Fraud Blogwire

updated at 15:15

• Shareholder Slams Playboy with Lawsuit over Hugh Hefner

  —BloggingStocks

  

  Filed under: Rumors, Law, Scandals

  TMZ reports that a Playboy (PLA) shareholder has filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging that majority shareholder and chief creative officer Hugh Hefner has intentionally sabotaged multiple deal possibilities in an effort to hold onto his own [...]

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  Posted: February 09, 2010, 2:00pm EST
  by Zac Bissonnette

• Lawyers to Volunteer as Judges to Chip Away at County’s 500-Case Backlog

  —ABA Journal Top Stories

  The superior court docket in Yakima County, Wash., is under a crushing backlog, with more than 500 civil cases awaiting trial while judges make criminal cases a priority. So judicial administration authorities there have come up with a way to chip away at the mountain of cases by bringing in [...]
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  Posted: February 09, 2010, 1:20pm EST
  

• Lawmakers to Push for DNA Testing in Rape Cases That Aren’t Prosecuted

  —ABA Journal Top Stories

  When an individual says he or she has been sexually assaulted, it's routine today for a hospital nurse to open a rape kit and collect the suspect's semen and other fluids from the victim's body for DNA testing. But in Illinois (and, reportedly, other states as well) thousands of these [...]
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  Posted: February 09, 2010, 1:13pm EST
  

• First Jurors, Now Defendants Tweet Mid-Trial

  —ABA Journal Top Stories

  There are dozens of reports of jurors tweeting while court is in session and during deliberations. So much so that even the Judicial Conference has taken notice and OK'd model rules to address juror tweets, texts and social media use. But what about defendants? Should they tweet during their own' [...]
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  Posted: February 09, 2010, 12:17pm EST
  

• Will Petro-Canada Acquisition Sink Suncor Energy?

  —10Q Detective

  Suncor Energy (SU-$30.05) is a long way from achieving the significant synergies envisioned from its all-stock C$19.63 billion acquisition of Petro-Canada last August: Net debt increased to 4.8 times cash flow from operations at year-end 2009, from 1.8 times in 2008. Return on employed capital, excluding major projects in progress [...]
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  Posted: February 09, 2010, 11:41am EST
  by David J. Phillips

• First Thing Lawyer Tells New Clients: Shut Down Facebook Account

  —ABA Journal Top Stories

  People may believe there's a degree of anonymity on the Internet. But police know better, and they are increasingly using social media tools to collect evidence of criminal activity and head off wrongdoing. "Technology has revolutionized law enforcement in many ways," Jack Rinchich, president of the National Association of Chiefs [...]
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  Posted: February 09, 2010, 11:11am EST
  

• New York man indicted in $2.5 million real estate invesment fraud allegations

  —Daily Mortgage Fraud News

  Adam C. Hochfelder, on charges of defrauding investors in two real estate deals, following an investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Today’s indictment charges Hochfelder with engaging in schemes to steal approximately $2.5 million from investors in his purported acquisition of the Sagamore Hotel on Lake George, and The [...]
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  Posted: February 09, 2010, 11:00am EST
  by The Editor - Ian Shuter - ACFE, DMS

• Can Overstock.com Get the SEC Off Its Back?

  —Gary Weiss

  
  Utah Senator Bob Bennett with his favorite constituent
  
  Going Concern today has a post describing the winners and losers in Overstock.com's admission last week that its financial statements going back to 2008 were as phony as a six-dollar bill--thereby vindicating whistleblower' [...]
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  Posted: February 09, 2010, 10:30am EST
  by Gary Weiss

• ABA Slashes Dues for Solos by Half #ABAMidyear

  —ABA Journal Top Stories

  The ABA’s policy-making House of Delegates has cut dues solo practitioners will pay on bills that begin being sent in May by almost 50 percent. The ABA also cut dues paid by government lawyers, judges and legal services attorneys by 25 percent. "We have talked a lot about solos," said [...]
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  Posted: February 09, 2010, 10:11am EST
  

• ACC Allows Law Firms to View Client Ratings in ‘Value Index’

  —ABA Journal Top Stories

  Law firms that have been evaluated by in-house counsel participating in the Association of Corporate Counsel's "Value Index" can now see their ratings. When the ACC launched its rating system in October, only ACC members could view the ratings. ACC general counsel Susan Hackett sent a letter to law firms [...]
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  Posted: February 09, 2010, 8:58am EST
  

• Morningstar acquires footnoted!

  —footnoted.org

  Number of comments: 10
  

  For the past 6 1/2 years, we’ve written frequently about various mergers and acquisitions. Today, we have some M&A news of our own: Morningstar (MORN) has acquired footnoted.org. You can download the official press release here, but I wanted to personally share with you why [...]

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  Posted: February 09, 2010, 8:50am EST
  by Michelle Leder

• Court Upholds $355K Verdict for Pastor Maligned By Church Leaders

  —ABA Journal Top Stories

  In a novel church employment case, an Oregon appeals court has ruled that a church can't use the First Amendment as a defense in a defamation case if church officials used the pulpit to accuse its former pastor of being a thief. The ruling reinstates a $355,000 jury verdict awarded' [...]
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  Posted: February 09, 2010, 8:26am EST
  

• Lehman examiner files sealed report on banks’ role in the firm’s downfall – he wants it public; DE Shaw is looking to pick off rival hedge funds’ distressed portfolios; A look at the SEC and the team that’s tasked to prevent another Madoff; Ex-

  —Wall $treet Folly

  Lehman Brothers Examiner Files Sealed Report on Role of Banks DE Shaw mobilises team to buy distressed assets of fund rivals S.E.C. Enforcers Focus on Avoiding Madoff Repeat Ex-Morgan Stanley Banker Zaoui Said to Weigh Own Firm Lehman Brothers Examiner Files Sealed Report on Role of Banks - Bloomberg An examiner probing Lehman Brothers Holdings [...]
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  Posted: February 09, 2010, 8:22am EST
  by wsf@wallstreetfolly.com (Wall Street Folly)

• Judge Plans to Trim $300M Verdict for Ex-Smoker, Says Tobacco Lawyers’ Strategy Backfired

  —ABA Journal Top Stories

  Calling a record $300 million jury verdict against tobacco giant Philip Morris excessive, a Florida judge has indicated he'll reduce the amount. Broward County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Streitfeld gave no indication, however, when he'd make the adjustment, the Daily Business Review reports. The verdict, reached in November, was the largest [...]
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  Posted: February 09, 2010, 7:57am EST
  

• Danielle Chiesi speaks, claims there’s no chance she’ll do time and says “it’s an honor and privilege” to stand with Rajaratnam; Hedge funds in a Euro shorting spree; Would Greece asking for help send the ‘wrong signal’?; Barclays CEO disse

  —Wall $treet Folly

  Confident Chiesi breaks silence Galleon Tipper Goel Pleads Guilty, Says Rajaratnam Got Secrets Traders in record bet against the euro Greece Says Call for Aid Would Send ‘Worst Signal’ Barclays CEO Says U.S. Plans ‘Bad’ for Global Rules Judge Questions Bank of America’s New Deal With S.E.C. BofA’s Price may need to be sidelined UBS Increases Bonus [...]
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  Posted: February 09, 2010, 7:54am EST
  by wsf@wallstreetfolly.com (Wall Street Folly)

• $150M S.E.C. Pact With BofA Still Low, Judge Says. Will Case Go to Trial?

  —ABA Journal Top Stories

  A federal judge left open the possibility that he could, for a second time, reject a settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Bank of America over the bank’s controversial takeover of Merrill Lynch. Such a rejection by U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff, this time of a proposed [...]
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  Posted: February 09, 2010, 6:53am EST
  

• Feds May More Closely Scrutinize Attorney-Client Accounts to Close Money Laundering Loopholes

  —ABA Journal Top Stories

  A federal report detailing how African politicians and their families used lawyers and others to evade U.S. money laundering laws has federal authorities poised to more closely scrutinize attorney-client bank accounts. The 325-page report by the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations revealed that Chicago-based Sidley Austin transferred about $21 [...]
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  Posted: February 09, 2010, 6:17am EST
  

• Criminal Probe Launched in Deadly Explosion at Conn. Power Plant

  —ABA Journal Top Stories

  A criminal investigation has been opened into a gas explosion that killed five and injured a dozen workers at a power plant in Connecticut on Sunday, reports the Associated Press. "If everything went right, we wouldn't all be here right now," said Middletown Mayor Sebastian Guiliano, apparently at a press' [...]
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  Posted: February 08, 2010, 9:37pm EST
  

• Judicial Conf. Group OKs Model Rules Barring Juror Talk, Texts & Tweets

  —ABA Journal Top Stories

  Updating traditional rules banning jurors from talking about a case outside of deliberations before it is resolved, a committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States has added provisions addressing e-mail, cell phones, social media sites, text messages and Internet research. In addition to reporting on this development, the [...]
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  Posted: February 08, 2010, 8:10pm EST
  

• A PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION IN ANOTHER PONZI SCHEME CASE

  —SEC ACTIONS

  Ponzi schemes were once thought to be difficult to detect. In the wake of the market crisis and huge frauds such as Madoff, however, these cases seem to have become a staple of SEC enforcement. Last year, the Commission brought over one hundred of these cases. Frequently, there were parallel [...]

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  Posted: February 08, 2010, 8:07pm EST
  by T. Gorman

• Claims Filed Against Morgan Keegan Division of Regions Financial Causes Shortage of Arbitrators

  —Stock Broker Fraud Blog

  The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has had to bring in hundreds of additional arbitrators to deal with the approximately 400 securities fraud claims that investors have filed against Regions Financial Corp., the investment banking unit of Morgan Keegan & Co. Investors are seeking to recover $35 [...]

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  Posted: February 08, 2010, 5:38pm EST
  by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas

• ABA to Study How Law Firms & Schools Are Ranked

  —ABA Journal Top Stories

  The ABA will study how a variety of organizations rank law firms and law schools. The debate in the ABA’s House of Delegates about the measure proved to be the most contentious of any resolution it considered today. Resolution 10A, passed by a narrow voice vote, was prompted by a [...]
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  Posted: February 08, 2010, 5:29pm EST
  

• Sisters’ Great Expectations Fizzle in 25-Year Probate War With Law Grad Sib

  —ABA Journal Top Stories

  When real estate investor Max Sakow died in 1956, his handwritten will left one-third of his estate to his wife and said the other two-thirds should be divided equally between his three children. But that's not what they were told, his two daughters claim in probate litigation that began after [...]
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  Posted: February 08, 2010, 4:58pm EST
  

• Robinson Nominated as ABA President-Elect #ABAMidyear

  —ABA Journal Top Stories

  Former American Bar Association treasurer and past president of the Kentucky Bar Association, Wm. T. (Bill) Robinson III, has been selected as president-elect nominee at the ABA Midyear Meeting. It is expected that in August 2010, Robinson will become the president-elect for one year leading to his one-year term as [...]
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  Posted: February 08, 2010, 4:29pm EST
  

• ABA Urges Congress to Fix ‘Broken’ Immigration System #ABAmidyear

  —ABA Journal Top Stories

  The ABA’s policy-making House of Delegates this afternoon voted to urge Congress to substantially remake the adjudication of immigration cases. The measures included recommendations that, if adopted by Congress, would: • Amend the Immigration and Nationality Act’s definition of “aggravated felony” to require that any such conviction must be of [...]
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  Posted: February 08, 2010, 4:00pm EST
  

• Panel OKs Total Attorneys Web Ads With ‘Very Little Margin for Error’

  —ABA Journal Top Stories

  An Internet advertising scheme in which lawyers pay $65 per referral for names of potential clients passes ethical muster with "very little margin for error," an attorney discipline panel says in an opinion today. Explaining its ruling (PDF) last month that the Total Attorneys Inc. advertising does not violate lawyer [...]
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  Posted: February 08, 2010, 3:45pm EST