Chron: Feds Charge Harris Co. Judge with Misuse of Campaign Funds
A Harris County judge is facing federal charges that accuse her of using campaign donations for personal expenses, including for mortgage payments, private school tuition and travel.
Houston Chronicle: SEC Subpoenas Crown Castle for Docs
Houston-based cell tower company Crown Castle has received a subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission requesting certain documents from 2015 through the present, primarily related to accounting policies
SEC Director David Peavler: More Crypto-Fraud, Less Oil & Gas Schemes
The new head of the SEC’s Fort Worth Regional Office says there are changes upon us. Cryptocurrency fraud is all the rage, oil and gas offering fraud is blase. SEC enforcement lawyers are getting more aggressive with witnesses and targets earlier in cases. Whistleblowers with evidence of corporate fraud are being more warmly welcomed. And a new, but not nearly as funny, Twitter feed is in the works.
Texas Lawbook Exclusive Event: New SEC Director David Peavler Takes Questions, Gives Insight
David Peavler has been the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s top federal cop in Texas overseeing corporations, financial institutions and investment firms for three months and one day. This Tuesday, Peavler and a panel experts are discussing the SEC's challenges, new focuses and recent developments and trends in an exclusive CLE ethics program. In this article, Peavler and the panelists give a sneak, but substantive preview of their talking points.
Legal Experts: Environmental & Safety Incidents Facing Increased Scrutiny
Companies that experience major environmental and workplace incidents are facing increasing scrutiny, including criminal investigations, according to lawyers who represent corporations involved in crisis situations. Baker Botts partners Greg Dillard and Scott Elliott say that public repercussions for businesses experiencing serious environmental, health and safety issues has expanded significantly, especially those involving workplace deaths.
DBJ: FTC Levies $150M Penalty against Plano Firm
Plano-based AdvoCare International and its former chief executive officer will pay $150 million to settle charges that the company operated as an illegal pyramid scheme, the Federal Trade Commission announced
Updated: Former DOE Lawyer & Sunnova GC Joins Baker Botts
George Fibbe, the ex-deputy general counsel for litigation, regulation and enforcement at the U.S Department of Energy said he joined Baker Botts because the opportunity was “too good to pass up.” Find out more about his background in this Lawbook-conducted Q&A.
Convicted Forest Park Doctors Suspended by State
Four physicians convicted earlier this year in the Forest Park Medical Center bribery and kickback trial have been suspended by the Texas Medical Board. The suspensions are not final, but they are mandatory while the convictions are being appealed. Bruce Tomaso has the details.
Pursley Trial Outtakes: A Court on the Clock; Brio de Janeiro; Closing Arguments
It's not every trial that features a lawyer involved in a multi-million dollar tax fraud, a mysterious Brazilian who claims NOT to have owned a company whose millions were available to him and a juror who shoots the bird in the courtroom just before deliberations begin. Such was the tax fraud trial of Jack Stephen Pursley, however, and Natalie Posgate was there for all of it. We asked her to empty her notebook, and here's what she gave us.
Cryptocurrencies, Vulnerable Investors Are Hot Topics for Securities Regulators
AUSTIN – State securities regulation has always been something of a whack-a-mole endeavor, but today’s moles have gotten quite clever. As older Texans become more comfortable with smartphones and online interactions, scammers use websites like Craigslist and Facebook to troll for victims, Joseph Rotunda, director of enforcement for the Texas State Securities Board, told The Texas Lawbook in an exclusive interview.
Ruff Family Seeks Criminal Inquiry against Lawyer, Bank over Millions in Trust Fund
A Texas judge has initiated a "court of inquiry" to handle allegations of criminal misconduct made by the children of deceased Dallas banker Arthur Ruff against Texas lawyers and bankers involved in their family’s multimillion-dollar trust. The judicial led probe comes as Ruff's widow seeks to enforce a $66 million judgment against her own son. The web of lawsuits shows just how nasty family disputes over cash and control can get.
Houston Jury: Lawyer Pursley Guilty of Federal Tax Evasion – Updated
HOUSTON - Nine men and three women found Houston attorney Jack Stephen Pursley guilty of three counts of tax evasion and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States late Friday. He faces up to 20 years in prison.