Business Crimes Hotline

The additional charges, returned via a superseding indictment in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco, accuse two additional corporations, AU Optronics Corporation and its U.S. subsidiary, AU Optronics Corporation America, a Houston-based company, of a single felony count violation of the Sherman Act, along with six current executives who are residents of Taiwan and are either current employees or directors. The superseding indictment announced on June 10 replaced an indictment originally returned on Feb. 3, 2009, charging former executives of LG Display Co. Ltd and Chungwa Picture Tubes LTD for their alleged roles in the conspiracy. The DOJ announced that the June 10 superseding indictment raises the total number of individuals charged in connection with the alleged TFT-LCD conspiracy to 17. According to the DOJ, the government's investigation and prosecution have already yielded guilty pleas by six corporations, resulting in fines exceeding $860 million.

FLORIDA

Former FL Republican Party Chairman Arrested in Connection with State Fraud Charges

On June 2, 2010, Jim Greer, the former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, was arrested and charged on six felony counts in Florida state court, in connection with an alleged scheme to defraud his former employer via a shell company that siphoned party fundraising money to Greer and his assistant, former party executive director Delmar Johnson III. In total, Greer, who served as the party's chairman for three years, faces six counts for the alleged scheme, including single counts of orchestrating a scheme to defraud and money laundering, in addition to four counts of felony grand theft.

According to Florida state prosecutor William Shepherd, who announced the charges against Greer, the former chairman created shell company Victory Strategies LLC in February 2009, as a means of funneling party money to himself. To accomplish this, Greer is accused of initiating a fundraising contract between the Republican Party of Florida and the company, with which Greer's association was undisclosed, later diverting funds to the company for services that were not actually performed. In addition, Greer is accused of skimming 10% from major donations made to the party. Former executive director Johnson is cooperating with authorities in the investigation and prosecution of his former boss, and Johnson has not been charged for his alleged role.

VIRGINIA

Mortgage Lending Company's Former Chairman Charged in 16-Count Indictment for Alleged Fraud

A 16-count indictment was unsealed on June 16, 2010, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, charging the former chairman of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker (TBW), Lee Bentley Farkas. The indictment charges the former head of the private mortgage lending company in connection with his alleged role in a fraud scheme involving TBW and Colonial Bank.

Lanny A. Breuer, Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ's Criminal Division, characterized the alleged scheme as “truly stunning in its scale and complexity.” Specifically, the government alleges that Farkas, along with co-conspirators at both entities, participated in a misappropriation scheme, beginning as early as 2002, involving over $400 million in fake mortgage assets from the Mortgage Warehouse Lending Division of Colonial Bank. Additionally, Farkas is accused of diverting approximately $1.5 billion in funds from Ocala Funding, a mortgage lending facility controlled by TBW, as a means to conceal TBW's burgeoning loss totals.

A related enforcement action was also filed against Farkas in the Eastern District of Virginia by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

Counterfeit Luxury Goods Prosecution Yields Jury Convictions Against Two
Importers

On June 11, 2010, a federal jury in Richmond, VA, returned convictions against New York Importers Chong Lam and Siu Yung (aka Joyce) Chan in connection with their roles in a counterfeit luxury goods manufacturing, importation, and wholesaling operation, while their co-defendant, Eric Yuen, was acquitted on all charges at that time. According to the government, among other products, the business included counterfeit variants of wallets and handbags from companies such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Chanel.

In announcing the convictions of Lam and Chan, U.S. Attorney Neil H. McBride stated: “This case is about economic identity theft and blatant disregard for the law,” adding that these convictions “reinforce the integrity of our nation's intellectual property laws that the Eastern District of Virginia is committed to enforcing.”

CALIFORNIA

Alleged Conspiracy to Fix LCD Prices Yields Additional Indictments

On June 10, 2010, the DOJ announced that additional charges had been filed in its long-running investigation into alleged price-fixing for panels used in a host of consumer electronics, including computer monitors, The panels, known as thin-film transistor-liquid crystal display panels (TFT-LCD), represented a worldwide market of $70 billion at the time the alleged conspiracy ended.

The additional charges, returned via a superseding indictment in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco, accuse two additional corporations, AU Optronics Corporation and its U.S. subsidiary, AU Optronics Corporation America, a Houston-based company, of a single felony count violation of the Sherman Act, along with six current executives who are residents of Taiwan and are either current employees or directors. The superseding indictment announced on June 10 replaced an indictment originally returned on Feb. 3, 2009, charging former executives of LG Display Co. Ltd and Chungwa Picture Tubes LTD for their alleged roles in the conspiracy. The DOJ announced that the June 10 superseding indictment raises the total number of individuals charged in connection with the alleged TFT-LCD conspiracy to 17. According to the DOJ, the government's investigation and prosecution have already yielded guilty pleas by six corporations, resulting in fines exceeding $860 million.

FLORIDA

Former FL Republican Party Chairman Arrested in Connection with State Fraud Charges

On June 2, 2010, Jim Greer, the former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, was arrested and charged on six felony counts in Florida state court, in connection with an alleged scheme to defraud his former employer via a shell company that siphoned party fundraising money to Greer and his assistant, former party executive director Delmar Johnson III. In total, Greer, who served as the party's chairman for three years, faces six counts for the alleged scheme, including single counts of orchestrating a scheme to defraud and money laundering, in addition to four counts of felony grand theft.

According to Florida state prosecutor William Shepherd, who announced the charges against Greer, the former chairman created shell company Victory Strategies LLC in February 2009, as a means of funneling party money to himself. To accomplish this, Greer is accused of initiating a fundraising contract between the Republican Party of Florida and the company, with which Greer's association was undisclosed, later diverting funds to the company for services that were not actually performed. In addition, Greer is accused of skimming 10% from major donations made to the party. Former executive director Johnson is cooperating with authorities in the investigation and prosecution of his former boss, and Johnson has not been charged for his alleged role.

VIRGINIA

Mortgage Lending Company's Former Chairman Charged in 16-Count Indictment for Alleged Fraud

A 16-count indictment was unsealed on June 16, 2010, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, charging the former chairman of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker (TBW), Lee Bentley Farkas. The indictment charges the former head of the private mortgage lending company in connection with his alleged role in a fraud scheme involving TBW and Colonial Bank.

Lanny A. Breuer, Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ's Criminal Division, characterized the alleged scheme as “truly stunning in its scale and complexity.” Specifically, the government alleges that Farkas, along with co-conspirators at both entities, participated in a misappropriation scheme, beginning as early as 2002, involving over $400 million in fake mortgage assets from the Mortgage Warehouse Lending Division of Colonial Bank. Additionally, Farkas is accused of diverting approximately $1.5 billion in funds from Ocala Funding, a mortgage lending facility controlled by TBW, as a means to conceal TBW's burgeoning loss totals.

A related enforcement action was also filed against Farkas in the Eastern District of Virginia by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

Counterfeit Luxury Goods Prosecution Yields Jury Convictions Against Two
Importers

On June 11, 2010, a federal jury in Richmond, VA, returned convictions against New York Importers Chong Lam and Siu Yung (aka Joyce) Chan in connection with their roles in a counterfeit luxury goods manufacturing, importation, and wholesaling operation, while their co-defendant, Eric Yuen, was acquitted on all charges at that time. According to the government, among other products, the business included counterfeit variants of wallets and handbags from companies such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Chanel.

In announcing the convictions of Lam and Chan, U.S. Attorney Neil H. McBride stated: “This case is about economic identity theft and blatant disregard for the law,” adding that these convictions “reinforce the integrity of our nation's intellectual property laws that the Eastern District of Virginia is committed to enforcing.”