I posted the other day about a federal fraud case here in the gorgeous Spring weather in Atlanta, Georgia. In that post I mentioned some of the ways to avoid a prison sentence for people facing federal fraud charges arising out of “white collar” or what we sometimes call “economic…
As many know, I am a criminal defense lawyer in Atlanta Georgia who handles federal criminal cases here and all over the United States (I’m currently working on federal cases in Vermont, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina, Florida, the Middle and Southern Districts of Georgia, and out in Texas and Arkansas).…
Here in Atlanta and other federal cases that I handle throughout Georgia, Florida, Alabama and other states, lawyers often chuckle (and once in a while enjoy a full belly laugh) at some defenses I come up with once in a while. Here are a couple. Now, remember, these are reserved…
I came across this story about two Defendants in New York who were appealing to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals their convictions for “insider trading”, which as we all know is a rarely prosecuted federal crime arising out of a securities investigation that usually starts with the SEC. These…
Here in Atlanta we have a good relationship with the federal prosecutors, and can generally work out some good arrangements when we represent a client who is served with a federal grand jury subpoena. As we explain elsewhere, it is always a good idea to have a lawyer help one…
The Eleventh Circuit issued an opinion today on a fraud case out of Florida involving issues related to restitution. The appellate court reversed the restitution order, ruling that the government had not adequately proved the amount of restitution, nor had the district judge calculated restitution based on specific factual findings.…
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which sits several blocks from our offices here in Atlanta, reversed some of the convictions in a federal fraud prosecution that were brought against a defendant in Alabama. The reversal of some of the charges was because the indictment failed…
This past Friday the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued its opinion in U.S. v. Ghertler, a federal criminal case. The Court held that Ghertler, who had impersonated corporate officials to obtain urgent cash transfers from large corporations, did not abuse a position of trust in perpetrating his frauds because…
The Health Care bill that passed last night provides for additional funding to the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program (HCFAC). This program was established as a part of the Heath Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in 1996 “to combat fraud committed against all health plans, both public…
Prosecutions against executives accused of fraud in connection with backdating stock options have been plagued by prosecutorial misconduct. In August, the Ninth Circuit reversed the conviction of Gregory Reyes, former CEO of Brocade Communication Systems, due to prosecutorial misconduct. Last week, Judge Carney of the Central District of California dismissed…