White Collar Roundup, August 2010
The Subpoenas Are Coming! The Subpoenas Are Coming!
Inspectors general may soon have broader investigative power. Congress is considering enacting the Inspector General Authority Improvement Act of 2010, which would give inspectors general the authority to subpoena nonfederally employed witnesses under some circumstances.
A Sentence by Any Other Judge Would Be as Short (or Long)
The DOJ asked the U.S. Sentencing Commission to investigate the propensity of judges to ignore the sentencing guidelines, especially in the white-collar crime area. It noted, for example, that some defendants involved in a $500 million fraud received less than four years' incarceration while others involved in a $40 million fraud received a 25-year sentence.
The Wire (Fraud)
The wire-fraud statute requires the government to prove only that the use of the wires was "reasonably foreseeable," according to the Tenth Circuit. Therefore, any transaction that might involve the use of the Internet would fall within the statute's purview.
When the Hedge Fails
Hedge-fund managers can become fiduciaries of their investors, opening them up to prosecution under the antifraud provisions of the federal Investment Advisers Act, 15 U.S.C. ? 80b-6. Normally, the fiduciary duty runs to the fund, but the?Sixth Circuit has held that, in some circumstances, the manager's fiduciary duty can run directly to the investors.
Money in Motion
Money-laundering convictions may be harder to come by, thanks to a?Sixth Circuit holding that under 18 U.S.C ? 1956(a)(2)(B)(i), the government must prove that the "animating purpose" of the transaction was to conceal the fraudulent nature or source of the funds.
To Catch a Thief . . . Ten Years Later
No actual loss to a financial institution is required to?double?the otherwise applicable?five-year statute of limitations for criminal prosecution for mail and wire fraud, according to the Tenth Circuit. A "new or increased risk of loss" to the financial institution because of the scheme is sufficient to invoke the ten-year statute of limitations applicable to a fraudulent scheme that "affects" a financial institution.
A DPA Ain't Immunity
Criminal defendants can introduce evidence that they rejected an offer of immunity to show consciousness of innocence, but not evidence that they rejected an offer of a deferred-prosecution agreement, says one court of appeals.
Splitting Hairs Too Finely
A grand-jury witness can't be too cute when answering the government's questions. The?Ninth Circuit?held that a witness can't be convicted of perjury for giving a?misleading but "literally true" answer. But if the jury could reasonably conclude that the witness and the government had the same basic understanding during the line of questioning, such that the "literal truth" is just an after-the-fact lawyerly contrivance, a perjury conviction will stand.
Recommended
Day Pitney is proud to announce that two of our Connecticut-based attorneys and our Litigation department have been recognized by the Connecticut Law Tribune as part of their second annual New England Legal Awards. According to the publication, the awards recognize exceptional attorneys and firms from Connecticut, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island across various legal domains.
Day Pitney Litigation department vice chair Mark Salah Morgan was featured in the National Law Journal article "What Does the Path Forward for Stalled 3rd Circuit Nominee Adeel Mangi Look Like?"
Day Pitney White Collar Attorney Stan Twardy was featured in the CT Insider article "How Federal Probe Into CT State Police Ticket Scandal Began."
Day Pitney Tax Partner Ryan Leichsenring authored an article for the Hartford Business Journal titled, "Here's How to Avoid Common Pitfalls When Managing Charitable Assets."
The news of Ryan Leichsenring joining Day Pitney as a partner in the firm's Tax practice was featured in Thomson Reuters' The Daily Docket Industry Moves column.
Day Pitney Government Enforcement and White Collar Criminal Defense Partner Stephen Reynolds was featured in the Connecticut Law Tribune article "Stephen Reynolds: A Full-Circle Career Back to Day Pitney."
The arrival of Stephen Reynolds as a Government Enforcement and White Collar Criminal Partner to Day Pitney's Stamford office was featured in the Anti-Corruption Report.
The arrival of Stephen Reynolds as a Government Enforcement and White Collar Criminal Partner to Day Pitney’s Stamford office was featured in the Cybersecurity Law Report.
The arrival of Day Pitney White Collar Partner Stephen Reynolds was featured in Law360 article "Day Pitney Adds Former Federal Prosecutor in Conn."
The arrival of Stephen Reynolds as a White Collar Partner to Day Pitney's Stamford office was featured in Corporate Counsel Business Journal article "Stephen Reynolds Joins Day Pitney as Partner."