Jan. 14 at 4:00 p.m.
Filed under:
Investigations,
Litigation
By Ameet Sachdev
David Hernandez’s lifetime of lying has caught up to him, said a federal judge who sentenced the Downers Grove man Friday to more than 16 years in prison for swindling more than 250 people out of $6.4 million.
Hernandez, best known for starting an Internet-based sports talk show with radio personality Mike North, apologized to his fraud victims in a rambling, tearful statement to U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman. Hernandez pleaded for sympathy because he claims to suffer from mental illness brought on by childhood abuse. Get the full story »
Jan. 13 at 4:14 p.m.
Filed under:
Investigations,
Litigation,
Media
By Chicago Breaking News
Conrad Black, the wealthy Canadian native who was chairman of a Chicago-based newspaper empire, will be resentenced in June on two counts that survived an appellate court’s review of his 2007 fraud conviction, a federal judge decided today.
Jan. 5 at 3:38 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Investigations,
Litigation
By Associated Press
An arbitrator has awarded Toyota $2.6 million in damages against a former in-house attorney who turned into a whistleblower and sued the automaker.
Jan. 5 at 7:04 a.m.
Filed under:
Internet,
Investigations
By Dow Jones Newswires-Wall Street Journal
The Securities and Exchange Commission has begun examining whether disclosure rules for privately held firms need to be rewritten as a result of recent deals allowing investors to buy shares in Internet companies such as Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc., according to people familiar with the situation. Get the full story »
Dec. 30, 2010 at 12:27 p.m.
Filed under:
Investigations,
Investing
The investment banker who helped lead the Obama administration’s auto industry overhaul has agreed to pay $10 million to settle influence-peddling allegations in New York.
Former “car czar” Steven Rattner admitted no wrongdoing as part of the deal, which was announced by state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo on Thursday.
Dec. 29, 2010 at 2:17 p.m.
Filed under:
Housing,
Investigations,
Real estate
By Mary Ellen Podmolik
The home that the Willborns wanted to buy at 3300 S. Normal Ave. in Bridgeport. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
The Bridgeport couple accused of violating fair housing laws in the failed sale of their million-dollar home are refuting Justice Department charges that they refused to sell it to an African-American family.
In separate responses filed this month with U.S. District Court in Chicago, Daniel and Adrienne Sabbia deny that they engaged in discriminatory housing practices in their dealings with George and Peytyn Willborn, who made several offers to purchase the Sabbia’s sprawling Bridgeport home.
The Sabbias also deny that Daniel Sabbia told listing agent Jeffrey Lowe that Sabbia would prefer not to sell the home to an African-American but that he didn’t care who bought it if the price was right, and deny that Lowe forwarded a sales contract to the Sabbias for signature. Get the full story »
Dec. 27, 2010 at 12:35 p.m.
Filed under:
Investigations,
Taxes
By Alejandra Cancino
The federal government is accusing a Chicago woman of preparing fraudulent tax returns by faking or inflating donations to charities and business expenses.
The government says Martha A. Jones prepared about 270 fraudulent tax returns annually between 2005 and 2008. Court documents estimate that they have led to a loss of over $5 million in revenue.
Because Jones didn’t sign the tax returns she prepared or helped prepare, the government is unsure of the exact number of fraudulent returns. Get the full story »
Dec. 27, 2010 at 7:23 a.m.
Filed under:
International,
Investigations,
Investing
By Reuters
A Russian judge pronounced Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev guilty of embezzlement on Monday at the end of the jailed former oil tycoon’s politically charged second trial. Get the full story »
By Reuters
The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold hearings next month into an Air Force document bungle roiling a transAtlantic rematch for a potential $50 billion aerial-refueling plane contract.
Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin said Wednesday he was prepared to launch an investigation into “the release of proprietary data” from rival tanker bidders Boeing and Europe’s EADS.
At issue is what the Air Force calls “a clerical error” that sent Boeing and EADS computerized records in November with sensitive data on each other’s bid for the contract. Get the full story »
Dec. 21, 2010 at 4:33 p.m.
Filed under:
Investigations,
Litigation
By Ameet Sachdev
An insider-trading lawsuit against a Deerfield ophthalmologist has been dismissed after a judge found that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission did not have enough evidence to show that the doctor possessed material, nonpublic information.
In February, the SEC had filed a civil suit against Dr. Gerald Horn, accusing him of engaging in illegal insider trading in the stock and options of his employer, LCA Vision Inc., between December 2005 and August 2006. The trades resulted in illicit gains of $1.4 million, the SEC said.
The SEC alleged that Horn accessed nonpublic information contained in monthly reports that listed the number of laser eye surgeries performed companywide to determine whether LCA would meet its quarterly revenue targets. He then made successful options purchases on the basis of that information, the SEC said. Get the full story »
Dec. 17, 2010 at 10:31 a.m.
Filed under:
International,
Investigations,
Politics
By Reuters
Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency said Friday that it had formally dropped bribery charges against former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and oil services company Halliburton after the company agreed to pay a fine.
“It was formally dropped today,” Economic and Financial Crimes Commission spokesman Femi Babafemi said. He said the Nigerian government had agreed to an offer made by Halliburton to pay fines totalling up to $250 million.
Halliburton could not immediately be reached for comment.
Dec. 17, 2010 at 10:24 a.m.
Filed under:
Computers,
Government,
Investigations
By Associated Press
The U.S. Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are expanding their probe into possible kickbacks on the part of computer maker Hewlett Packard Co., a regulatory filing said.
The agencies have been investigating the Palo Alto, Calif., company for possibly bribing authorities in Russia and Germany. Now, the agencies are also investigating similar improprieties in Austria, Serbia, the Netherlands and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Get the full story »
Dec. 16, 2010 at 11:44 a.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Investigations
Bloomberg News | The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating 2004-2007 Saturn Ion sedans after receiving more than 600 complaints that the cars lost power steering suddenly. Some 384,000 vehicles are involved.
Dec. 14, 2010 at 10:54 a.m.
Filed under:
International,
Internet,
Investigations,
Technology
By Reuters
France’s antitrust regulator on Tuesday put Google on notice not to abuse what it said was its dominant position in online search advertising.
In the latest sign of growing regulatory scrutiny of Google in Europe, the watchdog said Google’s market power was not necessarily bad or illegal but its practices needed to be monitored to avoid anticompetitive impact. Get the full story »
Dec. 10, 2010 at 5:21 p.m.
Filed under:
Investigations,
Technology
By Associated Press
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal on Friday demanded that Google provide access to data the company said it accidentally collected from public Wi-Fi networks.
