In what prosecutors in the Southern District of New York are calling the first-ever prosecution of a Bitcoin Ponzi scheme, the government filed a criminal complaint last week against Trendon Shavers. Shavers operated Bitcoin Savings & Trust (“BCS&T”), “which offered and sold Bitcoin-related securities” and “promised investors who invested their Bitcoin in BCS&T up to seven percent interest per week in Bitcoin – an annualized interest rate of 3,641% per year – based on BCS&T’s purported Bitcoin market arbitrage strategy.” But according the government, there was no such strategy. Instead, Shavers used new investors’ money to pay back prior investors and misappropriated...
SDNY Prosecutors Bring First-Ever Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme Case
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Watch: PBS’ NewsHour Explore Life Post Exoneration
PBS' NewsHour recently took a closer look at the toll the justice system can have on the wrongfully convicted as they work to rebuild their lives waiting for compensation. The episode features interviews with Innocence Project clients and New York exonerees Jeffrey Deskovic and Alan Newton among others and chronicles the reality of navigating the world with limited financial and social support. According to NewsHour, the exonerees interviewed said that regardless of compensation, they would pay anything to have the years they lost in prison back. About one-third of the people exonerated after proving their innocence have not been compensated for the injustice they suffered and the time they spent incarcerated. To date, there have been a total of 231 DNA exonerees that have been awarded some kind of compensation. Read the article and watch the full broadcast report on the varying compensation for those who've been wrongfully convicted across the country. More…
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Cocaine Arrest at Las Vegas Airport
Cocaine Arrest at McCarran Airport McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas is a major airport with millions of tourists passing through every year. On August 27, the Grand Jury charged three men with possession and conspiring to distribute more than five kg of cocaine between Alaska and Las Vegas. The three men were from Las Vegas; D. Cole, D. Blue and B. Bledsoe. The plan was that Blue would purchase cocaine, which he would then give to Bledsoe, a US Airways employee. Bledsoe could bring the drugs into the airport bypassing security. Once inside the terminal, Bledsoe would then return the drugs to Blue or others and the package could be put into their carry-on baggage. The three men would distribute the cocaine in Alaska and other states, and then return the proceeds back to Las Vegas using the airport mailing services. The indictment shows that 12 parcels containing the drug proceeds was sent from Anchorage back to Blue in Las Vegas. Four parcels contained a total of…
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Florida Search Warrant With Multiple Errors Upheld by the Court
In a recent drugs and marijuana case near Jacksonville, Florida, the police received a tip of illegal drug activity at a particular apartment. They conducted surveillance on the apartment and observed what they considered to be suspicious activity. They ultimately obtained a search warrant to search the apartment for drugs. The conducted the search and found marijuana and guns inside. The criminal defense lawyer challenged the search because the search warrant had several errors in it. A search warrant must describe the place to be searched with specificity. In this case, the search warrant had the wrong street number, the wrong street name and the wrong directions to the apartment. The police presumably were still able to locate and search the correct apartment because the police were familiar with it from previous surveillance. The purpose of requiring a proper and specific description of the place to be searched in a search warrant is to make sure the police do not…
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"Why Are There Up to 120,000 Innocent People in US Prisons?"
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Did the Innocence Project Frame an Innocent Man?
An important change in the public perception of capital punishment occurred about 15 years ago as stories of death row inmates being exonerated came to the surface. Foremost among these stories was that of Anthony Porter, who was close to execution when another man confessed to the murder. The truth was supposedly dug up by idealistic young journalism students who succeeded where the criminal justice professionals had failed.The story was almost too good to be true for the anti-death-penalty movement. And now we know it likely was not true.Some years ago, I attended a talk by the lawyer for Alstory Simon, the man who confessed and went to prison while Porter was freed. He said it wasn't the journalism students who got a confession from the "real" killer, it was a hired investigator. On top of that, he said, the investigator used tactics that would result in a conviction being thrown out if a police officer had used them, and possibly…
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Crime in U.S. Down 5% in 2013; California Lags on Property Crime
The FBI has finally come out with the 2013 statistics for Crime in the United States, almost two months later than last year. The good news is that crime is down from 2012 about 5% in crimes per 100,000 population nationwide on both the violent (-5.1%) and property (-4.8%) scales.Last month, we noted the good news that California crime was down, but we were interested in seeing the national figures for comparison to sort out national trends from possible effects of California's sentencing "realignment." Last year's post making that comparison is here.We look at property crime as the primary indicator, as persons convicted of violent crimes, either for the present offense or as priors, are not eligible to be shunted off to county jail under realignment. Many property crime convicts are, and given that the jails are overcrowded in most counties they either get released early or they push out other inmates for early release, likely other…
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Governor Scott Names Two New Circuit Court Judges
THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:AND YOUR TWO NEWEST CIRCUIT COURT JUDGES ARE .....Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz II Jason BlochToday, Governor Rick Scott named County Judge Rudy Ruiz and Assistant County Attorney for Miami-Dade County Jason Bloch as replacements for Judge Darrin Gayles and Judge Beth Bloom. Prior to his appointment as a Judge in 2012, Ruiz also served as an Assistant County Attorney for Miami-Dade County. Before that, Ruiz worked for White & Case. He began his legal career as a law clerk to Federal Judge Federico Moreno. Bloch's entire career, from 1994 to the present, has been with the County.Both Gayles and Bloom have moved to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Judge Gayles was sworn in on June 23rd of this year; Judge Bloom one week later on June 30th. Judge Gayles has been assigned to the Miami Division; Judge Bloom to the Fort Lauderdale Division.On September 10th of this year, the Judicial…
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CIVIL ASSET FORFEITURE
CIVIL ASSET FORFEITURE Shaila Dewan of the NYTimes wrote an excellent article on civil asset forfeiture. Click here to read the story. According to Dewan’s article, police are using civil asset forfeiture to supplement their department’s operating budgets. Police are also trained to seize certain types of property such as flat-screen TV’s, cash, and cars–especially nice and exotic cars like the one pictured below. (Note–the photo of of the Lotus Evora below was taken at the 2014 San Antonio Truck and Auto Show while it was on display to the public–it has no connection to any civil or criminal asset forfeiture proceedings.) What is interesting about civil asset forfeiture is that a final conviction for an underlying offense is not a requirement for forfeiture. That is, your property can be forfeited to the State even if you are never convicted of any crime. Civil Asset Forfeiture–LOTUS EVORA WHAT TO DO IF YOUR…
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News Scan
AL Jury Recommends Death for Murderer: An Alabama jury has recommended that 33-year-old John DeBlase be sentenced to death for the 2010 murders of his two young children. The Inquisitr reports that DeBlase, along with his common-law wife, poisoned the children with antifreeze and strangled them before dumping their bodies in the woods. DeBlase's wife also faces murder charges in the case, her trial is scheduled to begin in March 2015. Detroit Leads the Nation in Murder, Violent Crime: The annual FBI Uniform Crime report has revealed that Detroit, MI leads the nation in both murder and violent crime rates. Christine MacDonald of The Detroit News reports that despite a decline in the murder rate by 18% from 2012, the city of Detroit remains the nation's most dangerous large city. Other cities leading the country in murders per capita include New Orleans, Newark, St. Louis, and Baltimore. Habitual Felons Arrested in String of…
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Justice on Appeal Can Be Tough to Find
Many folks familiar with the criminal "justice" system are under the mistaken impression that, should something go wrong with their case, they can always appeal the issue later. There is a sliver of truth to that, but I wouldn't want to get anyone's hopes up that an appeal somehow fixes the injustice suffered. It doesn't work that way. To prove this little known fact to you, we're going to take a look at another case involving the brilliant Judge Charles Harris from the Fifth District Court of Appeals. The case for today is Jenkins v. State, 747 So.2d 997 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999). For purposes of our discussion, here's a USA Today version of the facts. Jenkins was convicted of armed robbery with a weapon, all for snatching a purse while he was riding by as a passenger in a car. In Florida, snatching a purse becomes extremely serious if the robber is armed with a weapon. For Jenkins, he was convicted of "carrying" a weapon--a car. …
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Tuerkheimer on Consent and Rape
Deborah Tuerkheimer (Northwestern University - School of Law) has posted Consent Culture and the Forgotten Law of Rape on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The need for institutional reform to address the problem of sexual assault, particularly on college campuses,...
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The Powers and Limitations of Filing for Bankruptcy
Filing for bankruptcy is a critical decision that many Georgians have decided to make due to their personal and financial circumstances. Because filing for bankruptcy has the potential to affect your life for years to come, it is of the utmost importance for any person considering bankruptcy to consult with a knowledgeable attorney about this matter. An experienced bankruptcy attorney will be able to explain to you what bankruptcy can and cannot do to help you improve your economic circumstances. Bankruptcy’s Limitations One of the most common misconceptions Georgians have about bankruptcy is the scope of its powers – many debtors mistakenly think that filing for bankruptcy will erase all of the person’s, family’s or business’s debts. This is not the case. While the main benefit of filing for bankruptcy is that doing so can indeed eliminate large amounts of debt, there are limits to this benefit. For example, filing for bankruptcy will not erase…
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Victims of Mortgage Fraud to Receive $747,000 in Restitution
Mortgage Fraud Blog. Nationwide Consulting, LLC, and its operators, Kenneth Sandoval and Zacharia Ortiz, who were convicted for their roles in a loan modification scheme, will be repaying their victims out of restitution obtained in the criminal case. A major distribution of $747,094 from Michigan Foreclosure Scam Restitution Fund to compensate 36 southeast Michigan victims of mortgage modification fraud who would otherwise never see a dime of restitution. Victims of the Nationwide Consulting, LLC mortgage modification scam will now be fully compensated for money lost. The individual victim reimbursement amounts will range from $250 to $208,000. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette’s office will send a letter to each victim notifying them of their upcoming reimbursement. The Wayne County Clerk’s office will disburse the checks. The victims receiving restitution payments all sought mortgage modifications from Nationwide Consulting, LLC. Sandoval was…
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Police Suspect BYU Student of Manufacturing Drugs
A small apartment fire near BYU led two roommates to contact the police after what they found in their other roommate’s room. The roommate had apparently been manufacturing drugs, specifically methamphetamine, in his room. The roommate is still being sought for questioning. Breaking Bad at Brigham Young According to a report from KSL News, the […] The post Police Suspect BYU Student of Manufacturing Drugs appeared first on Salt Lake Criminal Defense.
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Three Things To Keep in Mind With A DUI In Massachusetts
DUI in Massachusetts Driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol is a mistake that many Massachusetts folks make every year. While getting the initial DUI in Massachusetts or anywhere is bad, there are a number of things that the suspected driver can do to exacerbate the situation. The following includes three things that you should keep in mind if you are pulled over for a suspected DUI. Knowledge is Power. Unfortunately, many drivers don’t know their rights during a DUI stop on the side of the road or during a systematic traffic stop. When facing charges for a DUI, it is important to know what rights you have and how to exercise them. For example, many Massachusetts residents are not aware that while Massachusetts is an implied consent state, meaning by driving on the roads in Massachusetts you implicitly give your consent to be tested in the event that you are suspected of driving while under the influence, you still have the right to refuse to submit…
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Or They'd Have To Kill You
We knew it was coming. They'd made that clear. Ohio was going to enact a law to keep all the execution details secret. Who makes the drugs? Secret.How they get the drugs? Secret.Who administers the drugs? Secret.Who advised them about the drugs? Secret.And it would protect the folks involved in other ways. Prohibitions on pharmacists participating? Not in Ohio.Prohibitions on EMTs participating? Not in Ohio.Prohibitions on nurses participating? Not in Ohio.Prohibitions on doctors participating? Not in Ohio.Prohibitions on violating professional ethics? Not in Ohio.As I said, we knew it was coming. Hell, they'd announced it. Gonna do it. And do it fast so that the killings scheduled to begin again in February could go forward. And so, as this session of the General Assembly draws to a close, House Bill 663, a billto provide confidentiality and license protection for persons…
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Highlighting that George Soros and the Koch Brothers agree on the need for criminal justice reform
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Did You Know the Child Sex Trade is Alive and Active in Vegas?
Young Teens Kidnapped for Sex Trafficking has Hit a High in Las Vegas in 2014 Recently, Las Vegas was named as one of the top destinations in the United States for sex trafficking especially for minors. Typically, the average age for children who are sold into prostitution is 12-14 years. An incredible study revealed that right in Clark County, 30 percent of the children were sold to work in the sex trade by family members and that one-third found in Las Vegas actually were from Las Vegas. The remaining two-thirds were brought here from 40 other states to be bought and sold. Sex trafficking differs from domestic violence where the abused choose to remain with their abuser. It is a growing business that hides in the shadows of the city. Las Vegas is one of the top four cities in the U.S. in sex trafficking, and it refers to this prostitution of minors as an epidemic.Shared Hope is talking with females of prostitution as well as the children of this trade after they have been…
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In this second case, the Grand Jury received evidence from three witnesses...cont
The criminal court ruled that, common law gave the prosecutor a wide latitude in resubmitting charges to a Grand Jury. His discretion in this regard has been curbed only in certain specified situations. Our concern here focuses on the rule that, when a Grand Jury dismisses a charge, the prosecutor may not re-present it for reconsideration by the same or another Grand Jury without permission of the Court. There are sound reasons for this rule. The dismissal of a charge by the Grand Jurors after a full hearing establishes as fact that the evidence presented to them is not of sufficient importance or credible worth to warrant a prosecution and should not, therefore, be presented to the petit jury. The spirit of the Grand Jury procedure would be violated and nullified if the District Attorney, because he disagreed with the factual finding of one Grand Jury, resubmitted the same charge until he could find a Grand Jury that agreed with his opinion that a prosecution was warranted.…
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More Pages to Explore .....
