.

CNN —Two senior executives associated with collapsed crypto exchange FTX have pleaded guilty to multiple criminal charges and are cooperating with federal prosecutors, according to unsealed court records. Additionally, the pair face civil fraud charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission that were announced Wednesday night. Wang cofounded FTX with Bankman-Fried in 2019 and also worked with him at his hedge fund Alameda Research. Ellison is pleading guilty to seven counts, including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Wang has agreed to plead guilty to four counts: wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud.

☆ Elizabeth Warren is concerned Elon Musk is treating Tesla like a 'plaything' amid his Twitter takeover
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sen. Elizabeth Warren wrote to Tesla's board, raising questions over Elon Musk's Twitter purchase. The senator told the board it must ensure Elon Musk does not treat Tesla as a "private plaything." Some Tesla investors have expressed concern that Twitter has become a distraction for Musk. Warren cited reports that Musk has brought in dozen of Tesla employees to assist in his Twitter takeover, saying it could violate the billionaire's "legal duty of loyalty to Tesla." Musk later took aim at Warren, calling her "Senator Karen" and saying she reminded him of a "friend's angry mom."

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