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.

October 7, 2019 Mark Curriden

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

October 4, 2019 Rebecca Ayers of the Dallas Business Journal

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.

September 13, 2019 Bruce Tomaso

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.

September 6, 2019 Natalie Posgate

Judge Boots Bird-Flipping, Profanity-Spewing Juror as Pursley Tax Trial Winds Down

HOUSTON - Closing arguments concluded Friday afternoon in the Jack Stephen Pursley federal tax evasion trial, but the case will proceed without a juror who the judge has dismissed because the juror apparently flashed a middle finger to others in the courtroom and used the F-word in response to testimony.

September 6, 2019 Natalie Posgate

DBJ: SEC Settles with Dallas Digital Firm After Allegedly Defrauding Investors

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has settled with a Dallas digital company for millions of dollars. The agency said it made the deal with Bitqyck Inc. and its founders, who allegedly

August 29, 2019 Brian Womack of the Dallas Business Journal

SAExploration Fires GC, Dismisses CEO Amid SEC Probe

The SEC is investigating Houston-based SAExploration Holdings for allegedly providing “material misstatements” and misleading financial information to investors and the federal agency over the past four years. In response, the oilfield services company says it will cooperate with the SEC, is restating past financial reports, has fired its general counsel and has removed its chairman and chief executive officer.

August 21, 2019 Mark Curriden

Judge Awards $339M in Home Healthcare Fraud Qui Tam Action

A federal judge in Dallas on Wednesday ordered four healthcare professionals to pay the federal government $339.4 million in a whistleblower action tied to one of the largest home healthcare fraud cases in U.S. history.

August 15, 2019 Natalie Posgate

Six Forest Park Defendants Seek Acquittals or New Hearings

In separate pleadings filed last week, six of the defendants found guilty in the spring for their roles in a bribery and kickback scheme at the now-defunct Forest Park Medical Center are asking the U.S. District Court in Dallas for judgments of acquittal or, alternatively, new trials. Texas Lawbook correspondent Bruce Tomaso provides a summary of the arguments.

August 15, 2019 Bruce Tomaso

Convicted Forest Park Surgeon Asks For New Trial

A prominent Dallas spinal surgeon convicted in the Forest Park Medical Center fraud case is seeking a new trial. The filing on Monday by David Gerger of Houston-based Gerger Khalil & Hennessy, claims a string of harmful errors by federal prosecutors and the trial judge requires that the conviction in April of Dr. Michael Rimlawi be vacated. Bruce Tomaso has the story.

July 29, 2019 Bruce Tomaso