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Defendant in $670M scam enters guilty plea in Va.
Court Watch |
2011/11/23 09:48
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A man who cooked the books for a $670 million insurance industry scam pleaded guilty Monday to charges he helped mislead thousands of investors worldwide.
Jorge Luis Castillo, 56, Hackettstown, N.J., entered pleas in U.S. District Court to conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud in U.S. District Court. He is scheduled for sentencing May 22 and could receive up to 20 years in prison and fined up to $250,000.
Castillo, who originally was scheduled for trial in 2012, will assist the government's prosecution of Minor Vargas Calvo, 60, the president and majority owner of Provident Capital Indemnity Ltd., a Costa Rican company. He is scheduled for trial in February. He has pleaded not guilty to similar charges.
The government called Castillo a gatekeeper for Provident. As a certified public accountant, he cast himself as an outside auditor and falsely reported a rosy financial picture for the company, which had a global client base.
This is truly an international fraud in scope, U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride said in a conference call after Castillo entered his plea. As a result of Mr. Castillo's crimes, a lot of people lost life savings to life settlement companies because of the worthless guarantees that Mr. Castillo helped create. |
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NY top court clears probe of inflated appraisals
Law Firm News |
2011/11/22 09:48
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New York's top court has cleared the state attorney general to pursue allegations that First American Corp. and subsidiary eAppraiseIT inflated property appraisals under pressure from client Washington Mutual.
The Court of Appeals says federal regulations do not pre-empt state claims alleging fraud and violations of real estate appraisal rules.
Then-Attorney General Andrew Cuomo brought the 2007 civil suit alleging the practice contributed to the national subprime mortgage crisis.
Washington Mutual collapsed in 2008 and became the nation's largest bank failure ever.
Six top court judges ruled that Congress envisioned a robust partnership with the states in aiming to prevent real estate appraisal abuse.
In a dissent, Judge Susan Read says the suit challenges a bank's federally regulated mortgage practices. |
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Accused White House shooter to appear in DC court
Topics |
2011/11/21 09:22
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A man accused of firing an assault rifle at the White House is expected to appear in court in Washington.
Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez is scheduled to appear in federal court Monday at 1:45 p.m.
Ortega was arrested last week in Pennsylvania. The Idaho Falls, Idaho, resident is accused of driving by the White House on the evening of Nov. 11 and firing at the White House from his vehicle. Authorities say one of the rounds he fired cracked a window of the first family's living quarters.
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama were away, and no one was injured. |
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Courts weighs scrapping huge California water pact
Court Watch |
2011/11/21 09:21
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A vanishing lake figures large in a court battle over how Southern California gets it water, a high-stakes dispute with consequences that could ripple throughout the western United States.
A California appeals court is considering whether to overturn a landmark 2003 agreement that created the nation's largest farm-to-city water transfer and set new rules for dividing the state's share of the Colorado River. A three-judge panel of the 3rd Appellate District in Sacramento will hear arguments Monday and is expected to rule within three months.
Farmers and environmentalists involved in the lawsuit argue the pact is deeply flawed, while California water agencies say it is critical to keeping an uneasy peace on the river. The court has given each side 45 minutes to make its case and asked lawyers to focus on whether the state of California violated its constitution by essentially writing a blank check to restore the shrinking Salton Sea.
California long used more of the Colorado River than it was granted under agreements with Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and Mexico. Its overindulgence was never a big problem until Sunbelt cities like Phoenix witnessed explosive growth and other states clamored for their full share. Drought only exacerbated tensions. |
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Texas AG blasts court's redistricting maps
Law Firm News |
2011/11/20 09:21
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Texas' attorney general sharply criticized a federal court Friday over its proposed maps for state House and Senate districts in the 2012 election, saying the judges overstepped their bounds.
The San Antonio-based federal court released the proposed redistricting maps late Thursday and gave those involved in the case until noon Friday to comment. Minority groups have filed a legal challenge to the Republican-drawn maps, saying they are discriminatory. The court's maps are intended to be an interim solution until the case is resolved after the 2012 elections.
Maps for the House and Senate released Thursday restore many of the minority districts — where Democrats hold the seats — to their previous shapes. Republican lawmakers have denied their maps were intended to minimize minority representation, and say they merely reflect the GOP majority in Texas. |
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Federal court issues new political maps for Texas
Law Firm News |
2011/11/19 08:59
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A federal court on Thursday issued temporary political maps for the 2012 election in Texas that some say will give Democrats a greater chance of winning seats in the Legislature.
The maps, which still must be given final court approval, will remain in place for state House and Senate districts until there is a resolution to lawsuits filed over the Legislature's proposals — likely through the 2012 elections. The court is expected to also release a proposal for new congressional districts.
Republicans have acknowledged they are not likely to hold on to the 101-49 supermajority they have in the Texas House. Still Democrats argue that the GOP map drawers went too far in trying to preserve their power.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's office, which is representing the state, was reviewing the maps and working to prepare a response as directed by the court, spokeswoman Lauren Bean said.
Democrats and minorities have complained that the maps drawn by the Republican-controlled Legislature prevent minority groups from electing their choice of candidate. |
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