Dec. 10, 2010 at 4:37 p.m.
Filed under:
Education,
Investigations
By Andy Grimm | A former Kaplan Inc. dean was found guilty Friday of sending threatening and harassing e-mail messages to company executives, staff and students.
A federal jury found former Ben Wilcox, 45, of River Forest, guilty on each of six counts in connection with profane messages he allegedly sent from a hacked e-mail account following his firing in 2007.
Wilcox’s attorneys maintained Wilcox was framed by Kaplan in retaliation for filing a federal whistle-blower lawsuit claiming Kaplan executives engaged in widespread fraud at their for-profit universities. The jury of five men and seven women deliberated for more than seven hours. Get the full story »
Dec. 9, 2010 at 5:37 p.m.
Filed under:
Computers,
Internet,
Investigations
By Reuters
A group of former WikiLeaks collaborators who quit the project are to launch a new campaigning site next week to protest against its founder, a Swedish newspaper said on Thursday. Get the full story »
Dec. 9, 2010 at 3:59 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Investigations,
Litigation,
Recalls
By Associated Press
Dozens of personal injury lawsuits against Toyota Motor Corp. will be allowed to move forward if a federal judge’s tentative ruling becomes final. Get the full story »
Dec. 8, 2010 at 3:42 p.m.
Filed under:
Investigations,
Real estate
By Reuters
The U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department said Wednesday it would investigate charges almost two dozen lenders have unfairly denied U.S. government-backed mortgages to qualified loan applicants.
The National Community Reinvestment Coalition filed a fair housing complaint with HUD against 22 lenders that offer loans guaranteed by HUD’s Federal Housing Administration. Get the full story »
Dec. 7, 2010 at 3:55 p.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Investigations,
Updated
By Becky Yerak
First Security Trust & Savings Bank loan officer Jeffrey Gonsiewski, pleaded guilty in August to one count of federal bank fraud, was sentenced to 63 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Elaine Bucklo on Tuesday.
The U.S. Government last summer had accused the 56-year-old high school graduate of changing loan terms or arranging loans to be made in a scheme that ultimately caused the Elmwood Park-based lender, part of the Wirtz family empire, to lose more than $5.5 million. Get the full story »
Dec. 7, 2010 at 10:10 a.m.
Filed under:
Education,
Investigations,
Policy,
Politics
By Reuters
For-profit education provider DeVry Inc. said fall 2010 new student enrollment declined at some of its colleges, hurt by lower demand. DeVry, along with other for-profit education companies, has been under fire from regulators and the Obama administration for saddling students with big debts and not fully preparing them for jobs. Get the full story »
By Reuters
U.S. banks will have to make “significant investments” to clean up foreclosure practices and some lenders potentially face strong pressure from investors to buy back faulty mortgages, a top Federal Reserve official said Wednesday. Get the full story »
Dec. 1, 2010 at 10:02 a.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Investigations
By Reuters
Bank of America has no evidence that it is the target of alleged plans by website WikiLeaks to disclose confidential data and that thousands of the bank’s internal documents have already been scoured by lawmakers and regulators, a top executive said Wednesday. Get the full story »
Nov. 30, 2010 at 5:14 p.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Investigations
By Associated Press
Bank of America Corp. stock fell Tuesday afternoon on speculation that it might be the target of a WikiLeaks document release early next year.
Nov. 30, 2010 at 5:55 a.m.
Filed under:
International,
Investigations,
Policy,
Technology
By Reuters
European Union antitrust regulators launched a formal investigation on Tuesday into Google after several search service providers complained that the company had abused its dominant position. Get the full story »
By Reuters
An executive of a California research firm was arrested Wednesday on securities fraud and conspiracy charges after U.S. prosecutors accused him of arranging for inside information to be leaked to hedge funds, the latest development in an investigation of the industry.
The arrest of Don Ching Trang Chu of Primary Global Research stems from wiretaps and the cooperation of Richard Choo-Beng Lee, a hedge fund manager who pleaded guilty last year as part of the insider-trading prosecution of Galleon Group hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam and 22 other traders, lawyers and executives. Get the full story »
Nov. 18, 2010 at 11:15 a.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Investigations,
Politics
By Associated Press
Former Obama car czar Steven Rattner has agreed to pay $6.2 million to settle federal charges over his role in a “pay-to-play” scandal, but says he won’t be “bullied” into accepting a harsher penalty from New York’s attorney general.
Nov. 18, 2010 at 11:07 a.m.
Filed under:
Investigations,
Litigation,
Small business
By Associated Press
The Better Business Bureau says it is reviewing its business accreditation system following criticism from Connecticut’s attorney general that a pay-to-play system gives members a ratings boost over nonmembers. Get the full story »
Nov. 17, 2010 at 3:48 p.m.
Filed under:
Agriculture/Farming,
Investigations
By Reuters
Accidents in grain silos, storage bins and other facilities killed and injured a record number of workers through October this year, a study by Purdue University showed. Get the full story »
Nov. 17, 2010 at 10:11 a.m.
Filed under:
Investigations,
Investing,
Real estate
By Wailin Wong
Three owners of a Chicago-based real estate development firm have been charged with fraud for allegedly cheating investors out of $43 million while claiming to be compliant with Islamic law.
A federal grand jury returned a 14-count indictment against the owners of Sunrise Equities on Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said in a Wednesday statement. Federal officials said Salman Ibrahim, the majority owner and president of the now-bankrupt firm, and Mohammad Akbar Zahid, senior vice president of investor relations and a 10-percent owner, told clients that their investments would comply with Shariah law.
Islamic law prohibits interest, so Ibrahim and Zahid told investors they would receive monthly pay-outs of profits from real estate development. According to Fitzgerald’s office, the men promised annual returns of between 15 and 30 percent. Get the full story »
