Imagine an individual who is convicted of fraudulently obtaining $5,000 but simultaneously acquitted by a jury of conspiring to fraudulently obtain $1 million. Yet at sentencing, the court bases its sentence of the defendant not on the $5,000 fraud of which he was convicted but on the $1 million conspiracy for which the judge finds… Continue Reading
In Marinello v. United States, an opinion released yesterday, the Supreme Court adopted a narrowing interpretation of the tax code’s broadest criminal provision, the “tax obstruction” statute 26 U.S.C. § 7212(a). The Court’s opinion is good news for taxpayers, their advisors, and the sound administration of the law. Marinello concerned whether the crime of “corruptly… Continue Reading
In the October 2017 term, the Supreme Court will take up its first criminal tax case in almost a decade, Marinello v. United States. At issue is a longstanding circuit split about a mainstay of the federal government’s arsenal in financial crime cases, the tax obstruction statute, which makes a felon of anyone who “corruptly… Continue Reading
A unanimous United States Supreme Court held Monday, in Kokesh v. Securities and Exchange Commission, that the five-year statute of limitations under 28 U.S.C. § 2462 applies to disgorgement sought by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Previously, the Circuits had been split on this issue. The issue in Kokesh was straightforward. Kokesh appealed a trial… Continue Reading
In the midst of a False Claims Act (FCA) case, the relators have blatantly violated the FCA’s seal provision. Surely this will lead to dismissal, right? Wrong. On Tuesday, December 6, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that violating the FCA’s seal requirement does not necessarily demand that a case be dismissed. The case before the… Continue Reading
“The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided Court.” One sentence, published by the United State Supreme Court on March 22, 2016 sealed the fate of two plaintiffs seeking to expand protections under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), 15 U.S.C. 1691 et seq., to allow spousal guarantors to bring claims against creditors for marital… Continue Reading
Before the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last week in Luis v. United States, the government could freeze a criminal defendant’s assets before trial even if they bore no connection to the alleged crimes. With the ruling, if the restraint prevents the defendant from paying for counsel, it violates the Sixth Amendment. Sila Luis faced federal… Continue Reading
Government investigations and white collar litigation matters often lead to class action lawsuits by plaintiffs. The Subject to Inquiry Blog takes this opportunity to highlight the potential effects the death of the late Justice Antonin Scalia may have on class action cases before the Supreme Court. Justice Scalia was a reliably consistent critic of federal… Continue Reading
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