By Dan Portnov The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (“OIEA”) came in hot last week with its HoweyCoin initial coin offering pre-sale – a mock ICO designed to teach cryptocurrency-hungry investors the lesson that some ICOs may be scams. It’s quite...
By: Sara Kropf I’ve written about fraud in the entertainment industry before. Last time it was Broadway, this time it’s Hollywood. The government recently indicted four employees of a California-based movie production company, Gigapix Studios Inc. (“Gigapix”), on...
By: Sara Kropf Frank Castaldi’s story serves as a cautionary tale for anyone trying to cooperate with the government to get a better deal. In 2008, Mr. Castaldi turned himself in to government investigators, revealing his $77 million Ponzi scheme. Mr. Castaldi fully...
By: Sara Kropf In certain fraud cases, defendants allegedly target groups of victims, such as the elderly or members of an ethnic or religious group (commonly known as “affinity” fraud). But, today, I bring you two cases that involve a very specialized group:...
By: Sara Kropf Since January 2010, corporations facing SEC investigations had one big advantage over individuals: they could seek a deferred prosecution agreement. DPAs allow companies that committed wrongdoing to avoid prosecution, most often by undertaking...
By: Sara Kropf The SEC and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency both claimed that TD Bank assisted Scott Rothstein—the Florida lawyer currently serving 50 years in prison for a Ponzi scheme—with committing fraud. The OCC contended that TD Bank violated the...
By: Sara Kropf A lot of people have faced charges in the Bernie Madoff scandal over the past few years. Madoff’s accountant, David Friehling, pleaded guilty to falsifying documents. Madoff’s son Peter pleaded guilty to several criminal charges and was sentenced to ten...
By: Sara Kropf Da Mayor: Doctor. Mookie: C’mon, what? What? Da Mayor: Always do the right thing. Mookie: That’s it? Da Mayor: That’s it. Mookie: I got it. I'm gone. Do the Right Thing (1989) (yes, 1989—you are that old) Except for “not guilty,” the sweetest words for...
By: Sara Kropf A few years ago, a woman was referred to me. She thought someone had scammed her husband out of a lot of money. I wish I could tell you I was able to help her, but I wasn’t. I always remembered the name of the person who she thought had taken their...
By: Sara Kropf This is the one of my recurring posts that offer quick summaries of similar cases. Think of them as the Kay and Peele version of my blog posts, though not nearly as funny and always safe for work. It is the oldest (white collar) trick in the...