As FW Trial Begins, Tax Preparer Pleads to $2.6M Scam
Federal investigators said Anthony Floyd of Kennedale, Texas, would tweak tax returns he prepared for clients, causing the government to overpay refunds, which he then pocketed.
14 Indicted in Alleged Prescription Kickback Scheme
Ten doctors, two executives and their businesses have been indicted on federal conspiracy charges by a Dallas grand jury for allegedly perpetrating a kickback scheme. At the center of the alleged scheme are two businessmen who were also part of the massive Forest Park Medical Center kickback scheme.
SEC: Houston Man Illegally Used Wife’s Insider Info for $1.76M in Profits
Correction: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the last name of the man accused of insider trading. The Lawbook regrets the error. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed federal insider trading charges Thursday accusing a Houston man with using information he obtained from his wife, who worked in the M&A division at BP, to illegally profit from the British-based oil conglomerate’s $1.3 billion acquisition of TravelCenters of America one year ago.
When Shared Profits Create Shared Liability: Two Dallas Software Company Founders Indicted in $70M Healthcare Fraud Charges
On Jan. 10, two practice management software company founders and two physicians were indicted to the tune of $70 million for allegedly submitting false claims to private insurers. For in-house counsel and business leaders looking to understand the larger implications of this indictment, there is a clear takeaway. If your company provides any kind of business management software, you might have a shared responsibility for how that software is used once it leaves your four walls.
Fifth Circuit Panel Hears Round 2 Challenge to SEC’s ‘No Admit, No Deny’ Policy
Christopher Novinger, of Mansfield, was before the Fifth Circuit for the second time on Thursday morning seeking relief from a “no admit, no deny” provision in a 2016 settlement agreement he entered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In July 2022 a different panel of that court rejected his attempt to free himself from the gag order provision via a Rule 60(b) motion that argued the “no deny” portion of the policy violated his First Amendment and due process rights.
Matt Orwig Says Goodbye to the Billable Hour
After 17 years with the U.S. Department of Justice and 20 years as a trial lawyer and white-collar criminal defense lawyer with some of the largest corporate law firms in the world, Matt Orwig officially retires from the law practice Monday. From federal judges to corporate general counsel, lawyers tell The Texas Lawbook the impact Orwig had on their career.
"In addition to being a skilled advocate, he was a wonderful teacher, mentor, and colleague who always made time to answer my questions and to strategize about cases," Judge Irma Ramirez, who was recently confirmed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, said. "Matt is a genuinely kind person who cares about everyone around him, and he is the kind of friend on whom you can always count."
Constitutional Danger Zone Redux: SEC’s Latest Supreme Court Battle Presents Significant Collateral Implications
Kokesh. Lucia. Lorenzo. Cochran. The echoes of these recent Supreme Court cases continue to reverberate through the halls of the Securities and Exchange Commission, with their holdings impacting the forum of their cases and the relief they can obtain. On Nov. 29, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in SEC v. Jarkesy, a matter that could have an even greater impact than its predecessors depending on how the Court rules. With the Supreme Court considering the scope and application of the Seventh Amendment to agency administrative proceedings, the parameters of Congressional delegation of authority to administrative agencies, and whether removal restrictions for SEC administrative law judges violate the Constitution, Jarkesy threatens not only SEC enforcement efforts but also those for several administrative agencies. While all will need to wait until 2024 for the Court’s opinion and its true implications to the “administrative state,” a review of the oral argument provides some insights into the potential impacts.
Navigating Artificial Intelligence in the Lone Star State: Biden’s Executive Order on AI
The sweeping new executive order titled “Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence” issues orders to more than 20 federal agencies and will impact businesses across Texas. The order stands as one of the first federal statements regarding AI in the U.S. and includes a complex oversight and enforcement regime modeled on EU product-safety legislation.
SEC Enforcement: Five Trends to Watch
The Securities and Exchange Commission closed fiscal year 2023 on Sept. 30 with a flurry of enforcement filings. A few things stand out, including a sharp increase in cryptocurrency and other digital asset enforcement actions, which far outstrips the agency’s activity in this space in earlier years. There was also a pronounced jump in enforcement focus on corporate internal controls, continuing a trend that started last fiscal year. Meanwhile, the SEC paid record whistleblower awards and stepped up its whistleblower protection efforts, highlighting their importance to the SEC’s enforcement program. On the other hand, ESG enforcement activity appeared to wane, which contrasts with the prominence SEC officials have given to ESG issues in speeches and proposed rulemaking. And SEC administrative proceedings suffered more blows in court challenges, which, while not appearing to slow the pace at which the SEC is filing enforcement cases, could have implications for the SEC’s efforts to regulate the professionals who practice and appear before it.
SEC Charges Austin’s SolarWinds, CISO with Fraud
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed fraud charges Monday against SolarWinds Corporation, an Austin publicly traded company that provides information infrastructure software used by thousands of businesses and government agencies, for alleged failures regarding cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities. The SEC's complaint filed in New York that accuses SolarWinds and its chief information security officer, Timothy G. Brown, with making “materially false and misleading statements and omissions related to SolarWinds’ cybersecurity risks and practices in at least three types of public disclosures” between 2018 and 2020.