Finance & Banking › Criminal Law › Science, Computers & Technology

Bitcoin Exchange Assets Seized

Federal authorities executed a seizure warrant against a bank account associated with one of the leading bitcoin exchanges. The warrant was not based on bitcoins themselves being illegal. Rather, the entity was not registered...more

Bitcoin Regulatory Update: Understanding the Federal Government’s Attack on Mt. Gox

Bad news travels fast. On May 14, Magistrate Judge Susan Gauvey of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland signed a Seizure Warrant authorizing the Federal Government to seize “the contents of Dwolla...more

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Issues Guidance on Virtual Currency

FinCEN recently issued interpretive guidance to clarify that it views certain activities involving convertible virtual currencies as money transmission services under the Bank Secrecy Act and FinCEN regulations. If your...more

Chad Elie v. Ifrah Law PLLC

Complaint (Exempt From Arbitration)

Chad Elie v. Ifrah Law PLLC: Complaint (Exempt From Arbitration) DISTRICT COURT CLARK COUNTY NEVADA Case No. A-13-679951-C Dept No.: XV I Filed April 11, 2013 S!GAL CHATTAH, ESQ. Nevada Bar No.: 8264 LAW OFFICES...more

Virtual Currency Under Federal Anti-Money Laundering Laws: FinCEN Provides Guidance

A lot of companies transact in credits that might be called “virtual currency.” Most of these companies probably do not consider themselves financial institutions. Many have never considered the possibility that they need to...more

White Collar Watch - March 2013

In This Issue: - Eleventh Circuit Holds that Production of Foreign Bank Account Records May be Compelled in Criminal Investigation Under Required Records Exception to Fifth Amendment Privilege - Supreme Court...more

Treasury Department: Bitcoin Dealers Are Regulated Under Money-Laundering Laws

Timothy Lee at Forbes magazine has reported today that the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a branch of the Treasury Department, has issued new guidelines on the legal status of Bitcoin under U.S. money...more

Criminal Antitrust Update - January 2013

In This Issue: - INDUSTRY SCORECARD - Technology: An executive of AU Optronics Corp. (“AUO”) was convicted of price-fixing in the LCD flat screen markets in a re-trial. Steven Leung was involved in the sale of LCD...more

Bitcoins: Online Currency’s Uncharted Frontier

Bitcoin – it sounds like a token you might use to play skeeball at a beachside arcade. It is actually a relatively new, virtual online “currency” being used for payments across the Internet. While some observers have noted...more

OCC Issues Alert On DDoS Cyber Attacks

On December 21, the OCC issued Alert 2012-16, which provides a general description of recent distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks directed at national banks and federal savings associations, along with risk mitigation...more

Bank Agrees to Reimburse Company for Funds Taken Through Online Bank Account Theft

We reported in July on a First Circuit Court of Appeals decision finding that a bank failed to implement commercially reasonable security methods to prevent unauthorized transfers by a criminal that gained the online banking...more

Federal Lawsuit Outlines Online Banking Procedures By Dan Mitchell

Originally published in MainBiz on November 26, 2012. Last July, the federal First Circuit Court of Appeals issued a first-of-its kind decision regarding the obligations of banks and their commercial customers in...more

State Treasurer and Chairman of the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission Letter to Sen. Reid & Sen Kyl Objecting to Draft...

Below is a complete text-version of the attached -- Mass. Treasurer Steven Grossman's Letter to Sen. Reid and Sen. Kyl objecting to the Draft iGaming Prohibition Bill expected to be dropped during the Lame Duck session of...more

Coping with the Threat of Fraudulent Funds Transfers

This article is a shortened version of a legal memorandum published on the NC Bankers Association website. Criminal schemes to steal funds through fraudulent wire transfers are increasing in frequency and sophistication....more

State of New York v. Vincent Basciano Jr., et. al. (Michael Colbert)

Indictment

State of New York Indictments of Elaborate Sports Betting Ring Involves Offshore Online Sports Betting Web Sites Allegedly Utilized by the Defendants for illegal sports wagering in the US: In addition to traditional...more

Update: Third Party Payment Processor Sentenced to Jail Time for Processing Internet Poker Company Funds

On October 3, 2012, Judge Lewis A Kaplan of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York sentenced Chad Elie to five months in prison for his role in facilitating the processing of payments for three...more

Hack Attack: US Financial Institutions in the Cross-Hairs

Last week the FBI released a fraud alert warning financial institutions that cyber criminals have been using tactics such as spam and phishing emails to obtain employee log-in credentials. After obtaining the credentials the...more

FBI Warns Financial Institutions About New Cyber Threats

On September 17, the FBI, together with the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center and the Internet Crime Complaint Center, issued a fraud alert to advise financial institutions of a new trend in which...more

January 4, 2012 - The Federal Crimes Watch Daily

The Federal Crimes Watch Daily is a daily newspaper that discusses current federal criminal issues written by a federal criminal defense attorney....more

Insider Trading Case Highlights Government Focus on Hedge Fund Activities

A recent insider trading case against a doctor who was involved in clinical trials of a drug to treat hepatitis and allegedly tipped material, non-public information relating to those trials to a hedge fund manager, is...more

“Expert Networks” Under Investigation: Insider Trading Probe Into The Use of Consultants May “Ensnare” Hedge Funds, Mutual Funds,...

The Wall Street Journal reported on November 20 that a far-ranging insider trading probe into the use of outside expert consultants has the potential to “ensnare consultants, investment bankers, hedge-fund and mutual-fund...more

The SEC’s Insider Trading Case Against a Clinical Trial Physician: Lessons For Physicians, Investors, and Public Companies

On November 2, 2010, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) brought an action for insider trading against a physician involved in an investigational drug clinical trial based on the alleged use of confidential...more

House Financial Services Committee Considers Internet Gambling

Internet gambling has captured the attention of the House Financial Services Committee and its chairman, Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts. Currently on the books, but not yet implemented, is the Unlawful Internet...more

Is Your Bank's Security System Adequate?

Statistics regarding payment systems in the United States are by now well-known. Check usage hit all-time highs in the 1990s, but has been on the decline since. Meanwhile, debit card, credit card, and electronic or automated...more

Optimal Group Non-Prosecution Agreement with SDNY - October 29, 2009

Optimal Group Non-Prosecution Agreement with SDNY - October 29, 2009 --- [Excerpt from NPA document] "On the understandings specified below, the Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District ofNew...more