DBJ: Prison Sentences Handed Down for UDF Execs
Coming into the hearing, four UDF executives faced sentences of up to 27 years in federal prison, according to prosecutors.
Nationwide Permit 12 in the Crosshairs (Again), and Texas Energy and Infrastructure Projects Hang in the Balance
The Edison Electric Institute, which represents investor-owned electric companies, recently warned that environmentalists’ challenge to a Clean Water Act dredge-and-fill general permit for oil and gas pipelines is not just a threat to efficient permitting for those projects but could hinder the validity of similar permits for other sectors.
The court's holding in the underlying case challenging the nationwide permit has the potential to significantly impact energy sector projects in Texas.
DBJ: Prosecutors Get More Time to Tally Restitution in UDF Fraud Case
Federal prosecutors say that roughly 30,000 investors are victims of the UDF executives under the Crime Victims Rights Act. Sentencing is set for May 20.
Baker Botts Fights ‘Tampon Tax’ Imposed by Texas Comptroller
Lending pro bono assistance, Baker Botts is teeing up a constitutional challenge to the Texas comptroller’s decision that sales tax must be collected on feminine-hygiene products when the agency concludes Band-Aids and gauze – and even libido boosters for men – should not. This policy, argues the energy partner who is tackling the challenge, Meghan Dawson McElvy, “favors the male sex drive and organs over the management of female menstruation.”
Feds Are 11 for 11 in Guilty Pleas in $300M Medical-Lab Kickback Scheme
Less than three months after their indictment, 11 Texans, including two doctors, have pleaded guilty in a payoff scheme involving needless lab tests billed to Medicare and other federal programs by three Dallas-area labs.
Lessons from the DaVita Win
The antitrust matter was the first criminal case alleging an illegal conspiracy involving a “non-solicitation” or “no-poach” agreement. This article shows why it is an issue of serious importance to GCs around the state.
Dialysis Giant Acquitted in Federal Criminal Case Over Non-Poaching Agreements
Tom Melsheimer, who represented DaVita Inc.’s former CEO at the trial in Denver, said his client’s conduct may have been ‘obnoxious,’ but it wasn’t a crime. The jury agreed.
Sherman Jury Rejects Feds’ Criminal Wage-Fixing Claim in Home-Health Case
In a groundbreaking criminal case, the former owner of a staffing agency that provided physical therapists to home-healthcare companies is convicted of obstructing an FTC investigation – but acquitted of conspiring with competitors to fix wages.