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Unilever, P&G fined for fixing prices on detergent

Consumer goods giants Unilever and Procter & Gamble were fined $456 million by EU regulators on Wednesday for fixing washing powder prices in eight EU countries. Get the full story »

Ex-boss of Chicago equity firm sentenced in NYC

The former chief executive of Chicago-based private-equity firm WexTrust Capital LLC was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison a year after pleading guilty last year to a fraud that cost investors $9.2 million. Get the full story »

Illinois ranked No. 8 in bank robberies last year

The state of Illinois might be notorious for its financial troubles, but at least it barely cracked the Top 10 of states with the most bank robberies in 2010, according to newly released statistics from the FBI. Get the full story »

Court upholds Jeff Skilling conviction

Former Enron Chief Executive Jeffrey Skilling was unsuccessful in his latest bid to overturn his criminal conviction as a U.S. appeals court called any errors in his trial “harmless.” Get the full story »

FDA chemist and son charged with insider trading

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration chemist and his son were charged with using inside information about drug approvals to reap more than $3.6 million in profits, in an embarrassing blow to the health industry regulator. Get the full story »

Disbarred Chicago lawyer convicted of fraud

A disbarred Chicago lawyer faces the possibility of a lengthy prison term after a jury convicted her this week in a mortgage fraud case.

The U.S. Attorney’s office in Chicago says jurors convicted Lorie Westerfield on three counts of wire fraud and acquitted her of an additional fraud count after a weeklong trial. Each count carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence. Westerfield remains free on bond as she awaits sentencing on Aug. 4. Get the full story »

Ex-Goldman programmer gets 8 yrs for code theft

A former Goldman Sachs Group Inc computer programmer was sentenced to eight years in prison on Friday for stealing secret code used in the Wall Street bank’s valuable high-frequency trading system.

Sergey Aleynikov, was arrested by the FBI and charged in July 2009 with copying and removing trading code from Goldman before taking a new job at Teza Technologies LLC, a high-frequency trading startup firm in Chicago. Get the full story »

FINRA warns of Facebook share scams

The wild popularity of Facebook and other social media sites has spawned a cottage industry of con artists promising average investors a chance to cash in on the frenzy through shares in the companies before their initial public offerings.

While the pre-IPO offerings may be real, investors must be aware that the people touting them may be frauds, the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) said Tuesday. Get the full story »

Madoff trustee to distribute $2.6B to victims

The court-appointed trustee charged with recovering assets stolen by Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff is ready to distribute $2.6 billion worth of recovered funds to the victims. This will be the first time that Madoff’s victims will receive recovered funds. Get the full story »

Trustee: Citi shopped Madoff to other banks

Citigroup Inc. tried to pass its exposure to Bernard Madoff to other banks just months before his epic fraud was revealed, the Madoff trustee said in a lawsuit accusing a second major U.S. bank of unsavory dealings with the financier.

Trustee Irving Picard said red flags about Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC were apparent to Citi as early as 2005, according to court papers unsealed Monday. The lawsuit seeks $425 million from the bank. Get the full story »

Former Disney staffer sentenced in trading scheme

A former Walt Disney Co.  administrative assistant was sentenced to four months home detention Tuesday after admitting to engaging in a scheme last year to sell early access to the entertainment company’s earnings.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan alleged that Bonnie Hoxie, the former assistant to Disney’s head of communications, gave her then-boyfriend Yonni Sebbag information about Disney’s results before their public announcement last spring. Get the full story »

Regent Realty owners indicted in fraud

The co-owners of a Chicago realty company that managed dozens of condominium properties have been charged with fraud for allegedly stealing more than $2 million in assessment payments, the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago said Thursday.

Donald Doering of Wilmette and Jay Strauss of Scottsdale, Ariz., were each charged with three counts of wire fraud in a federal indictment returned by a grand jury Wednesday. Get the full story »

IRS offers new amnesty to offshore tax cheats

Wealthy tax evaders with assets stashed offshore can come clean with U.S. authorities under a new amnesty program with reduced penalties, the government said Tuesday.

“It gives people a chance to come in before we find them,” Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Doug Shulman said. The new effort follows a 2009 amnesty program, which lured 15,000 taxpayers with hidden accounts. Get the full story »

Madoff trustee sues Mets’ owner to recoup $300M

The owners of the New York Mets were accused of reaping $300 million of fictitious profits from Bernard Madoff’s record Ponzi scheme, a lawsuit by the trustee seeking money for Madoff’s victims said. Get the full story »

Record $2.5B recovered from Medicare fraud

The federal government recovered a record total of more than $2.5 billion from health care fraud last year, according to a government report issued Monday.

Results reflect both the continuing array of efforts to swindle the government Medicare program and a stepped-up effort by law enforcement to combat them, officials said. Get the full story »