Category Archives: Appeal

Fourth Circuit Finally Concedes that the Government Cannot Take Your Stuff Before Trial

Posted on September 12, 2017 by

A few months ago, I wrote a blog post predicting that the Fourth Circuit would stop allowing federal prosecutors to seize untainted assets before conviction. (Buffing fingernails on shirt.) And now it has. Okay, my prognostication was not exactly out … Continue reading →

Posted in Appeal, Continuing education | Leave a comment

Venue Isn’t Boring (I Promise) – The Jeffrey Sterling Case

Posted on June 26, 2017 by

Venue seems like one of those boring topics we learned in law school that doesn’t have much practical application. But in a recent case out of the Fourth Circuit, a defendant won the dismissal of a charge based on lack … Continue reading →

Posted in Appeal, Classifiied information, Venue | Leave a comment

Is the Government Throwing in the Towel on Pre-Trial Seizure of Untainted Assets? A Win in the Fourth Circuit Suggests Yes

Posted on June 8, 2017 by

Perhaps the most troubling type of criminal forfeiture is the pretrial restraint of untainted assets. The Department of Justice will seize assets, before proving a single allegation of wrongdoing, even where those assets are not linked to the wrongdoing. This … Continue reading →

Posted in Appeal, Criminal Forfeiture, Health care fraud | Tagged | 1 Comment

Are You Criminally Liable if Your Business Partner Lies? Or, What the Heck is Misprision of a Felony?

Posted on May 31, 2017 by

Having a business partner can be a wonderful advantage. But it can also be dangerous if your business partner turns out to be unethical. Karen Olson, a former Alaska executive director of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service … Continue reading →

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Ninth Circuit Sets Some Practical Limits on Obstruction of Justice and Witness Tampering Charges

Posted on May 25, 2017 by

There has been a lot of talk in the media recently about obstruction of justice. Obstruction of justice is a fascinating topic, to be sure. But whether the President of the United States obstructed justice when he fired the Director … Continue reading →

Posted in Appeal, Obstruction, Trade Secrets, Witness tampering | Leave a comment

Fifth Circuit Takes a Goldilocks Approach to False Claims Act Standard for Imputing Knowledge to Corporation

Posted on April 25, 2017 by

The Department of Justice is always busy prosecuting fraud related to government contracts. The two obvious reasons why this is a DOJ priority are (1) a lot of public money is spent through government contracts, and (2) the size and … Continue reading →

Posted in Appeal, civil case, False Claims Act, Government contracting fraud, Kickbacks | Leave a comment

“Restitution for a Reckless Bank? A Dubious Remedy Indeed” – Judge Posner’s Bank of America Smackdown

Posted on April 13, 2017 by

Judge Richard Posner of the Seventh Circuit—love him or hate him—just wrote a(nother) scathing opinion. He remanded a criminal restitution order, concluding that Bank of America was not entitled to any restitution for fraudulent mortgage loans because of the bank’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Appeal, Restitution, Sentencing | Leave a comment

Update on the Hedge Fund Founder David Ganek’s Lawsuit Against Preet Bharara

Posted on March 27, 2017 by

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the lawsuit filed by Level Global founder David Ganek. Mr. Ganek sued Preet Bharara, the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, as well as other prosecutors and agents, claiming … Continue reading →

Posted in Appeal, civil case, DOJ policy and practice, Fourth Amendment | Leave a comment

Tax Fraud Cases May Be Easier to Defend But Don’t Count Your Chickens

Posted on November 25, 2016 by

For most crimes, the government must prove that the defendant acted intentionally. This seems like it should be a fairly high bar particularly in white-collar criminal cases but it’s not. For most crimes, the government need only prove that the … Continue reading →

Posted in Appeal, Tax fraud | Leave a comment

Prosecutorial Misconduct in the Grand Jury But No Dismissal of Charges, Says Ninth Circuit

Posted on October 16, 2016 by

Prosecutors who engage in misconduct are rarely subjected to ethics charges. In a recent case out of the Ninth Circuit, the prosecutor engaged in wrongdoing, the court suggests that he should be referred to the bar, yet there is no … Continue reading →

Posted in Appeal, Money Laundering, Prosecutorial misconduct, Uncategorized | 6 Comments