Trump has been indicted in Fulton County Superior Court. So, what is RICO and why is it important in this case? The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, was original designed to fight organized crime. It was enacted in 1970 after being signed into law by President Richard Nixon. …
The Department of Justice investigates and prosecutes cases where large amounts of money is alleged to have been taken. Examples of white collar crimes are money laundering, bank, wire and mail fraud, tax evasion, insider trading, insurance fraud, mortgage fraud, bribery and embezzlement. Of course Homeland Security, the FBI, the…
On April 5, 2023, the United States Sentencing Commission announced amendments to the United States Sentencing Guidelines that will come in to effect on November 1, 2023. Below is a summary of those changes as it relates to just fraud cases. Under proposed USSG 4C1.1, a client will receive a 2-level decrease…
We posed some questions about cryptocurrency using Bard (Google’s version of Chat GPT), First we asked, WHAT IS CRYPTOCURRENCY? Its response: Cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that uses cryptography for security. A cryptocurrency is difficult to counterfeit because of this security feature. A defining feature of a cryptocurrency, and…
By Brandon Fitz Wire Fraud is a serious white-collar crime and is defined under 18 USC §1343 and states: Whoever, having devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises,…
By Maya Fouad Tax evasion is the most common federal tax crime and involves the failure to report taxes, reporting taxes inaccurately, or failing to pay taxes. Federal law defines the crime broadly; 26 U.S.C. 7201 states, “[a]ny person who willfully attempts in any manner to evade or defeat…
On April 11, 2022, the Northern District of Georgia in Atlanta announced the creation of a new pretrial diversion court, the Accountability, Treatment, and Leadership Court “ATL Court“. It is formed with the Northern District of Georgia, the U.S. Probation Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the Federal Defender Program,…
Manhattan federal agents arrested Archegos Capital Management founder Sung Kook “Bill” Hwang on April 27, 2022 on fraud charges, roughly one year after the investment firm’s huge losses back in March 2021. Department of Justice prosecutors are charging both Hwang and Patrick Halligan, the firm’s chief financial officer, with racketeering…
Attorney General Merrick Garland made recent comments about what he considered to be the Department of Justice’s top priorities for 2022. Since taking office in March 2021, Garland has tried to combat crime in a tumultuous time. He has been criticized for his handling of January 6 investigation and has stated…
What is a Grand Jury? The purpose of the grand jury is to determine whether or not there is probable cause to believe that any federal felony has been committed. A typical federal grand jury consists of between 16-23 citizens drawn from the community. The jurors meet in a closed…