The recent courtroom battle over the admissibility in a criminal trial of statements made by former Deutsche Bank AG traders to Deutsche Bank’s outside counsel during its internal investigation into misconduct involving the London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor, shines a spotlight on a potentially recurring problem in criminal prosecutions that arise out of or
The U.S. Department of Justice announced the end of Operation Choke Point in an August 16 letter to the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. Operation Choke Point, which began under the Obama Administration, sought to prohibit banks and other financial firms from giving so-called “bad actors” access to bank accounts and payment processing systems.
On August 16, Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson announced the filing of a lawsuit against two pension advance companies alleged to have preyed on veterans and senior citizens, convincing borrowers into signing over large portions of their monthly pensions in exchange for small loans to cover household emergencies and basic living expenses.
The suit, filed
Partnering with the Federal Trade Commission, the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (“ICPEN”) recently unveiled significant enhancements to its online portal – www.icpen.org – designed to help members identify and respond to consumer challenges crossing international borders.
ICPEN is a network of consumer protection agencies from over 60 countries that strives to protect consumers
The Department of Justice announced that Bruce Kevin Hawkins, 52, of Desoto, Texas, recently pled guilty in a federal court in Texas regarding his role in a foreclosure rescue scheme that ran from February 2012 to January 2013 and bilked over $240,000 from homeowners facing foreclosures. Hawkins pled guilty to one count of mail fraud
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced the creation of Operation Tech Trap, a new joint effort among national and international partners to combat tech support scams that dupe consumers into believing their computers contain harmful computer viruses and malware and then trick these consumers into paying hundreds of dollars for unnecessary repairs to “fix” their
The Federal Trade Commission has signed a memorandum of understanding (“MOU”) with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (“RCMP”) to strengthen cooperation regarding cross-border fraud matters. Acting FTC Chairman Maureen K. Ohlhausen signed the MOU on behalf of the United States, and Commissioner Bob Paulson signed on behalf of the RCMP and Canada.
The MOU concerns
On January 18, Lukeroy Rose, owner of Phoenix-based Rose Marketing LLC, pled guilty pursuant to a plea agreement to charges of theft, unlawful telephone solicitations, and conspiracy to commit theft. Rose was arrested in December 2016 pursuant to the newly amended Arizona Telephone Solicitations statute, Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 44-1277, which makes it a Class
An operator of a mortgage relief scam and an attorney agreed to court orders banning them from the debt relief business in order to resolve allegations brought by the FTC that they swindled millions of dollars from financially distressed homeowners.
According to the FTC’s Complaint, in the scheme, Damian Kutzner and four attorneys operating
Approximately a year after filing an amended complaint and three months after settling with a group of co-defendants, the Federal Trade Commission and Florida Attorney General have filed papers seeking entry of agreed permanent injunctions and monetary judgments against a second group of co-defendants involved in an alleged nationwide debt relief telemarketing scam. The