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☆ Frank founder Charlie Javice, who allegedly defrauded JPMorgan out of $175 million, hit with federal charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Katherine Long | Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Charlie Javice, who sold her student-aid startup Frank to JPMorgan Chase, was charged with fraud. The bank claimed Javice faked millions of customers to convince it to buy Frank for $175 million. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan charged Javice with wire fraud affecting a financial institution, securities fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy on Tuesday. JPMorgan acquired Frank in 2021 for $175 million, but began to question the authenticity of the startup's purported 4 million users after an email marketing campaign ended in "disaster," according to the bank's lawsuit and a filing by prosecutors. Out of 400,000 emails sent to Frank users, more than 70% bounced back and only 103 were opened, the bank claimed.

Companies JPMorgan Chase & Co FollowNEW YORK, April 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Tuesday filed criminal charges accusing Charlie Javice, the founder of the now-shuttered college financial planning company Frank, of defrauding JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) into buying the startup for $175 million in 2021. Prosecutors said that when JPMorgan asked for a list of names, Javice paid an unnamed data science professor $18,000 to concoct a sham list of names. JPMorgan shut down Frank in January, and Chief Executive Jamie Dimon branded the acquisition a "huge mistake" in a Jan. 13 conference call with analysts. In December, JPMorgan sued Javice and Olivier Amar, who was Frank's chief growth officer, in Delaware federal court. Javice filed counterclaims in February, accusing JPMorgan of having "compromised her reputation" and wrongfully withheld $28 million of retention payments and equity.

☆ Ex-Morgan Stanley advisor charged with defrauding NBA players out of $13 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Former Morgan Stanley advisor Darryl Cohen was arrested on Thursday morning for allegedly defrauding current and former NBA players including Jrue Holiday, Chandler Parsons and Courtney Lee. Three others, including former NBA players agent Charles Briscoe, were also charged. Cohen was an advisor for Morgan Stanley from 2015 to 2021, according to his Financial Industry Regulatory Authority profile. The DOJ said in its indictment document that the alleged fraud schemes took place from roughly 2017 to 2020. "We fully cooperated with the investigation and have resolved clients' claims related to Mr. Cohen," Morgan Stanley said in a statement.

☆ Miles Guo, the Chinese tycoon charged with defrauding his fans of more than $1 billion, once starred in a music video where he shadowboxed on a luxury yacht to lyrics like 'take down the CCP'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Guo Wengui, also known as Miles Guo, was arrested on 11 counts of fraud and money laundering. Guo, also known as Miles Guo, is credited on Apple Music and Spotify as the artist behind at least 14 hip-hop, pop, and lo-fi songs. One of the political activist's most well-known works is a music video on YouTube, titled "Fight For Hong Kong." Taking down the CCP, the evil CCP, is the only way for us to live without fear," Guo raps in Mandarin. Another video sees Guo hyping up Himalaya Coin, or Hcoin, a cryptocurrency that Guo and Bannon promoted.

[1/5] Guo Wengui (also known as Miles Kwok) holds a news conference with Steve Bannon in New York, New York, U.S., November 20, 2018. Guo, 52, was charged with 11 criminal counts including securities fraud, wire fraud and concealment of money laundering, after "lining his pockets with the money he stole," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams in Manhattan said in a statement. They will propose a "robust bail package," according to Tamara Giwa, a federal public defender who represented Guo at Wednesday's hearing. Bannon is not accused of wrongdoing in Guo's criminal case. It said it also seized assets purchased with proceeds from Guo's alleged fraud, including a Lamborghini Aventador, and wants Guo to forfeit the yacht.

☆ New York bike path attacker spared death penalty after jury deadlocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | 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

REUTERS/Jane RosenbergNEW YORK, March 13 (Reuters) - Sayfullo Saipov, the man convicted of killing eight people in an attack on a Manhattan bike path in 2017, was spared the death penalty on Monday after a federal jury deadlocked on whether he should be executed. Saipov's case is the first federal death penalty trial since President Joe Biden, a Democrat, took office in 2021 after pledging during his campaign to abolish capital punishment. Jurors agreed that other aggravating factors weighed in favor of the death penalty, including that Saipov planned his attack in advance and carried it out to support Islamic State. Patton said in his closing argument that the death penalty was "not necessary to do justice." Prosecutors sought the death penalty despite U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland's July 2021 moratorium on federal executions so the Department of Justice could review its use of the punishment.

Congressman Stephen Buyer was convicted by a New York jury on Friday of trading on inside information he learned in 2018 as a consultant to T-Mobile US Inc (TMUS.O) ahead of its $23 billion merger with Sprint. Prosecutors said at a trial that began on March 1 that Buyer bought Sprint stock after learning from a T-Mobile executive that the telecommunications companies were in merger talks in 2018 and engaged in another insider trading scheme in 2019. Buyer took the stand at trial and denied trading on inside information. Buyer made more than $100,000 from the Sprint trades and more than $200,000 on stock in Navigant Consulting Inc, which he purchased before Guidehouse acquired the company in 2019, according to prosecutors. Reporting by Jody Godoy in New York; Editing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ericsson to Pay About $207 Million After DOJ Finds It Breached Deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Richard Vanderford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

Ericsson AB has agreed to pay $206.7 million in a foreign bribery settlement with the U.S. Justice Department, which found the telecommunications company had breached an earlier deal. Stockholm-based Ericsson will plead guilty to the original charges it faced following its breach of a 2019 deferred prosecution agreement, the Justice Department said Thursday. In a deferred prosecution agreement, prosecutors charge a company but agree that they will drop those charges after a period of time if the company abides by certain conditions. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | Risk and Compliance Journal Our Morning Risk Report features insights and news on governance, risk and compliance. The failures prevented the Justice Department from bringing charges against certain individuals, it said.

Bankman-Fried, FTX's founder, pleaded not guilty to eight criminal charges filed against him in December. Bankman-Fried now faces 12 criminal charges after prosecutors unsealed a new indictment against him last week. Singh is the third Bankman-Fried close associate to plead guilty and agree to cooperate with prosecutors. Caroline Ellison, who was Alameda's chief executive, and Gary Wang, who was FTX's chief technology officer, pleaded guilty in December to seven and four criminal charges, respectively. Singh was a close friend of Bankman-Fried's younger brother in high school, Bankman-Fried wrote in a deleted blog post.

☆ Former director of engineering at FTX Nishad Singh pleads guilty to criminal charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Kara Scannell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —A former top executive of failed cryptocurrency trading platform FTX pleaded guilty and is cooperating with federal prosecutors investigating the alleged billion-dollar fraud at the now collapsed exchange. Nishad Singh, the former director of engineering at FTX, pleaded guilty to six conspiracy charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate federal campaign finances laws. Singh is the third top executive and close confidante of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried to plead guilty and cooperate with prosecutors. Gary Wang, co-founder of FTX, and Caroline Ellison, the former head of FTX’s sister hedge fund Alameda Research, both pleaded guilty last year and are cooperating against Bankman-Fried. New York state election records show Singh made a $107,000 donation to the committee on October 28, 2022.

Maxwell, 61, is expected to present her legal arguments in a filing with the 2nd U.S. Epstein killed himself at age 66 in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019, one month after being charged with sex trafficking. Maxwell is expected to claim that prosecutors charged her long after a five-year statute of limitations expired. At Maxwell's trial, the four accusers said Maxwell and Epstein at first made them feel welcome in their orbit before subjecting them into giving Epstein sexualized massages. Prosecutors are expected to respond to Maxwell's filing before the appeals court hears oral arguments.

☆ Nishad Singh is the latest member of Sam Bankman-Fried's inner circle to plead guilty in FTX case
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Nishad Singh, who led engineering at FTX, has pleaded guilty to six criminal charges. Singh pleaded guilty to six counts, including wire fraud and various conspiracy charges, according to a filing on Tuesday in New York federal court. Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, and FTX cofounder Gary Wang both pleaded guilty in December and are also cooperating with federal prosecutors. Bankman-Fried, who was hit this month with an updated indictment outlining 12 counts against him, pleaded not guilty in January. Singh had been head of engineering at both FTX and Alameda, according to the SEC's complaint.

☆ Prosecutors say Sam Bankman-Fried helped create a new company with no employees to get round FTX being rejected for a bank account in California
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Prosecutors say FTX.US was denied opening a California bank account as it wasn't a licensed money services business. The low-profile company, called North Dimension, was founded in August 2020 and was previously revealed in other complaints against Bankman-Fried. Thursday's indictment says it also had no employees or business operations other than its bank account. Now, prosecutors say this was an elaborate scheme to defraud a bank and operate an unlicensed money business. "Under Bankman Fried's supervision, employees of Alameda completed an account application that falsely stated that the purpose of the North Dimension bank account was for 'trading' and 'market making,'" the indictment unsealed on Thursday reads.

☆ Former NYC corrections union chief convicted of bribery wins early prison release
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Norman Seabrook, (C) the head of New York City's prison guard union, exits the Manhattan District court house in New York, U.S., July 22, 2016. Seabrook, 63, the former head of the Correction Officers' Benevolent Association, has spent 21 months in prison after unsuccessfully appealing his August 2018 conviction. "The sentence Huberfeld originally received reflected an approximate equivalence between the conduct of the bribe giver, Huberfeld, and the bribe taker, Seabrook," Hellerstein wrote. The correction officers union has about 20,000 active and retired members. The case is U.S. v Seabrook, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

☆ Two charged with insider trading in Kodak before COVID loan announcement
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The defendants then traded in Kodak stock, resulting in profits of more than $500,000 for Andrew Stiles and more than $700,000 for Gray Stiles, the indictment said. One day before the proposed loan was announced, Andrew Stiles texted his cousin "tmw," prompting Gray Stiles to respond "hot damn," the indictment said. Andrew Stiles was arrested at his Charleston, South Carolina home, and Gray Stiles was arrested in Virginia. Ron Fischetti, a lawyer for Andrew Stiles, said his client's arrest came "out of nowhere" following a year of communications with prosecutors. A lawyer for Gray Stiles did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Companies Ledgerx LLC FollowNEW YORK, Feb 7 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a proposal to modify Sam Bankman-Fried's bail conditions, despite an agreement between the FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder and prosecutors to address potential witness tampering concerns. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan did not provide reasons for the denial, and said a hearing on bail remains scheduled for Feb. 9. Prosecutors had asked last month to tighten bail, citing Bankman-Fried's efforts to contact both the general counsel of the FTX U.S. affiliate and new FTX Chief Executive John Ray, ostensibly to provide assistance. Bankman-Fried would have also withdrawn his objection to a bail condition preventing him from accessing FTX, Alameda or cryptocurrency assets. They cited the cases' substantial overlap, and the risk Bankman-Fried could gather evidence in the civil cases to help his criminal defense.

Companies Ledgerx LLC FollowNEW YORK, Feb 7 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a proposal to modify Sam Bankman-Fried's bail conditions, despite an agreement between the FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder and prosecutors to address potential witness tampering concerns. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan did not provide reasons for the denial, and said a hearing on Bankman-Fried's bail remains scheduled for Feb. 9. Prosecutors had asked last month to tighten his bail conditions, citing Bankman-Fried's efforts to contact both the general counsel of the FTX U.S. affiliate and new FTX Chief Executive John Ray, ostensibly to provide assistance. The proposed conditions would prevent Bankman-Fried from talking with most employees of FTX or his Alameda Research hedge fund without lawyers present, or using encrypted messaging apps such as Signal. Reporting by Luc Cohen and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The criminal case against Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison could put jilted FTX customers in the backseat
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The parallel criminal case against SBF, Caroline Ellison, and Gary Wang may be to blame. But they told a Delaware bankruptcy court recently that they hit a roadblock, accusing Sam Bankman-Fried and those close to him of not playing ball with them. The criminal case takes priorityEllison and Wang separately reached plea deals with federal prosecutors in Manhattan, copping to charges including wire fraud and conspiracy. But, experts told Insider, the deals require them to focus on working with prosecutors in the criminal case — even if it could be at the expense of other parties. But when both criminal and civil proceedings are ongoing, it's the criminal case that goes first in line, Snyder said.

Bankman-Fried, 30, has been free on $250 million bond since pleading not guilty to charges of fraud in the looting of billions of dollars from the now-bankrupt FTX. But in a letter to U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan, Bankman-Fried's lawyers said prosecutors sprung the "overbroad" bail conditions without revealing that both sides had been discussing bail over the last week. "Rather than wait for any response from the defense, the government sandbagged the process, filing this letter at 6:00 p.m. on Friday evening," Bankman-Fried's lawyers wrote. They said a Signal ban isn't necessary because Bankman-Fried is not using the auto-delete feature, and concern he might is "unfounded." The lawyers also asked to remove a bail condition preventing Bankman-Fried from accessing FTX, Alameda or cryptocurrency assets, saying there was "no evidence" he was responsible for earlier alleged unauthorized transactions.

☆ Ex-FBI official arrested for alleged money laundering, Russia sanctions, taking money from former foreign agent
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Jonathan_Dienst_Byline.Jpg | Jonathan Dienst | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Charles McGonigal, 55, was arrested on Saturday after arriving at JFK airport in New York on a flight from the Middle East. From August 2017 through his retirement in September 2018, McGonigal allegedly concealed his relationship with this former foreign security officer from the FBI. Charles McGonigal, the former head of counterintelligence for the FBI’s New York office. In 2022, federal prosecutors in New York charged Deripaska with violating sanctions. McGonigal joined the FBI in 1996, and was first assigned to the New York Field Office, where he worked on Russian foreign counterintelligence and organized crime.

☆ How 'Cryptoqueen' Ruja Ignatova ended up as the only woman on the FBI's most-wanted list
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Faith Karimi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Ruja Ignatova is one of the FBI's 10 most-wanted fugitives -- the only woman currently on that list. FBIShe is now one of the FBI’s 10 most-wanted fugitives, alongside accused gang leaders and murderers, and is the only woman currently on that list. The bureau declined to provide additional details to CNN beyond court documents from the US Department of Justice, which did not list an attorney for Ignatova. “The cryptocurrency OneCoin was established for the sole purpose of defrauding investors,” IRS Special Agent John R. Tafur said in a statement. Less than two weeks later, on October 25, 2017, she boarded a commercial flight from Sofia, Bulgaria, to Athens, Greece, court documents said.

☆ U.S. agency says Amazon.com exposed workers to safety hazards
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File PhotoNEW YORK, Jan 18 (Reuters) - A U.S. government agency on Wednesday issued citations against Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) for failing to keep warehouse workers safe, by exposing them to ergonomic hazards that resulted in serious injuries. The agency said workers at the Florida facility were also exposed to "struck-by" hazards, where merchandise that was unevenly stacked or not secured was susceptible to collapse. Doug Parker, the head of OSHA, said Amazon's processes were "designed for speed but not safety, and they resulted in serious worker injuries." Amazon has said it invests hundreds of millions of dollars annually to ensure worker safety. Safety concerns, including after the deaths of six workers when an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois, collapsed during a December 2021 tornado, have helped spur union campaigns at Amazon warehouses across the country.

☆ U.S. agency cites Amazon.com for safety hazards
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

NEW YORK, Jan 18 (Reuters) - A U.S. government agency on Wednesday issued citations against three Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) facilities for violations that exposed workers to safety hazards, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan said. Workers at the facilities were exposed to ergonomic hazards that put them at high risk for lower back injuries and other musculoskeletal disorders, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. The facilities are located in New Windsor, New York, Waukegan, Illinois, and Deltona, Florida, Williams said. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New YorkOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/4] The logo of FTX is seen at the entrance of the FTX Arena in Miami, Florida, U.S., November 12, 2022. Companies facing wide-ranging investigations often hire pool counsel for employees. The use of pool counsel suggests that federal prosecutors in Manhattan probing FTX's collapse may be interested in questioning a deep roster of employees. The use of pool counsel enables a single legal team to gain expertise in the case, making it more efficient than having each employee retain individual lawyers, Krissoff said. The arrangement does not mean Covington is representing FTX, which has turned to Sullivan & Cromwell, another law firm.

☆ Analysis: Bankman-Fried fraud charges sidestep debate over how U.S. law sees crypto
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | 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: +5 min

"It's a pretty simple deception," said Shane Stansbury, a professor at Duke University School of Law and former Manhattan federal prosecutor. The debate matters to cryptocurrency companies because it could determine which agency regulates the trading of digital assets. Both have pleaded not guilty and argued the charges should be dismissed because insider trading charges must involve securities or commodities. In bringing wire fraud charges in both cases, prosecutors avoided taking a position on how cryptocurrencies or NFTs should be classified. It is unlikely Bankman-Fried's lawyers will attempt a similar argument because the wire fraud charges are more straightforward, Kasten said.

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