By Mani Dabiri | Published September 23, 2020 | Posted in Civil Business Litigation and Investigations, Federal and State Criminal Defense, Government Subpoenas and Investigations, White-Collar and Regulatory Defense | Tagged Tags: technology |
Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)
Okay, so it’s not a competition. But Orange County has rolled out remote hearings for traffic tickets, too. We talked about L.A. two weeks ago. But O.C. launched its own service at the same time, and they’ve got video. If you already had a hearing scheduled, it’ll be rescheduled and held remotely, and they’ll show you how. Read More
Read MoreL.A. Rolls Out Remote Hearings for Traffic Tickets
How’s this for useful information? Now, if you have a court date scheduled on or after September 14, you don’t have to go to court. You can appear by phone. And you can do it for traffic tickets as well as non-traffic infractions. But you can’t do it if you’re appearing for trial or you Read More
Read MoreCalifornia Courts Must Tighten Belts Again
The state’s new budget, signed into law on Monday, cuts $200 million from the judiciary. For the fiscal year that begins today, the trial courts have $176.9 million less than last year, and the appeals courts lose $23.1 million. Overall, the budget gives $4 billion to fund the courts out of a total of $202.1 Read More
Read MoreFTC and FDA Warn Against False Covid Claims
As federal courts slowly begin to reopen in phases, the government’s pursuit of Covid fraud continues apace. In particular, two agencies—the Federal Trade Commission and the Food and Drug Administration—are issuing warning letters to businesses selling or marketing products that purport to treat or prevent Covid-19. Think oils, herbs, vitamins, minerals, or supplements. But it can Read More
Read MoreFTC Warns Nursing Homes Not to Take People’s Stimulus Checks
The Federal Trade Commission has clarified something for nursing homes and assisted-living facilities: their residents’ stimulus checks belong to them, not the facility, so you can’t take it from them. Reportedly, some facilities have requested or required that people on Medicaid sign over the checks. Don’t do that. As the FTC’s notice explains, these checks are, by law, personal Read More
Read MoreDude Catches Federal Case for Lying about Covid
Consider the juxtaposition. Last week, we wrote about people whose convictions were reversed because their conduct, while wrong, didn’t quite fit the crime. They made a mistake and lied—rather egregiously—but it wasn’t wire fraud because they didn’t do it to obtain money or property from the other side. Fair enough. This week, we couldn’t help but Read More
Read MoreBridgegate, Reversed
Once upon a time, you might recall, there was another kind of lockdown. For four days in September 2013, three public officials shut down two traffic lanes on one bridge from New Jersey to New York. It wasn’t just any bridge, though, but the busiest motor-vehicle bridge in the world. And it wasn’t just for Read More
Read MoreThe SBA’s FAQs on the PPP
Here’s the government’s FAQ sheet on the Paycheck Protection Program, current as of today. It may not have all the answers, but it gives relatively simple answers to 47 questions by lenders, borrowers, and others. Here’s a sampling: Do payments to independent contractors count toward payroll? No. See Question 15. Do part-time employees count? Yes, for eligibility but no, Read More
Read MoreMotive Meets Opportunity
Well, that didn’t take long, either. Yesterday, the Justice Department charged the very first case of fraud against the relief program set up to help small businesses weather the lockdown. Prosecutors charged two businessmen with fraudulently seeking over $500,000 in forgivable loans meant to defray the cost of their payroll, rent, utilities, or mortgage interest. Allegedly, the two Read More
Read MoreThe Feds Prioritize Covid Fraud
Well, that didn’t take long. Amid all the madness surrounding coronavirus, the U.S. Justice Department has ordered all 93 of its federal districts to do two things: Prioritize the prosecution of Covid-related scams in general; and Create special task forces that target fraud, waste, or abuse in the provision of goods or services. In this Read More
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