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☆ Supreme Court Narrows the Reach of an Aggravated Identity Theft Law
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Charlie Savage | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Supreme Court on Thursday narrowed the scope of a federal law that adds two years of prison to various felonies if identity theft is involved, unanimously ruling that the government had interpreted what can count too broadly. Because he submitted an inflated claim using a patient’s Medicaid number, prosecutors convinced a judge that the law on aggravated identity theft applied, and Mr. Dubin received a longer prison sentence. Under the government’s reading, she wrote, “as long as a billing or payment method employs another person’s name or other identifying information, that is enough. A lawyer who rounds up her hours from 2.9 to three and bills her client electronically has committed aggravated identity theft. The same is true of a waiter who serves flank steak but charges for filet mignon using an electronic payment method.”

Persons: David Dubin, Dubin, Sonia Sotomayor, “, filet mignon Locations: Texas

☆ Kim Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather can’t evade EMax crypto investors’ claims, judge says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Alison Frankel | Thomson Reuters | Alison Frankel Has Covered High-Stakes Commercial Litigation As A Columnist For Reuters Since A Dartmouth College Graduate | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Pierce, who allegedly received nearly $250,000 in EMax tokens as payment for touting the investment, paid $1.4 million in February to settle the SEC’s allegations of deceptive securities promotion. The new ruling, Masson said, should serve as a blueprint for crypto investors who contend they were duped by celebrity promoters. The beefed-up amended complaint convinced the judge that investors had plausibly accused the celebrity influencers of doing just that: exerting influence over their followers by endorsing EMax tokens. Fitzgerald’s previous decision dismissing claims against Kardashian and the other EMax promoters, Masson said, might have created an impression that celebrities can’t be held responsible for allegedly deceptive crypto touting. “You cannot get away with this.”Read more:Kim Kardashian, other celebrities beat EMax crypto investors' lawsuitKim Kardashian pays $1.26 million fine for paid crypto ad, SEC saysOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kim Kardashian, Michael Fitzgerald, Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather, famer Paul Pierce, Mayweather, Pierce “, ”, Fitzgerald, Hyping, you’ve, Scott, “, ” Fitzgerald, Michael Rhodes, Cooley, Pierce, Joel Weiner, Katten Muchin Rosenman, James Sanders, Reed Smith, influencer Logan Paul, Paul, King & Spalding, Sean Masson, Scott —, Kardashian —, EMax, Masson, ’, can’t, ” Masson, ” Read Organizations: District, Los, NBA, famer, U.S . Circuit, Securities, Exchange Commission, King &, SEC, Thomson, Reuters Locations: California, “, Florida

In his written evidence, Prince Harry objected to an article published in 2000 as an exclusive in the Daily Mirror, with the headline “Snap. However, during the cross examination, barrister Andrew Green pointed the prince to a public statement made by a Palace spokesperson, before it was reported in the Mirror. Green asked Harry if he maintained that this article “is the result of phone hacking or unlawful information gathering.” Harry said he maintains it is the result of "both." When asked whom he thought had engaged in these sort of activities, Harry said: “I believe it was either probably [the reporter, Jane Kerr] herself or she got someone else to do the dirty work for her.”“Whose phone do you think was hacked?” Green asked Harry. Are we not, Prince Harry, in the realms of total speculation?” Green asked.

Persons: Prince Harry, ”, Jane Kerr, Harry, ” Harry, “, Andrew Green, Green, ” Green Organizations: Daily Locations: Green

☆ Manhattan district attorney urges court to reject Trump bid to move criminal case
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Jeremy Herb | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The Manhattan District Attorney’s office is arguing that former President Donald Trump’s criminal case involving hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels should not be moved to federal court because it had nothing to do with Trump’s official duties as president. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges. Earlier this month, Trump’s attorneys sought to move the criminal case against Trump from New York into federal court, arguing the Manhattan district attorney’s charges against Trump were tied to his duties as president. But the district attorney’s filing urges a federal judge to reject that bid, saying that the payments at question related to his personal business and were made to “conceal criminal conduct that largely occurred before his inauguration.”“The objective of the alleged conduct had nothing to do with defendant’s duties and responsibilities as President,” the Manhattan district attorney’s office wrote. At that hearing, Merchan set a trial date of March 25, 2024, potentially setting the trial to occur during the middle of the Republican presidential primary season early next year.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Stormy Daniels, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Daniels, Trump’s, Rudy Giuliani, ” Trump, Michael Cohen, Trump, ”, Juan Merchan, Merchan Organizations: CNN, Manhattan District, Manhattan, Attorney, Trump, Republican Locations: Manhattan, New York

☆ Bidzina Ivanishvili: Credit Suisse ordered to pay $926 million to Georgia's former prime minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Credit Suisse was ordered to pay $926 million to Georgia’s former prime minister Friday for losing part of his fortune, in a Singapore court ruling that represents one of the biggest legal awards made against the bank. Credit Suisse (CSGKF) said it would appeal the decision. Billionaire businessman Ivanishvili, who was Georgia’s prime minister in 2012 to 2013, had placed $1.1 billion under the custodianship of Credit Suisse Trust in 2005, the court heard. It should have prevented Patrice Lescaudron, an adviser at Credit Suisse Trust in Singapore who was later convicted of fraud, from having access to them. AppealThe $926 million to be paid by Credit Suisse will be reduced by $79 million it had already paid in December.

☆ Taco Bell is fighting to cancel the ‘Taco Tuesday’ trademark
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Taco Bell wants to liberate the “Taco Tuesday” trademark from a smaller, rival chain. The taco chain filed a petition Tuesday (naturally) with the US Patent and Trademark office to cancel the trademark, owned by rival Taco John’s for 34 years, because Taco Bell claims the commonly used phrase “should be freely available to all who make, sell, eat and celebrate tacos.”Since Taco John’s owns the trademark, other restaurants and companies must seek permission to use “Taco Tuesday” in branding and advertising. Taco Bell added that “nobody should have exclusive rights in a common phrase.”Maggie Mettler, director of legal for Taco Bell’s parent company, Yum! And it may have a strong case, because “Taco Tuesday” has become a commonly used phrase, according to trademark attorney Josh Gerben. “Taco John’s would like to thank our worthy competitors at Taco Bell for reminding everyone that ‘Taco Tuesday’ is best celebrated at Taco John’s – the trademark owner of Taco Tuesday.”In response, Taco John’s is selling a “Taco Tuesday” deal of 2 tacos for $2 everyday until May 31.

CNN —Kouri Richins’ husband was found dead at the foot of their bed last March. Around 9 p.m., she brought her husband, Eric Richins, a celebratory Moscow Mule cocktail in the bedroom of their home in Kamas, Utah. Newly released court documents detailed a series of illicit fentanyl purchases in the months leading up to his death. By this time, according to court documents, Kouri Richins no longer owned the property. Kouri Richins said she wrote a book on grief with her sons to help them articulate their feelings, she said.

The rider who choked Mr. Neely was interviewed by the police and released, and a person familiar with the matter said the rider is not viewed by the authorities as a flight risk. If he is charged by the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, the man who applied the chokehold would most likely argue that the force he used against Mr. Neely was justified. Prosecutors would have to prove that he used deadly force without having believed that Mr. Neely was also using deadly force or was about to. And in order to show those things in court, prosecutors would need to have interviewed every one of the many witnesses to the encounter, to make sure that none of them would say something that would hurt the prosecutors’ case. Prosecutors do not typically bring cases unless they believe they can win them.

New York CNN —The jury in the Ed Sheeran copyright infringement case — about whether Sheeran’s smash single “Thinking Out Loud” copied the classic Marvin Gaye song “Let’s Get It On” — deliberated for about five minutes Wednesday evening before the judge sent jury members home. If the jury decides Sheeran is liable for copyright infringement, the trial will move on to the second phase to determine damages. The family of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote “Let’s Get It On” with Gaye, has accused Sheeran of copying the 1973 hit. Earlier, an attorney representing the family suing Sheeran asked the jury Wednesday not to be “blinded by the defendant’s celebrity.”“Mr. Sheeran is counting on you to be very, very overwhelmed by his commercial success,” attorney Keisha Rice said in her closing argument Wednesday.

☆ Trump asks for mistrial in battery case, saying judge has made ‘unfair and prejudicial’ rulings
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Kara Scannell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Former President Donald Trump has asked the judge to declare a mistrial in his civil battery and defamation trial, arguing the judge has made “pervasive unfair and prejudicial rulings” against him. Carroll sued Trump, alleging he raped her in the Bergdorf Goodman department store in the mid-1990s and then defamed her when he denied her claim, said she wasn’t his type and suggested she made up the story to boost sales of her book. Carroll will be on the stand Monday for a second day of cross-examination by Tacopina. Trump has denied any wrongdoing. It would be unusual for the judge to declare a mistrial based on his own statements during a trial.

CNN —Disgraced R&B singer and convicted sex trafficker R. Kelly has been transferred to a federal prison in North Carolina. R. Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, was moved to FCI Butner Medium I, a “medium security federal correctional institution,” according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website. The Butner complex sits north of the Raleigh-Durham area and includes two medium security facilities, a low-security facility and a medical facility. He was already serving a 30-year sentence on racketeering and sex trafficking charges after being convicted in New York in September 2021. “Numerous seated jurors were either familiar with accusations that Defendant had a history of sexually abusing underage girls, had previously faced legal problems, and/or had seen the highly unflattering docuseries, Surviving R. Kelly, in which several government witnesses had appeared,” a brief filed last Wednesday said.

☆ R. Kelly is appealing his 2021 sex trafficking and racketeering convictions in New York and wants a new trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Liam Reilly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly is appealing one of his two federal convictions – his September 2021 guilty verdicts on sex trafficking and racketeering charges in New York – and is seeking a reversal of that conviction or a new trial, court documents show. In a brief filed Wednesday, the singer’s attorneys argue at least four seated jurors in the New York case were already familiar with the sex trafficking accusations raised against R. Kelly prior to trial, with some having seen a documentary series about him. R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison in a New York federal court after a jury convicted him of nine counts, including one charge of racketeering and eight counts of violations of the Mann Act, a sex trafficking law. His attorneys allege the prosecution failed to show there was a “collective of individuals who shared any common purpose other than to promote” R. Kelly’s music. The singer’s attorneys are also seeking to vacate those orders and return the funds confiscated from his trust account.

☆ Wrong-place, wrong-time shootings: What's going on?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

► Outside Austin, Texas, on April 18, two cheerleaders were shot in a grocery store parking lot just after midnight. Yarl and Andrew Lester, the 84-year-old homeowner accused of opening fire, both told police that Lester almost immediately shot Yarl upon opening his front door. What we know about why Lester shot Yarl is what he has told police. ‘Everything to do with race’Lucas doesn’t buy that, noting that Lester said Yarl was six feet tall, when he’s actually 5’8”. That’s another thing that appears to tie these recent shootings together – loaded guns at the ready.

CNN —Former President Donald Trump is suing Michael Cohen for $500 million in damages for allegedly breaching his contract as Trump’s former personal attorney. According to the lawsuit, Cohen revealed confidential information in talking about his prior-attorney-client relationship with Trump during media interviews about the Manhattan District Attorney’s grand jury investigation that led to the former president’s indictment. Cohen also violated an employee confidentiality agreement he signed with The Trump Organization when he published his two books that discuss Trump, the lawsuit claims. Cohen never asked for permission from Trump to disclose any confidential information that should’ve been protected by that agreement and his attorney-client obligations before publishing the books, according to the lawsuit. The complaint also alleges that, like his books, Cohen has put out “inflammatory, misleading, or outright false” information in his podcast “Mea Culpa.”This story has been updated with additional developments.

☆ Opinion: The justice system Trump and other white-collar defendants see is different than what most accused criminals get
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Elliot Williams | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

By virtue of his social standing and the crimes of which he is accused, Defendant Trump is already getting the privileged process and kid gloves extended to white-collar defendants. It’s not that we should treat white-collar defendants worse, but many other defendants better. White-collar defendants routinely argue that the stigma they may face, as prominent members of society, ought to affect the treatment they receive. This is a rounding error compared to the $426 billion to $1.7 trillion estimated to be the annual cost of white-collar crime. Even if no blood is shed in a misdemeanor white-collar crime, it can come with a profound social cost.

☆ Show Your Support for Evan Gershkovich
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was detained on March 29 by Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, while he was on a reporting trip in the city of Yekaterinburg and held on an allegation of espionage that the Journal and the U.S. government vehemently deny. Espionage trials are typically conducted in secret, with little to no evidence shared about a defendant’s case. Conviction carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years. It is rare for a court to acquit a defendant.

☆ Judge orders Sam Bankman-Fried back to court after learning how he accessed the internet remotely
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Kara Scannell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —A federal judge ordered Sam Bankman-Fried back to court this week after learning that the founder of crypto trading platform FTX accessed the internet in a way the government can’t track. Bankman-Fried is currently under house arrest at his parents’ home in Palo Alto, Calif. Overnight Prosecutors alerted the judge to Bankman-Fried’s use of a VPN in late January and early February. Prosecutors and Bankman-Fried’s lawyers asked the judge for more time to work out new bail terms, but the judge rejected that, calling them back to court for the second time in a week. The judge previously expressed concern over Bankman-Fried’s use of encryption and whether the government could track what he was doing while out on bail.

☆ The Paradox of Prosecuting Domestic Terrorism
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( James Verini | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +52 min

The preventive approach to domestic terrorism goes back even further than the 1990s and it begins with the basic police work and surveillance of the joint terrorism task forces. In fact, there is no section of the U.S. Criminal Code that criminalizes domestic terrorism as such. The absence of clear law around domestic terrorism, and the imperatives of prevention, mean that investigators and prosecutors who work domestic terrorism cases must focus on more common charges: weapons violations, illegal drug possession, burglary, aiding and abetting and so forth. But this was not enough to overrule the fear of domestic terrorism that was gripping the nation and that hung in the courtroom. It reflected the legal paradoxes of the case and domestic terrorism law in general or, maybe more accurately, the absence of it.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried’s bail is tightened over ‘threat’ of witness tampering
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Kara Scannell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Sam Bankman-Fried is in trouble, once again, for talking too much. A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily tightened the FTX founder’s bail conditions after learning that Bankman-Fried sent a text message to a former top executive of the crypto trading platform. The restriction comes after federal prosecutors raised the prospect of witness tampering when it discovered that Bankman-Fried had recently contacted the former general counsel of FTX, identified at “Witness-1” in court filings. In the message, Bankman-Fried wrote:“I know it’s been a while since we’ve talked. I’d love to get on a phone call sometime soon and chat.”The judge disagreed with Bankman-Fried’s lawyers’ argument that the message was benign.

☆ Prosecutors say Sam Bankman-Fried’s contact with FTX’s ex-general counsel is ‘suggestive’ of witness tampering
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Kara Scannell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Federal prosecutors said FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried contacted the former general counsel of the crypto trading platform earlier this month in a move they say may constitute witness tampering. They also want the judge to block Bankman-Fried from using any encrypted communication devices out of concerns he will obstruct the ongoing investigation. “Efforts by the defendant to improve his relationship with potential witnesses that may testify against him may itself constitute witness tampering,” prosecutors wrote. Witness-1 participated in Signal and Slack communications with the defendant and a small group of company insiders during the relevant events of November 2022. Several potential witnesses told prosecutors of “incriminating conversations” they had with Bankman-Fried over the messaging platforms that were deleted because Bankman-Fried set the programs to auto-delete after 30 days.

A Louisiana man was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison for kidnapping and attempting to murder a gay teen as part of a broader hate crime scheme targeting men on an LGBTQ dating app, the Justice Department announced Wednesday. His decadeslong sentencing rested on a variety of factors, the Justice Department revealed, including that Seneca intentionally targeted the teen and other gay men because of their sexual orientation. Within days of his assault on White, Seneca allegedly attempted to kidnap a different man and allegedly kidnapped another, the Justice Department said in a previous statement. The Louisiana case is one of several where people have used Grindr, a dating app founded in 2009 that is predominantly used by gay men, to target LGBTQ people around the world. In 2018, it was widely reported that Egyptian authorities and residents were using Grindr and other dating apps to entrap and persecute gay men.

Former President Donald Trump has dropped the federal lawsuit he filed in Florida against New York Attorney General Letitia James. Trump's lawyers filed a notice of voluntary dismissal in the case before U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks on Friday morning. The suit charged James — who's filed a $250 million lawsuit against Trump and his company in New York state court — has "repeatedly abused her position as Attorney General for the State of New York to pursue a vendetta against President Trump." Trump had made similar claims against James in state and federal court in New York, both of which were dismissed. "Mr. Trump is a prolific and sophisticated litigant who is repeatedly using the courts to seek revenge on political adversaries.

☆ Black rappers call out double standard of using hip-hop lyrics as evidence in rapper Young Thug’s criminal trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Safia Samee Ali | Safia Samee Ali Is A Reporter For Nbc News Digital | Based In Chicago. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

Authorities had no physical evidence or weapon that linked Phipps to the shooting, and the then 22-year-old had no criminal record. Through her research Kubrin has found bias against rap music and artists, she said, adding that much of that bias is racialized. That means using lyrics from rap music, a historically Black genre, can infect jurors with anti-Black racism regardless of whether the defendant himself is Black, she said. Defending the practiceFulton County prosecutor Fani Willis, whose office is trying the case against Young Thug and other YSL members, has defended using music lyrics in trials. Gavin Newsom signed the Decriminalizing Artistic Expression Act, which made it the first state to restrict the use of rap lyrics as evidence in state court.

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

☆ 'Real Housewife' Jen Shah should get 10 years in prison following guilty plea for wire fraud, feds say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Julianne Mcshane | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

Smith also pleaded not guilty to the charges in April 2021, but later changed his plea to guilty in November 2021, court records show. Another victim with several serious health conditions said she became homeless after being pushed into nearly $30,000 debt through Shah’s scheme. Shah starred on the show since its first season, which premiered in 2020; the third season is currently airing. "For that, I am genuinely sorry, and I will work for the rest of my life to make it right." Shah also claimed in that statement that she joined "The Real Housewives" to "escape the coaching business" and "have a platform to launch my fashion and beauty business."

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