Financial Crimes

Lawyer Alex Murdaugh surrendered Thursday to face insurance fraud and other charges after state police said he arranged to have himself shot in the head so that his son would get a $10 million life insurance payout. More

September 16, 2021

First trial "Operation Varsity Blues" college admissions bribery scandal shed light investigators' tactics brighten spotlight school selection process many complain rigged to favor the rich. More

September 8, 2021

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Prosecutors and defense attorneys sketched dueling portaits of fallen Silicon Valley star Elizabeth Holmes as her trial got underway Wednesday, alternatively portraying her as a greedy villain who faked her way to the top and a passionate underdog whose spent years trying to shake […] More

September 8, 2021

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer Just six years ago, Elizabeth Holmes seemed destined to fulfill her dream of becoming Silicon Valley’s next superstar. She was the subject of business magazine cover stories describing her as the youngest self-made female billionaire in history, former President Bill Clinton was reverently quizzing her about her thoughts on […] More

September 7, 2021

A judge last week refused to delay the Oct. 12 trial of Lev Parnas and Andrey Kukushkin on charges that they made illegal campaign contributions to U.S. politicians. More

September 7, 2021

Jury selection fraud trial Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes cast spotlight on fallen Silicon Valley star facing felony charges alleging she duped financial backers customers and patients. More

August 31, 2021

A California judge declared a mistrial Tuesday in the embezzlement trial of attorney Michael Avenatti who is charged with stealing millions in settlement money from his clients. More

August 24, 2021

PHOENIX (AP) — A woman who acknowledged helping a former politician in an illegal adoption scheme involving women from the Marshall Islands was sentenced to two years in prison Tuesday in Arizona for helping submit false applications for the birth mothers to receive state-funded health coverage, even though none of the women resided in the […] More

July 13, 2021

By PAUL WISEMAN and TOM KRISHER AP Business Writers WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Tesla founder Elon Musk took to a witness stand Monday to defend his company’s 2016 acquisition of a troubled company called SolarCity against a lawsuit that claims he’s to blame for a deal that was rife with conflicts of interest and never […] More

July 12, 2021

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Avenatti, the brash California lawyer who once represented Stormy Daniels in lawsuits against President Donald Trump, was sentenced Thursday to 2 1/2 years in prison for trying to extort up to $25 million from Nike by threatening the company with bad publicity. Avenatti, 50, was […] More

July 8, 2021

Michael Avenatti faces sentencing over a year after a jury concluded he tried to extort millions of dollars from Nike by threatening the company with bad publicity. More

July 8, 2021

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors did not find Michael Avenatti’s seventh request to delay sentencing a charm, saying Tuesday that the once high profile California lawyer should be forced to hear his punishment next week for trying to extort Nike for up to $25 million. In court papers, prosecutors urged […] More

June 22, 2021

Prosecutors urged a judge Wednesday to impose a “very substantial” prison sentence on Michael Avenatti for trying to extort millions of dollars from Nike. More

June 17, 2021

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Avenatti should spend no more than six months behind bars after a jury concluded he tried to extort $25 million from sportswear giant Nike, his lawyers told a judge Wednesday, saying the once high-flying California attorney faces constant ridicule after his “cataclysmic fall.” In a […] More

June 10, 2021

By TOM HAYS and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Epic Ponzi scheme mastermind Bernard Madoff is dead. But the effort to untangle his web of deceit lives on. More than 12 years after Madoff confessed to running one of the biggest financial fraud in Wall Street history, a team of lawyers is still […] More

June 2, 2021

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. immigration authorities said Thursday they have detained Anna Sorokin, the con artist who passed herself off as a wealthy German heiress and served more than three years behind bars for defrauding New York banks and hotels. Sorokin, who finagled her way into the Manhattan elite using the name Anna Delvey, […] More

April 2, 2021

Girl Scout troop leader Jill Gauthier is accused of stealing $125,000 from cookie sales and event fees. More

March 24, 2021

BOSTON (AP) — Fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli’s request to serve the remaining three months of his prison term in the college admissions bribery scheme at home was denied Tuesday by a federal judge. Giannulli argued he should be released to home confinement for the rest of his five-month sentence because he spent eight weeks under […] More

January 26, 2021

By JONATHAN LEMIRE, ERIC TUCKER and JILL COLVIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump pardoned former chief strategist Steve Bannon as part of a flurry of clemency action in the final hours of his White House term that benefited more than 140 people, including rap performers, ex-members of Congress and other allies of […] More

January 20, 2021

Fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli asked to serve the remainder of his five-month prison term at home after spending eight weeks in solitary. More

January 15, 2021

'Full House' actress Lori Loughlin was released from prison after serving two months for paying bribes to get her daughters into college. More

December 29, 2020

By LYNN ELBER AP Television Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Maybe Olivia Jade Giannulli had hoped for kid-glove treatment in choosing the family vibe of “Red Table Talk” for her first public comments about the college admissions scandal involving her famous parents.   If so, she was quickly enlightened during Tuesday’s episode of the Facebook […] More

December 9, 2020

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and MICHAEL BALSAMO Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli reported to prison on Thursday to begin serving his five-month sentence for bribing his daughters’ way into college, officials said. Giannulli’s wife, “Full House” actor Lori Loughlin, is already behind bars for her role in the college admissions bribery scheme involving […] More

November 19, 2020

BOSTON (AP) — A California couple got prison time Tuesday for paying $250,000 to get their daughter into the University of Southern California as a volleyball recruit — the latest sentencing in the college admissions bribery scheme that’s roiled the worlds of higher education, sports and entertainment. Diane Blake was sentenced to six weeks behind […] More

November 17, 2020

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and MICHAEL BALSAMO Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Authorities say “Full House” actress Lori Loughlin has reported to a federal prison in California to begin serving her two-month sentence for her role in the college admissions bribery scandal.   The U.S. Attorney’s office in Boston said Friday that Loughlin was being […] More

October 30, 2020

MIAMI, Fla. (Court TV) — A Miami attorney is accused of multiple bank robberies that took place over the course of three weeks. Aaron Patrick Honaker, 41, allegedly robbed $1,050 from a bank on Oct. 3, then $800 from another bank on Oct. 10. He also attempted to rob four other banks, according to the […] More

October 22, 2020

By MICHAEL BALSAMO and MARCY GORDON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department on Tuesday sued Google for antitrust violations, alleging that it abused its dominance in online search and advertising to stifle competition and harm consumers. The lawsuit marks the government’s most significant attempt to protect competition since its groundbreaking case against Microsoft […] More

October 20, 2020

By JANIE HAR Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Federal prosecutors charged Texas billionaire Robert Brockman on Thursday with a $2 billion tax fraud scheme in what they say is the largest such case against an American. Department of Justice officials said at a news conference that Brockman, 79, hid capital gains income over 20 […] More

October 16, 2020

By COLLIN BINKLEY AP Education Writer BOSTON (AP) — A former tech executive was sentenced Monday to one year of home confinement for paying $300,000 to bribe his son’s way into Georgetown University as a tennis recruit, even though the son did not play tennis. Peter Dameris, of Pacific Palisades, California, appeared before a Boston […] More

October 6, 2020

BOSTON (AP) — A former employee of the mastermind of the college admissions bribery scheme pleaded guilty Thursday for her role in the scam. Mikaela Sanford, 34, of Folsom, California, pleaded guilty before a Boston federal court judge to one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering. The hearing was held via videoconference because of the […] More

October 2, 2020