White-Collar/Regulatory Archives

Putting the Biden Executive Orders into Context – Potential Upstream and Downstream Impacts to the Midstream Industry

A series of Executive Orders (EOs) issued by President Biden during the first weeks of his Administration put the midstream industry on notice that government policy would be shifting to a renewed focus on climate change and environmental justice. Two Sidley partners describe the implications for industry.

April 19, 2021 Emily Mallen & Katy Lukaszewski

Ramsey Clark (1927-2021) —A U.S. Attorney General, a Dallas lawyer, and “a pure human being”

Before he became U.S. Attorney General and long before he became a controversial champion of the rule of law, Ramsey Clark was a lawyer for his family’s Texas-based firm. Clark died last week at age 93, and The Lawbook’s Tony Mauro looks at those Texas roots.

April 16, 2021 Tony Mauro

Seven Charged by SEC and Justice Department in Energy Company Fraud

A convicted stock swindler from Texas, a defrocked stockbroker from Miami, a Dallas real estate lawyer and a former burglar were among those cited in a criminal complaint filed Wednesday in the Eastern District of New York. The fraud and stock manipulation charges involved a “pump and dump” scheme that revolved around Dallas-based Zona Energy and leaseholds on a West Texas ranch. Texas Lawbook has the details.

April 15, 2021 Allen Pusey

Forest Park Fraud Prosecutor: ‘It Comes Down to Greed and Arrogance’

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Wirmani has never spoken publicly about the unprecedented federal criminal charges he brought against 21 Forest Park Medical Center officials, including nine surgeons and doctors.

Until now.

In an exclusive in-depth interview with Texas Lawbook reporter Bruce Tomaso, Wirmani discusses the tips that launched the investigation, the innovative legal strategy he and his team employed, and how the Forest Park prosecution success is being replicated in other jurisdictions.

April 5, 2021 Bruce Tomaso

Hospice CEO Pleads Guilty in $60M Fraud, Cooperates Against Co-conspirators

The CEO of a onetime thriving North Texas hospice-care agency has pleaded guilty to his role in a $60 million Medicare and Medicaid fraud – and he’s not alone.

March 23, 2021 Bruce Tomaso

FCA Suit Alleges Dallas Doctor and Clinic Made $4.2M in Bad Claims

The civil False Claims Act complaint alleges the Dallas dermatopathologist and his clinic falsely billed the government for medically unnecessary tests through TRICARE.

March 23, 2021 Bruce Tomaso

Former U.S. Attorney Joins Haynes and Boone

Exactly one month after announcing his resignation as the U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of Texas, President Trump-appointee Ryan Patrick has returned to private practice in a move that adds depth to Haynes and Boone’s white-collar practice in Texas.

March 22, 2021 Brooks Igo

When Will In-Person Jury Trials Resume in TX? Three Major Counties Weigh In

Now that the Texas Supreme Court lifted its statewide ban on in-person court proceedings and jury trials, the question is when and how will district courts open their courtrooms. The answer: Not all at the same time or the same way. This article has in-depth interviews with the judges making the decisions.

March 22, 2021 Natalie Posgate

Final Sentencing in Forest Park Fraud Case

The sentencing of 14 defendants convicted in the Forest Park Medical Center bribery scam have finally been sentenced to a combined 74+ years in federal prison. The last to be sentenced was Alan Beauchamp, the architect, builder and marketer of the fraud. The Lawbook’s Bruce Tomaso was there for the end of a three day marathon of reckoning in one of the most substantial and prominent medical frauds in Dallas history.

March 19, 2021 Bruce Tomaso

Four More Doctors Get Prison Time as FPMC Sentencing Continues

“Crime does not pay, even when millions are involved.”

With those words, U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary sentenced Douglas Won, once a wealthy, preeminent spinal surgeon, to five years in federal prison for his role in a massive bribery and kickback scheme involving Forest Park Medical Center, a now-defunct physician-owned hospital in North Dallas. The judge also sent Won’s onetime business partner, surgeon Michael Rimlawi, to prison.

March 18, 2021 Bruce Tomaso