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Warners Bros Faces Racketeering Lawsuit for “The Conjuring”

Major Hollywood Producing Studio Warners Bros Faces Racketeering Lawsuit Warner Bros and New Line Cinema, two major Hollywood production companies, face a racketeering lawsuit filed by a film producer over “The Conjuring” and its sequels. Producer Tony DeRosa-Grund has been battling Warner Bros for the past year over a rights dispute in “The Conjuring,” and has now added racketeering charges to the lawsuit against the Hollywood giant, filed in Texas. The racketeering charges claim that New Line Cinema LLC, a subsidiary of Warner Bros, … [Read more...]

Sweepstakes Operators Plead Guilty to Illegal Gambling Operation

Sweepstakes Ring Owners Plead Guilty to Federal Charges for Multistate Illegal Gambling Operation A South Carolina-based sweepstakes ring run by a father and son team, which sold sweepstakes machines to over 600 internet cafes across the country, has been busted by federal authorities, and the operators have pleaded guilty to illegal gambling charges. Bobby G. Moseley, from Townville, SC, and his son-in-law, J. Michael Caldwell of Williamston, SC, pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the illegal gambling operation, which spanned … [Read more...]

Silk Road Pirate Leader Convicted in Federal Criminal Trial

Dread Pirate Roberts, Leader of the Silk Road, Convicted on All Federal Charges in Federal Criminal Trial In a first-of-its-kind federal lawsuit, the former Dread Pirate Roberts, creator of the illegal trafficking website The Silk Road, has been convicted on all seven federal charges in a federal criminal trial. Ross Ulbricht, 30, went by the online handle “Dread Pirate Roberts,” and created the notorious Deep Web trading site, The Silk Road, which also spawned the radical online-only currency, BitCoin. The Silk Road, which Ulbricht called … [Read more...]

“Real Housewives” Star Heads to Prison for Mail Fraud Conviction

Mail Fraud, Tax Fraud Land “Real Housewives of New Jersey” Star in Prison After being convicted on mail fraud, tax fraud, and other fraud charges in a New Jersey state court, a former star of “Real Housewives of New Jersey” has reported to federal prison. Teresa Giudice, a cast member of Bravo’s hugely popular reality television show, reported to a federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut around 3 AM on Monday, January 5th. She and her husband, Giuseppe “Joe” Giudice pleaded guilty to several fraud charges, including mail fraud and tax fraud, … [Read more...]

Hollywood Drama Leads to Wire Fraud Charges

Famous Director’s Former Accuser Now Faces Wire Fraud Charges The man who accused X-Men director Bryan Singer of sexual abuse when he was a teenager, and who later dropped the personal injury lawsuit, has now been charged with securities and wire fraud after investigators found that he was running a fraudulent investment scheme. On Tuesday, December 31st, a grand jury in Charlotte, NC indicted Michael Francis Egan III, 32 years old, for wire fraud and securities fraud in the business operation which ran from 2007 to 2012. Egan allegedly … [Read more...]

Massive Money Laundering Operation in LA Busted

Federal Officers Bust Huge Drug Cartel and Money Laundering Operation in Los Angeles On Wednesday, September 10th, federal authorities arrested 9 people in Los Angeles and seized over $65 million in cash in a massive raid on the LA Fashion District that targeted a money laundering operation owned by Mexican drug cartels. Approximately 1,000 agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service carried out the money laundering operation bust … [Read more...]

Texas Actress Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges for Ricin-Laced Letters

Woman Who Sent Ricin Letters to Obama, Bloomberg Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges On Tuesday, December 10th, a Texas-based mother of six and former actress pleaded guilty to federal charges for sending ricin-laced letters to President Barack Obama and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Shannon Guess Richardson’s guilty plea was part of a deal to limit her prison sentence to only 18 years. She was in court for a federal charge of possessing and producing a biological toxin. Richardson, a 35-year-old mother of six and actress who had small … [Read more...]

Guilty Verdict Issued in First RICO Cybercrime Case

Man Charged with RICO Cybercrimes Over the Internet Ruled Guilty A young man from Arizona was arrested for RICO crimes involving identity theft, and is the first person in the US to be found guilty of cybercrime using federal racketeering legislation. David Ray Camez, 22, was convicted by a federal jury in Las Vegas on Friday, December 6th, under the Racketeering and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The verdict came after a three-week trial, in which Camez was charged for identity theft under RICO laws for stealing identities through his … [Read more...]

Cyber Monday Counterfeit Arrests

South Carolina Federal Defense Attorneys For the past several months, the Federal Government has been cracking down on online counterfeit product sales.  The results of the ongoing investigation were announced on Cyber Monday, revealing that over 350 websites have been seized since June 2010. Although these knock-off items may be easy on your wallet and look as good as the real thing, willful copyright infringement is a Federal crime. Immigration and Customs enforcement Director John Morton announced Monday that the government has shut … [Read more...]