Top 10 White-Collar Crime Cases of 2025
Healthcare fraud prosecutions, many stemming from the pandemic, stood out among the biggest white-collar cases in Texas last year.
Agency Recommends $9.6M in Fines for Houston-based Midstream for 2022 Deepwater Spill
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Monday that it is recommending a fine of more than $9.6 million against a Houston-based company for a November 2023 deepwater oil spill off the coast of Louisiana. The penalty is the result of an investigation by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safe Administration and the recommended levy of $9,622,054 is described as the "largest civil penalty ever proposed" by the agency.
Rethinking the Investor-Broker Relationship in Tokenized Real Estate Markets
Illiquidity has always been a feature (and a bug) of real estate transactions. That prime piece of retail space is one of a kind, and you can’t click “sell” on that multifamily asset the same way you can on a share of a blue-chip company. Tokenization is changing that premise by turning the economics of property ownership into fractional tradable units that can be bought or sold through digital exchanges at the touch of a button. This shift matters for corporate counsel because once something trades like a security, the market structure becomes an additional risk on top of the investment itself.
How Dallas’s Three New Stock Exchanges May Reshape Securities Fraud Enforcement
In a development that could fundamentally reshape the landscape of federal securities enforcement, three major stock exchanges are establishing operations in Dallas within the Northern District of Texas. This geographic diversification of America’s securities exchange infrastructure represents more than mere business expansion — it signals a potential seismic shift in federal criminal and civil securities enforcement. Cases that historically could only be prosecuted in Manhattan may soon find their way to Dallas courtrooms, bringing with them the possibility of different judicial approaches, jury pools and enforcement priorities.
Houston’s U.S. Attorney Wins Key Senate Vote for Federal Judgeship
The nomination of Nicholas Ganjei to the bench of the Southern District of Texas goes next to the full Senate, where swift approval is expected. Ganjei, currently the Southern District’s top federal prosecutor, is a former chief counsel to Sen. Ted Cruz.
Ex-VP of Wichita Falls Bank Gets 4 Years in Pandemic Loan Scam
Kaylee Ree Lunn pleaded guilty in July to wire fraud, admitting that she used bank customers’ financial data to apply for bogus loans under the government’s Paycheck Protection Program.
Houston-area Energy Executive Convicted in Scheme to Bribe Mexican Officials
Jurors in the court of U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt found Alexandro Rovirosa guilty of conspiracy and violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. A codefendant, Mario Avila, is a fugitive.
Former USPS Employee Pleads Guilty to Bribery Scheme
Zechariah Yi is the fourth person to plead guilty in a bribery scheme that involved United States Postal Service contracts that awarded about a total of $15 million to three trucking companies. Yi’s sentencing is set for March 2026.