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Ohioan to plead guilty to defrauding fellow Amish
Lawyer Media News |
2012/03/14 11:16
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An Ohio man will plead guilty in federal court to defrauding fellow Amish in 29 states out of nearly $17 million as part of a case the man's church had hoped to shield from publicity and outside involvement, the government said Tuesday.
The attorney for Monroe L. Beachy, 77, owner of A&M Investments in Sugarcreek, filed a recent notice informing federal court of his "intention to plead guilty as charged."
U.S. attorney's spokesman Mike Tobin confirmed the pending guilty plea. Beachy declined to comment Thursday, and his attorney didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.
Beachy is accused in an indictment of promising investors safe securities but moving money to riskier investments. According to the indictment, nearly 2,700 people and entities, including an Amish community loan fund, lost about $16.8 million since 2006.
The investments directed by Beachy "were not the 'safe' investments as reported to his clients or investors," the indictment said.
Beachy, bearded with a shock of white hair, is a member of an Amish church near Sugarcreek.
He is charged with one count of mail fraud, punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Prosecutors stopped short of saying whether Beachy had personally profited or just made bad investments but noted he had made a living for years offering investor services to the Amish. |
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New York Securities Industry Litigation Law Firm
Legal Interview |
2012/03/13 11:16
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Securities Litigation and Arbitration
Our clients have entrusted us to litigate sales practice disputes of virtually every type, encompassing a wide variety of products. As a small law firm, we are free from the conflicts faced by many larger law firms. This flexibility enables us to represent investors with substantial claims, along with claims in which one broker-dealer is adverse to another. Our founding partner is a certified arbitrator for FINRA and the NFA and formerly served as in-house counsel for an NYSE-member broker-dealer. This in-the-trenches experience provides unique insight to our advocacy.
Herskovits Law is a New York based law firm and has expertise in defending clients facing allegations of market manipulation and assorted FINRA rule violations. Their experience consistently guides their approach to successfully help fight for the rights of the victims of industry allegations.
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Justice Dept opposes Texas voter ID law
Headline Legal News |
2012/03/12 11:53
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The Justice Department's civil rights division on Monday objected to a new photo ID requirement for voters in Texas because many Hispanic voters lack state-issued identification.
Texas follows South Carolina as the second state in recent months to become embroiled in a court battle with the Justice Department over new photo ID requirements for voters.
Photo ID laws have become a point of contention in the 2012 elections. Liberal groups have said the requirements are the product of Republican-controlled state governments and are aimed at disenfranchising people who tend to vote Democratic — African-Americans, Hispanics, people of low-income and college students.
Proponents of such legislation say the measures are aimed at combating voter fraud. But advocacy groups for minorities and the poor dispute that and argue there is no evidence of significant voter fraud.
In regard to Texas, "I cannot conclude that the state has sustained its burden" of showing that the newly enacted law has neither a discriminatory purpose nor effect, Thomas E. Perez, the head of the Justice Department's civil rights division, said in a letter to the Texas secretary of state.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot has said the Obama administration is hostile to laws like the one passed last year in Texas.
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Defendant won't testify in US webcam spying trial
Legal News |
2012/03/12 11:52
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A former Rutgers University student accused of using a webcam to spy on his roommate's intimate encounter with another man won't take the witness stand in his own defense, his lawyer told the judge as he rested his case.
The 20-year-old Ravi, who was born in India and came to New Jersey as a young child, is charged with 15 criminal counts, including bias intimidation and invasion of privacy. Bias intimidation is a hate crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison in New Jersey. He also could be deported to India, where he remains a citizen, if he's convicted on any counts.
Prosecutors presented about 20 witnesses over 10 days as they built a case against Ravi. Defense lawyers called nine lawyers in two days.
Ravi's roommate, Tyler Clementi, committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge in September 2010, just days after the intimate encounter. His death brought widespread attention to the difficulties that can be faced by young gays.
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Afghanistan suspect's base had 2010 killing case
Lawyer Media News |
2012/03/12 11:52
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Joint Base Lewis-McChord is one of the largest military installations in the U.S., and one that has seen its share of controversies and violence in the past few years.
The news that a soldier suspected of killing 16 Afghan villagers Sunday comes from this base about 45 miles south of Seattle hit hard.
"It's another blow to this community," said Spc. Jared Richardson, an engineer, as he stood outside a barbershop near the base. "This is definitely something we don't need."
Home to about 100,000 military and civilian personnel, the base has suffered a spate of suicides among soldiers back from war. The Army is investigating whether doctors at Lewis-McChord's Madigan Army Medical Center were urged to consider the cost of providing benefits when reviewing diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Most famously, four Lewis-McChord soldiers were convicted in the deliberate thrill killings of three Afghan civilians in 2010.
The military newspaper Stars and Stripes called it "the most troubled base in the military" that year.
Catherine Caruso, a spokeswoman for Lewis-McChord, said she could not comment on reports that the soldier involved in Sunday's shooting was based there. |
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Health care lawyer Clement as high court regular
Court Line News |
2012/03/12 11:52
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Paul Clement used to argue for the federal government's power until he started arguing against it.
But he's no flip-flopping political candidate; he's a lawyer. Changes like this are part of his job.
Clement is playing a key role in three politically charged Supreme Court cases in which Republican-led states object to Obama administration policies or federal laws on health care, immigration and redrawing political boundaries.
In the biggest of those, the 45-year-old law school acquaintance of President Barack Obama will be trying to sink Obama's health care overhaul.
Not that long ago, Clement would regularly stand before the justices and defend even the most aggressive uses of federal power, making his case without written notes and parrying questions with an easy banter.
He argued for the Bush administration's policy on detaining suspected terrorists, a federal law outlawing a medical procedure called "partial-birth abortion" by opponents, the McCain-Feingold law aimed at limiting the influence of money in politics and a federal ban on the use of marijuana for medical purposes.
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