By: Sara Kropf The government knows—and exploits the fact—that loss amount is the driver of white collar sentences. In criminal contracting fraud cases, the government has taken the position that the relevant loss is the entire amount of the contract that was...
By: Sara Kropf The federal wire fraud statute is incredibly broad. In this era of non-stop email and texts, it’s hard to imagine a white collar case that doesn't implicate it. For the most part, courts have been reluctant to limit its reach. But a recent decision from...
The Fifth Circuit handed two corporate executives at a medical device company a big win recently. I’ve posted in the past about the indictments and trial of two former executives at ArthroCare, Michael Gluk and Michael Baker. They were found guilty in June 2014 of...
The SEC finally gave up the ship in its insider trading case against former hedge fund managers Anthony Chiasson and Todd Newman. After the Second Circuit reversed their convictions and the Supreme Court denied cert, the SEC decided not to pursue its civil suit...
By: Sara Kropf The government's aggressive methods to seize a defendant’s assets before he is convicted of a crime hinders a defendant’s ability to choose—and pay for—his lawyer. A recent Second Circuit case limits the government’s ability to do so. It is based on the...
The calculation of loss amount drives sentencing decisions in many white collar cases. The higher the loss amount, the longer the sentence. Courts always seem to take an expansive view of what counts as a “loss” for sentencing. In a recent Third Circuit case, however,...
By: Sara Kropf One of the first things I tell a potential client in a criminal case is not to delete anything from his computer. I explain that DOJ will turn deleting an email or two into an obstruction of justice charge. The client will nod and say he understands....
This is the kind of case that wakes up lawyers in a cold sweat at night. The Second Circuit recently granted a new trial to a defendant after the trial court found that he had waived his right to a new trial. The waiver came when his lawyers discovered the possibility...
Sometimes, the good guys win. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was a tragedy. The explosion was deadly and the resulting environmental harm was devastating. The government’s response was typical: let’s find some people to prosecute. One of the unlucky targets of the...
By: Sara Kropf In recent years, the government has increasingly prosecuted individuals under the federal aggravated identity theft statute. This increase may be from the legitimate increase in identity theft but it may also result from the government’s realization...