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Judge Grants Injunction in Reverse Mortgage Scam

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Mortgage Fraud Blog. According to the Huffington Post, Chicago Cook County Judge David Atkins granted Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s request for an injunction against Mark Diamond in connection with the lawsuit she filed against him in 2009. In the 2009 suit Diamond was accused of bilking elderly black homeowners out of more than $1.3 million through a reverse mortgage/home repair scam. According to Madigan: “For too many years, Mark Diamond defrauded the most vulnerable people in our society,” Madigan said in a statement. “He stole the financial security that these families struggled to build over a lifetime. It is deplorable that he got away with his scheme for so many years. The preliminary injunction provides a small victory for those who have already lost so much but will at least prevent additional people from losing their homes and savings to one of Diamond’s reverse mortgage scams.”The post Judge Grants Injunction in Reverse Mortgage…

DOJ indicating it will appeal Judge Glesson's remarkable federal expungement order

Possible Visa Services Interruption

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The Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs is currently experiencing technical problems with its visa systems. This issue is not specific to any particular country or visa category. We apologize for the inconvenience and are working urgently to correct the problem and restore full operability. Currently, we are unable to print most immigrant and nonimmigrant visas approved after June 8, 2015. In addition, U.S. embassies and consulates are unable to process new applications submitted on or after June 9, 2015. Individuals with visa interview appointments scheduled for June 22 and 23, 2015, should reschedule their appointments if they submitted a DS-160 online application after June 9, 2015. Appointments can be rescheduled by signing into the existing appointment account and selecting the “reschedule” link or by calling the call center. Individuals who submitted their DS-160 online applications prior to June 9, 2015, should plan to attend their…

Over 240 Arrested in Major Health Care Fraud Sweep

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Several federal agencies, working together, announced a major nationwide health care fraud sweep which resulted in the arrests of almost 250 people. Among those arrested were physicians, nurses, and pharmacists, who were all accused of defrauding both Medicare and Medicaid systems. According to investigators, the effort uncovered more than $700 million in allegedly fraudulent billing. Many of those charged allegedly billed the government for services that were never received and medical equipment which was never provided to patients. Prescription drug fraud was also targeted by investigators, with more than 40 of the defendants who were arrested accused of defrauding Medicare’s drug benefit program. Investigators say this program has become one of the fastest growing targets of fraudulent activity, with many of the prescription painkillers dispensed ending up being sold illegally on the streets to drug addicts. Federal and state agencies were involved in the massive…

Tennessee Driver Found Without Pants or Shoes Arrested For DUI

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A 44-year old DUI suspect was arrested after being found by police behind a bush wearing no pants or shoes, and wearing his shirt backwards. Law enforcement was responding to a report of an abandoned vehicle facing the wrong way. The suspect, James Scott, was released on $7,500 bond and is set to appear in court July 2. The post Tennessee Driver Found Without Pants or Shoes Arrested For DUI appeared first on Maryland DUI Lawyer | DWI Attorney | Blog.

Injury Crash SH53@1, Hauser Lake Rd

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Idaho State Police Regional Communication Center - North 615 W Wilbur Ave Suite A Coeur d'Alene, Idaho 83815 Please direct questions to the appropriate District Offices District 1 (208) 209-8620 Fax (208) 209- 8618 District 2 (208) 799-5150 CASE #: C15001253 District: One --------------------- PRESS RELEASE ----------------------------- DATE: 6/23/15 TIME: 10:50 AM LOCATION: WB SH53@1, Hauser Lake Rd ASSISTING AGENCIES: Kootenai County Sheriff's Office, Idaho Transportation Department ------------- VEHICLE #1 DRIVER: Matthew N. Bruch AGE: 27 ADDRESS: Hauser, ID INJURIES?: No VEHICLE YEAR: 2001 VEHICLE MAKE: Subaru VEHICLE MODEL: Forester WRECKER: Superior Towing SEATBELTS WORN?: Yes ------------- VEHICLE #2 DRIVER: Jerry Mann AGE: 63 ADDRESS: Rathdrum, ID INJURIES?: Yes HOSPITAL TAKEN?: Kootenai Medical Center VEHICLE YEAR: 2003 VEHICLE MAKE: Harley Davidson VEHICLE MODEL:…

Manhattan Man Has Awaited Trial on Rikers Island for Seven Years

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Last week, in the wake of the recent suicide of Kalief Browder, the young man who was held on Rikers Island for three years without a trial, the New York Post reported that another young man, Carlos Montero, 24, has awaited trial on the island for more than twice as long. In an article published Friday, the Marshall Project attempts to explain how a defendant like Montero could languish in jail for years without appearing before a jury. Montero was only 17 years old in 2008 when he was arrested and charged in relation to a murder and robbery along with two of his friends. The Marshall Project attributes the delay in Montero’s trial primarily to the fact that prosecutors are seeking to try him together with his codefendants in order to ensure that all three are convicted. Each defendant is now on his second set of attorneys and one is fighting the introduction of DNA evidence found on the murder weapons. Montero claims he was not present during the crime and has rejected…

SEC Rolls Out First Wave of MCDC Settlements with Underwriters

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Last Thursday, the SEC announced it reached settlement agreements with 36 municipal securities underwriting firms pursuant to its Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation (MCDC) Initiative.  These settlements mark the first enforcement actions against underwriters of municipal securities under the MCDC Initiative. The MCDC Initiative was launched in March 2014, and as explained in detail by the Division of Enforcement, is intended to address potentially widespread violations of the federal securities laws by municipal issuers and underwriters of municipal securities in connection with statements made in bond offering documents about prior compliance with continuing disclosure obligations.  The initiative offered favorable settlement terms to municipal securities underwriters and issuers who self-reported possible securities law violations. Issuers and underwriters who chose to participate in self-reporting were asked to fill out a questionnaire…

Junk Science Responsible for Wrongful Convictions

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The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Justice Department have finally admitted there may be hundreds of wrongfully convicted persons languishing in prison, some on death row because of “junk science”, notably microscopic hair analysis. They recently revealed that for over thirty years so-called FBI “experts” have provided flawed testimony in almost every criminal case where human hair was found at the crime scene. The government’s review of cases where hair evidence was a central part of the case against an accused has led to a finding that 26 out of 28 FBI microscopic hair experts unwittingly provided flawed testimony in 95% of the 268 criminal trials that have been scrutinized. Unfortunately, most of the time the experts opined to a scientific certainty that the accused’s hair matched hair found at the crime scene, making hair analysis an important evidentiary weapon relied on by prosecutors around the country. Assisted by the…

Never Take Legal Advice From A Cop!

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Every day in my NY speeding ticket defense practice someone tells me that they followed, or were about to follow the advice the police officer who gave them the ticket told them on the stop. This is about the worse thing you can do. The vast majority of the time the officer’s advice is wrong. It’s not that the police are lying to you it’s just that they do not know what they are saying. Their advice is about as good as Uncle Tim’s who told you what to do because he once got a ticket in Seattle. How to handle a speeding ticket in New York State varies greatly from county to county and it is a totally different ball game all together if the ticket was written in New York City. The simple fact of the matter is that police officers are experts at traffic safety and traffic enforcement, not speeding and traffic ticket defense procedure. Further, what will happen to YOU if you are convicted of what you are charged with, or something else, will turn on not…

Update 3 Semi Crash Blocks I-15 near Blackfoot

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IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE - generated by our News Release ListServer DO NOT REPLY --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Idaho State Police District 5 5205 South 5th Ave. Pocatello, Idaho 83204-2299 (208) 236-6466 FAX: (208) 236-6068 For Immediate Release: 06/24/15 5:36 AM Please direct questions to the District Office *** Update 3 *** The next of kin notification has been made. The pedestrian is Jedidiah Mannes, 26, of Idaho Falls, ID. JW/LN *** Update 3 end *** *** Update 2 *** On June 24, 2015, at approximately 5:00 A.M., Idaho State Police investigated a pedestrian versus vehicle fatal crash on I15, at milepost 89, near Blackfoot, ID. A pedestrian, whose name is being withheld until next of kin notification has been made, was walking in the right lane of northbound I15. Edward Kinney Jr., 59, of Pocatello, ID, was driving northbound in a 2015 Kenworth hauling two fuel tankers. Kinney swerved to the left to try and avoid…

Notable new federal drug sentencing guideline reform data and discussion from US Sentencing Commission

"A Shrinking Texas Death Row"

Los Angeles DUI Cases in Question

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Hundreds of drivers found guilty of a Los Angeles DUI are getting another (unwelcome) day in court. An investigation by county prosecutors and the FBI has revealed that a former court clerk may have fixed as many as 1,000 DUI and other misdemeanor traffic cases, deliberately reducing or wiping out punishments for convicted offenders while entering cases into the system. According to news reports, the unnamed clerk in a back office in the Orange County Court House apparently altered the paperwork in hundreds of cases. The Orange County Register reported that the clerk recorded cases as dismissed when they were not and listed the wrong (reduced) penalties on case files. The phony resolutions listed in the case files meant that defendants had their punishments reduced or wiped out. The problem came to light just three months ago, when a supervisor, doing a routine random check of case files, noticed a missing document in a DUI case. The manager went on to check all the other cases…

Liability of Bus Company if Bus Driver Assaulted Passenger

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While it’s rare for a bus driver to assault a passenger, it’s not like it has never happened. Whether the bus driver attempts to remove physically a passenger or merely engages in a physical confrontation, mass transit accidents do occur.Because bus drivers have a high duty of care to protect passengers, a bus driver or/and a bus company may be held liable when a bus driver assaults a passenger. If a bus driver assaulted a passenger, here’s what s/he needs to know about liability.When the Bus Company is LiableA bus company is typically responsible for its employees’ action when the action occurs in the course of employment. When the action that causes a passenger harm falls outside of the employee’s duties, though, the employer may not be held liable.Because assault is not directly related to driving a bus, then, the company may not face liability charges. However, if the bus company knew or should have known that the bus driver was likely to…

Stats and Facts on DUI – Where Does California Rank?

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Wallethub.com’s recent ranking of the strictest states for DUI enforcement (California came out 31st) also contained some interesting statistics about impaired driving. If California follows the national trend, for example, the number of people killed in incidents involving a DUI in Los Angeles should be going down. DUI-related fatalities have declined throughout the U.S. by 52 percent from 1982 to 2013. Here are some more facts and statistics offered in the Wallethub study: • Almost half of all states now require some people convicted of a DUI to install an ignition interlock device in their vehicles. In 24 states, it’s mandatory after a first offense; 14 states require them after a first offense where the blood alcohol content is above .15. Seven states will make offenders install the device after a second offense. Six states never require the device. • The federal government estimates the use of these devices has cut the DUI re-arrest rate by 67…

News Scan

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U.S. Won't Prosecute Hostages' Families Who Pay Ransom:  Families of Americans held hostage by terror groups will not face prosecution if they communicate with or pay ransom to captors, outlined in a broad review of U.S. hostage guidelines released Wednesday.  The AP reports that there will be no formal change to the law, but the Obama administration has clarified that the Justice Department will not prosecute anyone for paying ransom.  The government is still banned from directly paying ransom or facilitating payments for families.  Four Americans have been killed by the Islamic State terror group since last summer, and two other American hostages have been killed in recent months. DHS to Release More Illegal Immigrant Families:  Even though a recent report revealed that 84 percent of Central American families who illegally entered the U.S. last year seeking asylum failed to appear in court, the Obama administration proceeded to further…

Coker on Stand-Your-Ground Laws

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Donna Coker (University of Miami School of Law) has posted 'Stand Your Ground' in Context: Race, Gender, and Politics (University of Miami Law Review, Vol. 68, p. 943, Summer 2014) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This introduction to a...

Proposed New Legislation Would Extend CFPB Oversight Over SCRA

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On June 11, 2015, Sen. Jack Reed [D-RI] introduced a bill amending the Consumer Financial Protection Act to extend CFPB oversight and protection to include key provisions of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA).  The SCRA provides an array of protections to members of the military, including postponing civil obligations so that servicemembers can better fulfill their military obligations.  SCRA oversight is currently the responsibility of the Department of Justice and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.  The proposed legislation would extend CFPB jurisdiction over specific SCRA provisions, including the following: Provisions stating that a servicemember’s exercise of certain SCRA rights cannot impact certain future financial transactions, except with respect to insurance. See 50 App. U.S.C.A. § 518. Protections for servicemembers against default judgments, excluding child custody proceedings. See 50 App. U.S.C.A. § 521. Statutory…

Understanding the Difference Between Solicitation and Human Trafficking

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A recent article in the online legal journal, Above the Law, discussed a typical cybersex prostitution sting in Texas that had an interesting legal twist. One of the men taken into custody that day, Aaron Watkins, turned out to be a third year Baylor law student. Intrigued by the law student's foray into territory most attorneys only hear about from clients, the writer pointed out that Watkins was one of the few arrested that day on charges of conspiracy to commit human trafficking. The question he raised: What is the main difference between a solicitation and a human trafficking charge? Solicitation is any request to perform a sexual act. Asking to have sex with an underage child, whether or not in exchange for a fee, is a felony offense; whereas the solicitation of a person of legal age to have sex in exchange for money is considered a misdemeanor offense in most states. Human trafficking…
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