Articles Tagged: White Collar


Thomas Goldstein Gets 72 Months in Federal Tax and Mortgage Fraud Sentencing

Thomas C. Goldstein, a nationally known Supreme Court advocate and co-founder of SCOTUSblog, has been sentenced in federal court to 72 months in prison for tax crimes and mortgage fraud. The court also revoked his bond and remanded him into custody at sentencing, an unusually sharp procedural turn that underscores how seriously the court viewed the conduct and the need for immediate detention.

The case stands out not only because of the sentence length, but because of the defendant’s stature in the legal profession.

DOJ Secures Prison Terms in $45 Million Investor Fraud Targeting 10,000 Victims

The U.S. Department of Justice on July 9 announced prison sentences for Neil Suresh Chandran and Bryan Lee in a sweeping investor-fraud case that prosecutors said caused more than $45 million in losses to over 10,000 investors. According to the government, the defendants promoted false narratives about extraordinary company valuations and imminent buyouts, using those claims to induce investments on a massive scale.

The sentencings are notable not only for the size of the alleged fraud, but also for the victim count.

Former Fed Adviser’s Prison Sentence Puts Insider Misappropriation Risks Back in Focus

The Justice Department’s sentencing of a former adviser to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors is one of the clearest recent reminders that insider-trading exposure is not limited to public-company executives, bankers, or hedge funds. It also reaches government and quasi-government insiders who misuse market-sensitive information obtained through positions of trust.

According to the government’s announcement, the former Fed adviser received a federal prison sentence after being prosecuted for exploiting confidential economic information.

DOJ’s 2026 Health Care Fraud Takedown Sweeps In 455 Defendants and $6.5 Billion in Alleged False Claims

The Department of Justice has unveiled one of the year’s largest coordinated health care enforcement actions: the 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown, which includes charges against 455 defendants nationwide, among them 90 physicians and other licensed professionals. Prosecutors say the cases involve more than $6.5 billion in alleged false claims, underscoring the scale of the government’s continuing focus on fraud in federal health care programs.

The sweep was coordinated across U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, with participation from DOJ’s Criminal Division, HHS-OIG, CMS, and other federal and state enforcement partners.

Federal Murder Charge Filed After Deputy U.S. Marshal Killed in Louisiana Standoff

Federal prosecutors have charged Clarence A. Frazier Jr. in connection with the killing of Deputy U.S. Marshal Drew Hanson during an attempted apprehension in Louisiana, a case that quickly moved from a missed state-court appearance to a major federal prosecution. The matter, identified as United States v. Clarence A. Frazier Jr., centers on allegations that law enforcement officers attempting to take Frazier into custody were met with deadly force during a coordinated operation involving federal and state authorities.

The case stands out not only because a deputy U.S. marshal was killed, but because it highlights the legal exposure that can arise when a state criminal matter intersects with federal fugitive apprehension efforts.

Ex-Epoch Times CFO Pleads Guilty in SDNY $67 Million Money-Laundering Conspiracy

The former chief financial officer of The Epoch Times Association, Inc., Weidong Guan, has pleaded guilty in the Southern District of New York to participating in a conspiracy involving at least $67 million in illicit funds. The case is notable not only for the size of the alleged laundering operation, but also because it involves a senior finance executive at a media organization and is being prosecuted in one of the country’s most prominent white-collar enforcement venues.

For legal professionals, the plea is a reminder of how aggressively federal prosecutors continue to pursue anti-money-laundering cases tied to corporate insiders.

DOJ’s $600 Million Alibaba Settlement Signals Escalating E-Commerce Enforcement

The Department of Justice has announced a $600 million settlement with Alibaba Group and AUS Merchant Services to resolve allegations that the companies failed to prevent the sale of illegal pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical equipment, and other unlawful products on their platforms. The resolution, involving the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island, is notable not only for its size but also for what it says about the government’s enforcement posture toward large online marketplaces and payment-related service providers.

At a high level, the case reflects a familiar theory in modern platform enforcement: federal authorities are increasingly focused not just on the third-party sellers offering unlawful goods, but also on the intermediaries that allegedly enabled those transactions by failing to implement adequate controls.

SEC’s New Retail Fraud Group Signals a Sharper Focus on Main Street Investor Cases

The SEC has announced a new Retail Fraud Group within the Division of Enforcement, a structural change that offers an unusually clear signal about where the agency expects to devote investigative and prosecutorial resources in the near term. The group is designed to target fraud affecting everyday investors, including the kinds of schemes that often arise through digital marketing, affinity-based solicitations, misrepresentations in retail-facing products, and misconduct tied to investment advisers or broker channels.

For legal professionals, the significance is less about the creation of a new name and more about what it suggests operationally: specialization, centralized expertise, and potentially faster identification of recurring fraud patterns.

Sunday Snapshot: The 8 Legal Developments Shaping U.S. Litigation at the End of June 2026

The legal news cycle does not fully stop for the weekend, and this Sunday’s landscape reflects a familiar reality for practitioners: the most consequential developments often emerge over several days and quickly reshape litigation risk, enforcement expectations, and appellate strategy.

As of June 28, 2026, the biggest U.S. legal stories span multiple fronts rather than a single blockbuster filing.

DOJ Charges 15 in Direct Action Minnesota Case With Conspiracy, Threats, and Assault on Federal Officers

The Justice Department has announced a sweeping federal prosecution against 15 alleged members and associates of Direct Action Minnesota, a Minneapolis-based activist group the government describes as having antifa ties. According to the DOJ, the defendants face a mix of serious charges, including conspiracy to impede federal officers, interstate stalking and threats, solicitation of violence, assault on federal officers, and destruction of government property.

The matter appears in the District of Minnesota as USA v. Alm, et al, and it stands out not only because of the number of defendants, but also because of the government’s emphasis on alleged coordinated action against federal personnel.

Andrew Left Guilty in Closely Watched Securities-Fraud Trial

A federal jury has found short seller Andrew Left guilty of securities fraud, delivering a notable win for the U.S. Department of Justice in a criminal case closely watched by the securities bar, hedge funds, issuers, and compliance teams. Prosecutors alleged that Left used his public commentary to move stock prices while privately trading in ways that conflicted with the market-facing views he was promoting.

The verdict is significant because it pushes market-manipulation enforcement beyond the familiar civil playbook and into criminal territory.

DOJ’s $6.5 Billion Healthcare Fraud Takedown Signals Aggressive Enforcement Across Federal Districts

The Justice Department has announced one of its largest coordinated healthcare fraud enforcement actions to date, charging 455 defendants in connection with more than $6.5 billion in alleged false claims.

DOJ Spotlights June 19 Enforcement Wave: What Today’s Criminal and Regulatory Actions Signal

The Justice Department’s June 19 release slate underscores a familiar but still accelerating reality for companies and counsel: federal enforcement remains broad, fast-moving, and increasingly coordinated across criminal, civil, and regulatory lines. While the day’s headlines span multiple subject areas, the common thread is the government’s continued use of parallel tools—indictments, guilty pleas, settlements, and public-facing compliance messaging—to shape behavior well beyond the immediate defendants.

For legal professionals, the significance is less about any single announcement than about the pattern.

Supreme Court Preserves SEC’s Disgorgement Tool in June 4 Enforcement Win

The U.S. Supreme Court handed the Securities and Exchange Commission an important enforcement victory on June 4, upholding the agency’s authority to pursue disgorgement in securities cases. The ruling preserves a remedy the SEC has long relied on to strip alleged wrongdoers of ill-gotten gains, and it arrives at a moment when the Court has often taken a more skeptical view of federal agency power.

For the SEC, disgorgement is not just an add-on remedy.

Boston Insider-Trading Sweep Advances as 15 Defendants Enter Not-Guilty Pleas

A sweeping federal insider-trading prosecution in Boston took a significant step forward on June 1, when 15 defendants pleaded not guilty in a case prosecutors say spanned roughly a decade and touched nearly 30 merger transactions. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston has charged 30 people overall, alleging that lawyers and financial professionals improperly shared confidential deal information that was then used to trade ahead of market-moving announcements.

The case stands out both for its scale and for the professional roles allegedly involved.

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