President-elect Donald Trump has reached a multimillion dollar settlement in the fraud cases against his now-defunct for profit Trump University. Trump will pay a reported $25 million settle the case, and will pay up to $1 million in penalties to the State of New York for violating state education laws.

There were three lawsuits pending against Trump University; two class action suits in California and one case brought by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. According to Reuters, all of the cases would be covered in the settlement.

Schneiderman has said that more than 5,000 students were defrauded out of $40 million after paying up to $35,000 to learn all of Trump’s real estate investing “secrets” from his “hand-picked” instructors.

Trump’s settlement comes across a bit ironic; Trump has said many times that he doesn’t settle cases. In fact, at the Republican presidential debate in Detroit, Trump said:

I don’t settle cases. I don’t do it because that’s why I don’t get sued very often, because I don’t settle, unlike a lot of other people.

However, he seems to have reconsidered his staunch stance.

So the orange sleazeball is going to avoid trial on the Trump U case! Settlement with no admission of guilt. What a load of crap!

— philip harris (@pharris830) November 18, 2016

U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel urged both parties to settle. He is the same judge that Trump claimed couldn’t be impartial in the case because he was “of Mexican heritage.”

Trump has categorically denied any wrongdoing in the case, and even claimed that 98% of the people who signed up for the courses expressed satisfaction with them.

A spokesperson for Schneiderman said he “has always been open to a settlement that fairly compensates the many victims of Trump University who have been waiting years for a resolution.”

Interviewer: so it says here you went to TU? What school is that?

Trump University

Interviewer: pic.twitter.com/J9WJCu5pXK

— Kevin Flood (@FLOOKLYN) November 18, 2016

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Donald “I Never Settle” Trump Reaches Settlement in University Fraud Case appeared first on Law Street.

Wells Fargo, America’s biggest bank by market capitalization, has apparently been scamming its customers by opening unauthorized deposit and credit card accounts for years. High sales targets and promises of bonuses prompted employees to commit illegal cross-selling–which is when you sell multiple products or services to the same customers. In fact, 5,300 employees have been fired for “inappropriate sales conduct” over the past five years.

On Thursday the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) fined the bank $100 million, which is the highest fine the federal agency has ever issued. Additional fines of $35 million and $50 million each are to be paid to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and to the City and County of Los Angeles.

The director at CFPB, Richard Cordray, said in a press release:

Wells Fargo employees secretly opened unauthorized accounts to hit sales targets and receive bonuses. Because of the severity of these violations, Wells Fargo is paying the largest penalty the CFPB has ever imposed. Today’s action should serve notice to the entire industry that financial incentive programs, if not monitored carefully, carry serious risks that can have serious legal consequences.

Banking analyst Dick Bove said on Friday that it’s time to sell your stocks in the bank. He told CNBC: “What Wells has done is it’s saying that it’s treating customers badly, it broke faith with customers. There is no business in the world that can treat its customers badly and continue to expect to grow.”

To gain back the public’s trust after something big like this, especially with the 2008 financial crisis fresh in mind, Bove said Wells Fargo would need to do something drastic. For example, forgive all student loan debt. He said:

If you do that to customers who have student loans, they’ll stay with you for life. It requires something big, comprehensive and meaningful. Whether it’s that exact action or some other action that they come up with, I don’t know. I think it requires a significant step to re-establish faith with the consumer.

Many Twitter users reacted to the news.

“Hello Wells Fargo, I’d like to open a checking account, savings account and two credit cards.”
“You’re in luck. We’ve already opened them.”

— Fake Dispatch (@Fake_Dispatch) September 9, 2016

And one popular question is why no higher executives have been held accountable.

It’s weird how 5,000 front line Wells Fargo employees hit on similar scams without any wrongdoing by high-level executives.

— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) September 9, 2016

Essentially, employees at the bank boosted their sales by secretly opening new accounts and then funding them by transferring money from customers’ existing accounts. This often brought along additional fees and charges for the customers. It’s been reported that more than two million deposit or credit accounts were opened in this fashion. According to Reuters, employees were told that most customers used six financial tools but that they should push them into using at least eight.

According to CNN’s Douglas Rushkoff, the scale of these scams show that it’s not just the behavior of one bad banker, but rather a symptom of extreme capitalism in the banking world. Since banks make money from extracting funds from customers who want to invest or make transactions, they need to make sure those processes happen. During a time with slow growth though, the bankers need to create some kind of growth synthetically, out of fear of losing their jobs or missing out on a bonus. An easy way to do this is extract more money from people who already are customers, by offering new credit cards with higher fees or loans with higher costs or new terms that are worse for the customer but better for the bank.

Wells Fargo has been known for its ability to cross-sell multiple products to the same customers. In a statement on the bank’s website it said:

Wells Fargo is committed to putting our customers’ interests first 100 percent of the time, and we regret and take responsibility for any instances where customers may have received a product that they did not request.

Wells Fargo has issued a statement regarding definitive settlement agreements. Read more: https://t.co/tCMOlGkfln. pic.twitter.com/DSEjFC1BpA

— Wells Fargo News (@WellsFargoNews) September 8, 2016

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post How Will Wells Fargo Recover From its Fraud Scandal? appeared first on Law Street.

Congresswoman Corrine Brown, who represents Florida’s 5th Congressional District, was indicted late last week on 22 charges that include fraud and conspiracy. Brown’s chief of staff, Elias “Ronnie” Simmons, was also hit with a number of related charges–both individuals are pleading not guilty on all counts. And Brown is fighting back against the charges in the court of social opinion as well, writing in a blog posted by her campaign that “I’m not the first black elected official to be persecuted and, sad to say, I won’t be the last.”

Brown is accused of using a sham education charity to solicit donations, as well as using those donations for her own personal gain. The group, called One Door for Education, allegedly never received the money that Brown raised on its behalf. Instead, according to a local ABC affiliate,

Much of the money was deposited to Brown’s personal bank accounts so she could pay taxes that she owed, investigators said.

More than $200,000 in One Door funds went to pay for events hosted by Brown in her honor, including a golf tournament in Ponte Vedra Beach, receptions at an annual conference in Washington, D.C., and luxury boxes for a concert and an NFL game in Washington, D.C., investigators said.

Brown wrote a blog post last week, entitled “Note to my Friends” after news of the indictment broke, in which she claimed that the prosecutor wasn’t telling her side of the story. She wrote:

The most important thing I want you to understand is that an indictment is not a conviction. An indictment is an accusation. Anybody can make an accusation. You’ve heard the prosecutor’s side, but you still have not heard the rest of the story.

However, Brown also received significant criticism–particularly on the right–for juxtaposing her indictment with the killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, and the fatal attacks on five Dallas police officers last week.

If Brown is convicted of all of the charges levied against her, she could face a hefty sentence, up to 300 years total.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Congresswoman Corrine Brown to Fight Long List of Federal Charges appeared first on Law Street.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday it is charging hundreds of individuals across the country with committing health care fraud worth hundreds of millions of dollars, in what is being hailed the largest health care fraud bust in U.S. history. Here are the five fast facts you need to know.

1. 301 People Charged in Health Care Fraud Bust

The bust resulted in the takedown of 301 individuals, including 61 licensed medical professionals, 28 of whom were doctors. The charges include various health care fraud-related crimes, including conspiracy to commit health care fraud, violations of the anti-kickback statutes, money laundering, aggravated identity theft, and Medicare Part D pharmacy fraud.

Attorney General Lynch called out the alleged perpetrators in the release saying,

They target real people – many of them in need of significant medical care.  They promise effective cures and therapies, but they provide none.  Above all, they abuse basic bonds of trust – between doctor and patient; between pharmacist and doctor; between taxpayer and government – and pervert them to their own ends.

2. $900 Million in False Billings

The DOJ found the defendants to be responsible for a total of $900 million in false billings. The largest portion of fraudulent billings was traced to Florida, where a total of 100 defendants were charged for their involvement in approximately $220 million in false billings for home health care, mental health services and pharmacy fraud. According to the release,

In one case, nine defendants have been charged with operating six different Miami-area home health companies for the purpose of submitting false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, including for services that were not medically necessary and that were based on bribes and kickbacks.  In total, Medicare paid the six companies over $24 million as a result of the scheme.

Defendants in California, Texas, and Michigan are charged with committing more than $100 million worth of fraud in each state.

3. This Was a Joint Effort

Medicaid Fraud Control Units in 23 states and the Medicare Fraud Strike Force in 36 federal districts coordinated with the Justice Department and the Department of Health and Human Services in  the “unprecedented nationwide sweep.”

National Health Care Fraud Takedown Results https://t.co/LQk9OJpzKN pic.twitter.com/HMVFxvFrgd

— Justice Department (@TheJusticeDept) June 22, 2016

The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations are part of the Health Care Fraud Prevention & Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), a joint initiative announced in May 2009 between the DOJ and HHS to help prevent waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

4. New Study Identifies 27 Home Health Care Fraud “Hotspots”

The U.S. Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General released a new study in conjunction with the DOJ’s arrests citing 27 geographical “hotspots” in 12 states where health care fraud is committed most often.

Eye on Oversight: OIG identified 27 hotspots for probable home health fraud. Watch the VIDEO. https://t.co/1KPY9RQe6D

— OIG at HHS (@OIGatHHS) June 21, 2016

The states include Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Utah.

5. This Recent Bust Helped Pad Federal Authorities’ Record

Since its launch in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force has charged over 2,900 defendants who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for over $8.9 billion. Wednesday’s announcement marks the second time that districts outside of Strike Force locations participated in a national health care fraud bust, and they accounted for 82 defendants charged in this takedown.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post 5 Fast Facts: The Largest Health Care Fraud Bust in History appeared first on Law Street.

A judge has ordered “The Wolf of Wall Street,” aka Leonardo DiCaprio, to testify in a lawsuit against the filmmakers of the 2013 movie. You might think it would be flattering to have a character featured in a movie with one of the biggest stars of today based off of you, but businessman Andrew Greene claims that it portrayed him as a “criminal, a drug user and a degenerate.” Now he wants $25 million in damages.

@BBCWorld @LeoDiCaprio
Is he going to be questioned about The Titanic sinking as well?

— Paul_Ed (@eddo75) June 17, 2016

Greene is the former executive at the brokerage firm the film depicts, Stratton Oakmont, portrayed through the character Nicky “Rugrat” Koskoff, the guy with the bad toupee. DiCaprio plays the main character, Jordan Belfort, who founded Stratton Oakmont and made a fortune by defrauding investors.

Greene initially sued Paramount Pictures for over $50 million in 2014. Paramount claims that Koskoff, played by P.J. Byrne, is a mashup of multiple people and that Greene is just one of them. The hairpiece played a role in many jokes in both the movie and in Belfort’s memoir that the movie is based on.

Oh, it's not even about Jordan Belfort. It's about how Nicky Koskoff was portrayed to look bad in the film lol. pic.twitter.com/7BDABHMzRF

— Tea Lizard (@brettSTYX) June 17, 2016

The judge rejected Greene’s claims of defamation, but allowed him to change his suit to malicious libel. The plaintiff’s side wanted DiCaprio to testify since he played a big part in the production of the movie, but he has so far been “too busy.” The defendants claim that the accounts of director Martin Scorsese and screenwriter Terence Winter should be enough. They have also argued that DiCaprio didn’t have any means of controlling other actors’ performances.

.@LeoDiCaprio is being asked to testify against the creators of Wolf of Wall Street in a defamation case. #9Today https://t.co/98ZIaOo6OA

— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) June 15, 2016

But the judge sided with the plaintiffs, and has now ordered DiCaprio to court. However, the orders are vague, stating he should show up for his testimony “at a reasonable time and place agreed to by the parties.”

The real “Wolf of Wall Street,” Jordan Belfort, spent 22 months in prison for money laundering and fraud. He went on to write his biography and is still paying off debts to the victims of his financial schemes.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Leonardo DiCaprio to Testify in Lawsuit Against “The Wolf of Wall Street” appeared first on Law Street.

Trump University was a fraud, a lie, and a scheme. That’s what former employees at the school said in testimony revealed on Tuesday; the statements were given as a part of a lawsuit against the so-called university.

But “Trump University” wasn’t a real university at all, and the students did not get to learn the secrets behind Trump’s enormous real estate success. The now-public documents paint a picture of a money-obsessed and unscrupulous business that used high-pressure sales tactics to attract students.

The ongoing lawsuit was filed by discontented former students, and the documents that were released on Tuesday contain statements from former managers, as well as the handbook salespeople used to entice students. The instructions reveal how they were supposed to sell expensive classes to struggling students using sales psychology techniques, and to lure them in by claiming that Trump would play an active role in their education–but that simply wasn’t true.

Salespeople were also told to encourage everyone to pay with their credit cards, and even to open up as many credit cards as possible: “It’s O.K., just max out your credit card,” a former event manager named Corrine Sommer remembered salespeople telling prospective students.

The entire case has become even more convoluted after Trump attacked and insulted the judge presiding over the case. U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel was the one who ordered the release of the documents, as a response to a request by the Washington Post. Trump boiled over and called the judge “hostile,” a “hater,” and said that he is “we believe, Mexican, which is great. I think that’s fine.” Curiel, for the record, was born in Indiana.

Hillary Clinton soon jumped in and used the latest development in the Trump University lawsuit to attack Trump on Twitter. She said that the scandal is more proof that Trump is unfit to be President.

Another Trump University practice, according to its own employees: target struggling families to fleece them. pic.twitter.com/VUH18SpBlD

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 1, 2016

FACT: Trump University identified those most vulnerable and then targeted them with predatory marketing tactics. https://t.co/xDeDI1KqOr

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 1, 2016

At her rally in New Jersey on Wednesday Clinton said: “[Trump] is trying to scam America the way he scammed all those people at Trump University.”

You can see the Trump documents for yourself here.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Trump University Tactics Revealed: Former Employees Call it a “Scam” appeared first on Law Street.

In the wake of the financial crisis, many have grown to dislike and mistrust Wall Street and the financial services industry. Well, a new working paper may validate some of those feelings, particularly when it comes to financial advisers.

Researchers from the University of Chicago and the University of Minnesota found that roughly 7 percent of financial advisers have a misconduct record–ranging from selling their clients unsuitable investments to fraudulent behavior. But the paper’s most striking findings relate to what happens after a financial adviser commits misconduct and how that shapes the industry as a whole. The researchers used the BrokerCheck database to look at the disclosure records of financial advisers from 2005 to 2015.

For most young people, the thought of hiring a financial adviser seems as foreign as hiring a lawyer to write your will; figuring out how to file your taxes may be much more pressing than making a plan for retirement. But the report’s findings offer some important insight into the role of financial advisers as well as customers who tend to fall victim to misconduct.

The researchers looked at only six of the 25 disclosure categories in order to focus specifically on fraud and misconduct. They also included pending disputes in order to avoid including disclosures that may be dismissed in the future. While the range of misconduct varies, it does tend to be significant. According to the data they analyzed, the median settlement for misconduct was $40,000.

The paper has four major findings altogether:

1. Roughly 7 percent of nearly 650 thousand registered financial advisers have misconduct records based on data from 2005 to 2015.
2. Advisers with a record of misconduct are more than five times as likely to commit future misconduct than the average adviser.
3. While about half of advisers who commit misconduct lose their jobs afterward, 44 percent are reemployed within a year and firms that tend  to hire these offenders also have high rates of previous misconduct. The researchers go on to note that these firms may even “specialize in misconduct.”
4. These firms also tend to serve people who have relatively low levels of education, high incomes, and the elderly. Existing research indicates that these individuals have lower levels of financial literacy and may have a harder time identifying misconduct or fraud.

When unpacking these findings two important points emerge. First, companies can be surprisingly strict when it comes to misconduct, often firing employees who commit abuses. But at the same time, those who do lose their jobs often manage to stay in the industry, though on average they go to less prestigious companies and take a pay cut. The firms that tend to hire people with a misconduct record also have issues with misconduct themselves.

FINRA created the disclosure system and the BrokerCheck database to improve transparency for customers looking for financial advisers, but the researchers found that despite consumers’ ability to look up the record of potential advisers, misconduct continues at higher levels than you might expect. They argue that this is likely because some customers are less sophisticated than others and may not know how to find or interpret certain disclosures.

Researchers compared the locations of these advisers with Census Bureau data. They found, “Misconduct is more common in wealthy, elderly, and less educated counties… The latter two categories have generally been associated with low levels of financial sophistication.” While these findings are not definitive and don’t prove causation, the connection between where fraud happens and those vulnerable to it is particularly striking. Ultimately, the researchers concluded:

Our findings suggest that a natural policy response to lowering misconduct is an increase in market transparency and in policies helping unsophisticated consumers access more information. Several recent efforts by regulators, such as the establishment and promotion of FINRA’s BrokerCheck website, have been along these lines.

FINRA, the independent regulatory authority that oversees financial advisers and much of the financial industry, has been taking steps to improve transparency and the industry’s culture, but these findings suggest that misconduct and fraud remains a significant problem for the financial advice industry.

The financial crisis was a formative period for most Millennials, so it’s clear why many young adults have moved away from more traditional financial advisors. Millennials tend to gravitate toward different, often tech-based, solutions for financial planning rather than hiring someone for advice. That, coupled with the unique financial burden placed on new adults, puts Millennials in a notably different financial situation with different goals than what their parents and grandparents might have. Based on the findings of this working paper, that skepticism may be warranted.

Kevin Rizzo

Kevin Rizzo is the Crime in America Editor at Law Street Media. An Ohio Native, the George Washington University graduate is a founding member of the company. Contact Kevin at krizzo@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Should We Trust Financial Advisers? appeared first on Law Street.

The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS) could be in trouble as eleven church members were indicted on charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit fraud. After a raid conducted by the federal government this Tuesday, it became clear that several of the leaders of the FLDS Church were allegedly stealing from their members in order to profit.

This specific group actually has quite a history. FLDS began over a century ago when members fractioned off from the Mormon Church to create their own sect, which practices polygamy, after the Mormon Church stopped allowing the practice. The FLDS Church headquarters, where most of the people indicted this week live, are in Colorado City, Arizona, which borders the southernmost part of Utah. The leader of the FLDS Church is a man named Warren Jeffs, who took over after his father passed away in 2002 and is supposedly thought to be their prophet. Jeffs is currently serving a life sentence in prison for the sexual assault of two teenage girls, one fifteen and one twelve, back in 2011. It is estimated that Jeffs could have more than seventy wives and also reported that members of FLDS learn in schools that Jeffs is president of the United States.

Even more shocking than some of their beliefs and teachings is the group’s record with the law. Obviously, their leader was arrested in 2011 under sexual assault charges, but he isn’t the only one. The whole group is currently under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice for discriminating against non-church members living in their city. The DOJ claims that the religious group, which runs the entire town, denies fundamental rights like housing and police services to people who are not members of the Church–an action that is downright unconstitutional as far as separation of church and state and equality are concerned. On top of police reports of inequality, former members of the FLDS community who have been exiled have spoken out numerous times about the illegal and immoral actions of the leaders of the church. FLDS members responded to these allegations by insisting that the federal government was just trying to run them out of town for their religious beliefs and that they cannot be prosecuted just because someone doesn’t agree with their religion.

As far as this Tuesday’s incident, officers raided five stores in the town, indicting both Lyle and Seth Jeffs, who are the brothers of Warren Jeffs and head members of FLDS.

FBI raid on FLDS businesses in Hildale and Colorado City underwayhttps://t.co/hrgTDTdRHz pic.twitter.com/ZfUTyyGc6a

— KUTV 2News (@KUTV2News) February 23, 2016

FBI and sheriff's deputies surrounding another #hildale store pic.twitter.com/S6NOOydJXp

— HaileyHiggins (@HaileyHiggins) February 23, 2016

The group has allegedly been taking funds from food stamp program members and using them for their own benefit–a crime that is considered both fraudulent and money laundering. This raid was one of the largest interventions into this community that the federal government has ever done and officers hope to use evidence of fraud in order to get all the men who were indicted held until a trial determines their fate, rather than being released on bail.

While the leaders have pled not guilty, this is a huge blow to the FLDS Church, as almost all of the people taken into custody were high ranking members of the community, without whom, the group may not be able to function. The director of the Arizona Department of Economic Security, Timothy Jeffries, was proud to announce that this was “a huge win for all victims of food stamp fraud, especially for those who reside in Arizona.” He also made a statement about Arizona’s commitment to continuing to solve the issue:

I am committed to fighting for the rights of individuals who are truly in need of these benefits, which helps to put food on their table. Stealing from the poor in any manner is wrong.

The  FLDS community has been asked to pray every day for Warren Jeffs’ release from prison (which is unlikely, at best) and are told that the only reason he has not been released yet is because they are not being faithful enough. Whether or not the FLDS Church will be able to continue in the absence of many of their leaders is unclear, but this could certainly spur a breakdown of the oppressive and apparently fraudulently-run group.

Alexandra Simone

Alex Simone is an Editorial Senior Fellow at Law Street and a student at The George Washington University, studying Political Science. She is passionate about law and government, but also enjoys the finer things in life like watching crime dramas and enjoying a nice DC brunch. Contact Alex at ASimone@LawStreetmedia.com

The post FLDS Church Leaders Indicted on Charges of Fraud appeared first on Law Street.

What does this Florida teenager advertising his medical services while sporting a lab coat and stethoscope not have? A medical degree.

Malachi A. Love-Robinson, an 18-year-old, even had his own medical office in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Officials arrested Love-Robinson Tuesday after the Palm Beach Narcotics Task Force (PBNTF) and the Florida Department of Health investigated complaints that the “doctor” was practicing medicine without a license, according to a statement released by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.

Just because you saw a season of Grey’s Anatomy doesn’t mean you could practice medicine. https://t.co/tw8QUXjtsj pic.twitter.com/dCBZX8CYCU

— PBSO (@PBCountySheriff) February 16, 2016

The sheriff’s office also said that Love-Robinson had been investigated previously and was cited by the Department of Health for practicing medicine without a license this past October. According to Brad Dalton, the spokesman for the Florida Department of Health, Love-Robinson was worked at New Birth New Life, a treatment office specializing in addiction recovery, in Boynton Beach, Fla. Practicing medicine without a license is considered a third-degree felony in Florida.

The police were apparently tipped off by a member of the public who told the authorities that “a person who was portraying himself as a 25-year-old doctor was actually an 18-year-old,” Brad Dalton told the New York Times. According to his profile on HealthGrades.com, which has since been taken down, he was listed as a 25-year-old.

Love-Robinson posted bail on Wednesday and on Thursday he told ABC News, “I’m not portraying as an M.D. I never said I’ve gone to school to be an M.D.” He also claims that he has a Ph.D., but would not say where it is from or what field it is in.

The statement from the sheriff’s office says that Love-Robinson “performed a physical exam on an undercover agent and offered medical advice.” The point in time when Love-Robinson crossed the line to provide medical care and advice was when police were able to intervene, Dalton told CNN.

According to New Birth New Life’s website, Love-Robinson is listed as having not only a Ph.D. but also two certifications: HHP-C, which is a holistic health practitioner certification, and AMP-C, which is unclear.

There are two other employees listed, an operations director and a program director. The program director, Sandra J. White, is titled “Dr.,” but it is unclear if that title stems from the honorary doctorate of divinity that she received according to her bio on the NBNL website, or if from an educational institution.

The bio for Michelle L. Newsome, the operations director, says, “[Newsome] is looking forward to many years here at NBNL Medical Center and hopes to enjoy each and every one of them.”

Love-Robinson was also accused of forging and cashing stolen checks from an 86-year-old woman in January and was charged with Grand Theft, Uttering a Forgery, and Naturopath without a License, according to an update posted to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.

The elderly women reportedly filed a forgery and fraud report after she was notified that her bank account had no money in it. “The victim obtained copies of her checks and learned that three had been forged and cashed by Dr. Love-Robinson without her consent or knowledge,” the post said.

Love-Robinson disagrees with the police and is unhappy that he was forced to close down his practice following the accusations. “I’m not trying to hurt people,” he told the New York Times. “I’m just a young black guy who opened up a practice who is trying to do some good in the community. If that is a negative thing, we have a lot more work to do in the community than to single out me.”

Julia Bryant

Julia Bryant is an Editorial Senior Fellow at Law Street from Howard County, Maryland. She is a junior at the University of Maryland, College Park, pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Economics. You can contact Julia at JBryant@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Florida Teen Still Not a Doctor, But Still Pretending appeared first on Law Street.

Wayne Simmons, a Fox News guest, was just indicted after it was discovered that he was lying about his qualifications. Despite repeatedly appearing as a guest on Fox News programs and proclaiming to be a former CIA agent, it turns out he never worked for the CIA.

Right-wing media’s Benghazi “expert” arrested for falsely claiming he worked for the CIA: http://t.co/UmFjR3T62zpic.twitter.com/VTeVaG6MDu

— Media Matters (@mmfa) October 15, 2015

While Fox News spokesperson Irena Briganti has emphasized that Simmons was never paid, he has appeared as a guest commentator on various Fox News programs, including “Fox & Friends,” and has been interviewed by Sean Hannity and Neil Cavuto. It’s unclear how many times he appeared on the network; his website lists dozens of appearances on various programs. While he technically portrayed himself to Fox as an “outside paramilitary special operations officer” with 23 years of experience, the title he was often given on various shows was “former CIA operative,” most likely for the sake of brevity.

A grand jury just indicted Simmons on a number of different charges, including major fraud against the United States, wire fraud, making false statements to the government, and the fact that he used those fake claims in order to gain security clearances and confidential information. Bizarrely, the indictment also included charges that he was involved in a real estate scheme that scammed an unnamed individual out of $125,000. According to the indictment, he used his fake CIA credentials to bolster his credibility to conduct that endeavor. Federal prosecutors claim that this indictment didn’t come out of the blue, as he allegedly has a:

Significant criminal history, including convictions for a crime of violence and firearms offenses, and is believed to have had an ongoing association with firearms notwithstanding those felony convictions.

It was also noted that he “has a history of acting in an aggressive manner, and is likely aware of the imminent nature of the charges in this case.”

During his varied appearances, Simmons said some pretty incendiary thing–here’s an example of an appearance he made on “Fox and Friends,” in which he was listed as a “former CIA operative”:

In that particular appearance he called Obama “the boy king.” This January he claimed that there were “at least 19 paramilitary Muslim training facilities in the United States.” He also at one point claimed that waterboarding was not torture.

Despite the fact that Fox News apparently never paid the commenter, and he wasn’t officially sanctioned by the network in any way, this still doesn’t look very good. By having him on the show, the network tacitly said that he did have something worth hearing. Just because he wasn’t paid doesn’t mean that his microphone was any less real.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Fox News Guest Indicted on Fraud Charges appeared first on Law Street.

Students affected by one of the largest educational scams in modern years are finally getting some relief. The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) says it will forgive students’ federal student loans on the grounds that Corinthian Colleges Inc. defrauded them after the company’s bankruptcy earlier this year.

A string of reports and lawsuits, including one by California Attorney General Kamala Harris, led to Corinthian’s end. The for-profit school used tactics that enticed students, many with limited education and money, with promises of workplace skills ranging from video game design to nursing. Students left these colleges with nearly worthless degrees and very little knowledge in their fields.

Before its closure, the two decade-old company was one of the biggest for-profit education companies in the United States, operating more than 100 campuses at one point under various names, including Everest, Wyotech, and Heald. Corinthian had campuses throughout North America and Canada. It ceased operations this April, shutting down campuses and selling off others after the Department of Education cut off its loan lifeline and fined Corinthian $30 million for misrepresenting job placement rates. The ending was tragic for many–thousands of students were given a one-day notice when campuses closed, leaving them to wonder if their hard work and credits could be transferred to other institutions to complete their education.

This is a very sensible decision by the DOE that will help thousands of students who were struggling to pay back these loans. But although this may give many students a fresh start, consumer and education groups worry that this loan forgiveness process will be too tedious for most to complete. Students have to individually apply for the loan relief. This process requires legal savvy and documents–including transcripts–that could be difficult to obtain, especially considering that the schools are no longer operating. It is also important for those who apply to know that the relief is only applicable to federal student loans, not the private loans which countless students were reportedly lured into getting. Finance blogger, Alexis Goldstein, criticized the plan stating:

Instead of providing broad debt cancellation to former students of Corinthian Colleges, Inc. the Department decided to require students to jump through extensive loopholes in order to apply for relief.

Although this may give the impression that the Corinthian problem is solved, it is only the beginning. Because federal regulators let the operation run too long, the lost loans may total up to $3.5 billion in taxpayer money.

We’re going to do everything we can to help #CorinthianCollege students, while also protecting taxpayers. http://t.co/FhePt7hD6c

— Arne Duncan (@arneduncan) June 8, 2015

A Huffington Post analysis recently found that nearly half of the schools listed by the Department of Education as “Alternative Education Options” are for-profit institutions owned by corporations that are also under federal investigation for possibly misleading students. The Obama administration is already guaranteeing forgiveness to the 40,000 students who borrowed hundreds of millions in federal loans to enroll at Heald from 2010 on. Forgiving the loans is a great step for the thousands of hard-hit students, but it should also make the government much more watchful of the educational marketplace.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post For-Profit College Scam Victims Get Loan Forgiveness: Will it Be Enough? appeared first on Law Street.

Is Beyonce leaving Jay Z’s Tidal? What did a family’s massive charity actually spend its money on? ICYMI, check out the best of the week from Law Street.

#1 Music Streaming Site Tidal Could Be Losing Its Queen

Here’s an update for my music lovers on Jay Z’s new Spotify-esque streaming site Tidal. As expected, the $20 a month service isn’t exactly revolutionizing the music industry like Hov and his famous friends had hoped. Despite boasts that they pay the highest percentage of royalties to music artists and songwriters within the music-streaming market, Tidal still continues to face waves of criticism from music experts and other artists. Read full article here.

#2 The Best Legal Tweets of the Week

The excitement over finals and the latest round of bar exam results has died down and now lawyers and law students are back to the daily grind of being overworked and over-caffeinated. Check out the best legal tweets of the week. See the slideshow here.

#3 Your Donation to This Cancer “Charity” Funded Online Dating Subscriptions

Every few years, a scandal breaks where it is discovered that a charity isn’t donating as much as it claims of the funds that it raises. But a new story coming out of Tennessee puts pretty much any other misbehaving charity to shame. A civil complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) revealed that four related charities, all run by members of the same extended family, donated only three percent of the $187 million they raised from 2008-2012. The rest of the money went to items for the family. Read full article here.

Chelsey D. Goff

Chelsey D. Goff was formerly Chief People Officer at Law Street. She is a Granite State Native who holds a Master of Public Policy in Urban Policy from the George Washington University. She’s passionate about social justice issues, politics — especially those in First in the Nation New Hampshire — and all things Bravo. Contact Chelsey at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post ICYMI: Best of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

Conversion therapy is a discredited practice that has been used on those who identify as LGBT. California has banned conversion therapy–even though challenges to the ban made it all the way to the Supreme Court. New Jersey has also outlawed the practice. Now, conversion therapy has hit a bump in another court, albeit a very interesting one. Conversion therapy practices are going to have a very hard time operating in New Jersey after a ruling by the consumer fraud court.

Conversion therapy is based on the idea that homosexuality, or basically anything that is not heterosexuality, is a “disorder” that can be cured. That’s, of course, an antiquated, unscientific, and horrifying view. Homosexuality was removed from the DSM (the guide to classifying psychological disorders) in 1973, but that just means that people can’t be diagnosed with any sort of disorder related to homosexuality.

What the DSM removal didn’t do was prevent anyone from calling homosexuality a disorder–there was no law against that. So conversion therapy practice capitalized on that discrepancy and advertised that they could “cure” anyone who identified as LGBT. In a lawsuit that was decided this week, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) filed a suit against the New Jersey-based Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing (JONAH). SPLC brought the suit on behalf of four men who claim that they were subjected to awful treatment by JONAH. They report details incidents of abuse, or reenacting past abuse, and role-playing abuse.

The suit was brought under the contention that JONAH advertising classified homosexuality as a disorder, which violates the Consumer Fraud Act. Superior Court Judge Peter F. Bariso Jr. ruled that it did violate the CFA. This is a groundbreaking ruling in an interesting context because it is the first time that an American court of any kind has ruled that homosexuality isn’t a mental disease. Bariso also ruled that in addition to incorrectly characterizing homosexuality as a mental illness, JONAH also defrauded consumers by advertising that they had “success” statistics. He had earlier ruled that JONAH could not bring forward expert witnesses who would argue in favor of conversion therapy, because their theories would be outdated and refuted.

The SPLC applauded Bariso’s decision; David Dinielli, the SPLC’s legal director stated:

For the first time, a court has ruled that it is fraudulent as a matter of law for conversion therapists to tell clients that they have a mental disorder that can be cured. This is the principal lie the conversion therapy industry uses throughout the country to peddle its quackery to vulnerable clients. Gay people don’t need to be cured, and we are thrilled that the court has recognized this.

This judgment was made as part of an ongoing lawsuit in which the plaintiffs are seeking damages for the abuse levied against them. The trial will be this summer; this ruling is just part of preliminary matters. Eventually it will be up to a jury to decide. That being said, these preliminary matters are a great step in the right direction. Hopefully the men wronged by JONAH will get the ruling they deserve.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Landmark Ruling Against Gay Conversion Therapy in NJ Court appeared first on Law Street.

As Romeo said, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” True, Shakespeare, true. However, I am going to pose an argument to you some 400-plus years too late. A rose by any other name might smell as sweet, but it might not smell as realistic, plausible, or common. Like when I wrote last week about how Nutella is not a legit name in France unless you are actually a jar of the chocolaty spread. But the same is also true in cases when you try to change your name–say, for example, to have a bunch of fake prescriptions filled–where you might actually want to think twice when picking your new nomenclature. Because I can tell you what might be in a name: a charge for defrauding the government.

Now, I would like to say up front that most of this story is not very funny or amusing because it did lead to a lot of deaths. The tainted steroids discussed in this story allegedly led to the Meningitis outbreak a couple of years ago, where many people died or were sickened; however, this post is focusing on the alleged idiots who got caught, thank goodness, in part by being idiots. (Also, this paragraph is the last time I am going to use the word alleged, so please just insert it throughout the rest of this alleged story.)

A Framingham, Massachusetts pharmacy was linked with giving out bulk fake prescriptions under false names. The cofounder had a good plan on how not to get caught, and wrote it up in an email for the employees. In it, he said, “All names must resemble ‘real’ names… no obviously false names!” Good advice, I say.

So, here are just some of the names that the employees decided were real and not at all false:

• Jennifer Lopez;
• Filet O’Fish;
• Baby Jesus;
• Harry Potter;
• Coco Puff;
• Alec Baldwin;
• Bud Weiser; and
• Samuel Adams.

Courtesy of Giphy.

All of these are clearly real names, as I have heard of every single one of them. (Even Samuel Adams, who is not just a beer but actually a real person and not just in this story. And also, this is not the first time I have had to take the time to explain this as American History classes are apparently not doing their jobs!) So, it is quite shocking that our government caught them when they use such good pseudonyms, right?

Despite how well disguised these fake prescription recipients’ names were, last December, 14 employees were arrested under the charge of defrauding the government, and apparently their names had a part in leading to their arrests.

Courtesy of GIFSoup.

So, kids, the message here is that names are more important than Shakespeare claims. That which we call Chester Cheeto by any other name might make it less obvious that what we are doing is illegal.

Ashley Shaw

Ashley Shaw is an Alabama native and current New Jersey resident. A graduate of both Kennesaw State University and Thomas Goode Jones School of Law, she spends her free time reading, writing, boxing, horseback riding, playing trivia, flying helicopters, playing sports, and a whole lot else. So maybe she has too much spare time. Contact Ashley at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Coco Puff and Sam Adams Charged With Defrauding the Government appeared first on Law Street.

College alone these days is very expensive. Now, add grad school on to that, and I don’t care what you are going to make in the profession in which you were just trained, you are going to be in a whole lot of debt when you get out of school. Then, you have to go through the whole resume, interview process. And let’s face it, that is no fun. Which is why I think the teenager in the following story has the right idea: just skip the schooling portion of job placement. And while you are at it, just skip through the whole application process too. How do you do that? Just show up to the place you want to work, and blend in. Probably no one will ask you if you are supposed to be there.

Courtesy of Giphy.

To learn more, let’s examine St. Mary’s Medical Center in, of course, Florida–because that is where all these stories happen. A young doctor was recently escorted out of the building by security because, well he wasn’t actually a doctor so much as a teenage boy wearing a doctor’s coat.

Ok. Well, he tried and didn’t succeed. The way security is these days and the importance of safe hospitals means you couldn’t get away with such a scam for very long.  I mean, like in this story, the kid only got away with posing as a doctor for about 20 or 30…days. That is right. A month.

To be fair to the hospital, he didn’t actually work with patients in his month on staff. In fact, it was when he stepped up his game and actually went into an exam room, with a stethoscope around his neck and a mask on his face, and introduced himself as Doctor Robinson (and didn’t follow it with “I’m not a doctor, I only play one on TV”), that he got caught.

One of the real doctors noticed him and thought something wasn’t right. So he called security, who was surprised that the kid was faking it–as they had seen him around the last few weeks and thought he belonged there.

Here is the thing about this story that makes me feel a little bad about making fun of it: the kid, according to his mother, had an illness for which he had stopped taking medication. And I cannot joke about that. However, here is the part that make me feel perfectly fine joking about it: we know the kid’s excuse for doing this. What was the hospital’s excuse for not catching this kid faster? That I can make fun of.  And that is probably a big part of why the center will not be pressing charges.

This story has been told far and wide, and there is a good chance you have already heard about it. So you might be asking yourself just why I didn’t make that one obvious connection that everyone is making. And I will tell you why. Because everyone is making it, and I want to be a little more unique than that. So I will not say a word. I’ll just leave you with this picture, which will say a thousand words for me:

Courtesy of FanPop.

Ashley Shaw

Ashley Shaw is an Alabama native and current New Jersey resident. A graduate of both Kennesaw State University and Thomas Goode Jones School of Law, she spends her free time reading, writing, boxing, horseback riding, playing trivia, flying helicopters, playing sports, and a whole lot else. So maybe she has too much spare time. Contact Ashley at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Doctor Who? Teen Tricks Hospital For an Entire Month appeared first on Law Street.

The clock is counting down to the day Teresa Giudice must report to federal prison, but she isn’t going down without a fight. As Allison Dawson explained in October, the original Real Housewives of New Jersey cast member was sentenced to 15 months in prison for wire and bankruptcy fraud. This week, however, she filed suit against her former bankruptcy attorney, Jim Kridel, for malpractice.

U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, who also sentenced Giudice’s husband Joe to 41 months in prison, made a point of reprimanding the couple for not disclosing all their assets to the court during their bankruptcy and related proceedings.

It feels as if things have been hidden or concealed…It’s as if you thumb your nose at this court…If [Teresa] had put something down [on the financial disclosure forms], anything, I think [probation] would have been fine…She put nothing down, nothing.

It certainly seems from Salas’ statement that had Teresa’s disclosure forms been complete and accurate, it’s unlikely that she would be serving a 15-month sentence at the Danbury federal prison beginning January 5, 2015. Teresa has now filed suit against her former bankruptcy lawyer, claiming that his actions are why she is going to prison. According to the Bravo personality and best-selling cookbook author, James Kridel was responsible for accurately and completely filling out the family’s bankruptcy filings and that he is the one who didn’t disclose her salary from the Real Housewives, the family’s rental property income, and various other assets such as ATVs and jewelry. The $5 million malpractice suit was filed Wednesday, December 3, 2014 in Manhattan District Court.

Chelsey D. Goff

Chelsey D. Goff was formerly Chief People Officer at Law Street. She is a Granite State Native who holds a Master of Public Policy in Urban Policy from the George Washington University. She’s passionate about social justice issues, politics — especially those in First in the Nation New Hampshire — and all things Bravo. Contact Chelsey at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post UPDATE: Teresa Giudice Suing Lawyer Before Heading to Jail appeared first on Law Street.

Since the arrest in 2009 of Philip Markoff, aka the “Craigslist Killer,” the website has faced increased scrutiny by the media. Law Street decided to take a closer look at the site and its media coverage to see how dangerous Craigslist really is. We wanted to know: Was Markoff’s an isolated act, or an incident on a continuum? Our findings are noteworthy. This marks the first tabulation of all Craigslist murder trials and convictions from 2009 through June 2014. Law Street identified 58 murderers and 45 murder victims connected to Craigslist postings through last June. Twenty-two murder cases are still pending. The oldest pending case dates to 2012, and eight are from 2014, indications that the killings continue. Craigslist did not reply to multiple inquiries.

Click here to read the Killers of Craigslist in single-page format.

[SlideDeck2 id=26861 ress=1 proportional=false]

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Research and Analysis by Law Street’s Crime in America team: Lexine DeLuca, Jake Ephros, Chelsey Goff, Anneliese Mahoney, Marisa Mostek, Kevin Rizzo, Nicole Roberts, and Trevor Smith.

Featured image courtesy of [Janine via Flickr]

Chelsey D. Goff

Chelsey D. Goff was formerly Chief People Officer at Law Street. She is a Granite State Native who holds a Master of Public Policy in Urban Policy from the George Washington University. She’s passionate about social justice issues, politics — especially those in First in the Nation New Hampshire — and all things Bravo. Contact Chelsey at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Killers of Craigslist appeared first on Law Street.

A fight is brewing between law enforcement officials and Facebook, and it’s just gotten some new players in the form of other social media companies. New York City has been trying to use evidence posted on Facebook as proof of fraud committed by government employees. The city has now run afoul of some of the largest social network companies, who are arguing that the actions taken by the NYPD and prosecutors are violating their users’ Fourth Amendment rights.

It all started when the NYPD discovered that a number of government employees–including fireman, police officers, and others–had been taking disability payments without actually being disabled. Evidence of their fraud came from their Facebook accounts–some of the employees supposedly on disability were also engaging in clearly strenuous physical activities during the same time period. There were also private messages sent through the social network in which the alleged fraudsters admitted to their wrongdoing.

The investigators got a warrant to search the Facebook accounts of the employees that they thought were breaking the law, as well as accounts of their families, friends, and other acquaintances. While they did eventually succeed, it was only after Facebook argued strongly against the investigation. Facebook claimed that the search of private accounts is “unreasonable” and skirts Fourth Amendment protections. The company is now filing an appeal making the same argument–and they’ve got some friends backing them up. Foursquare, Kickstarter, MeetUp, and Tumblr have all decided to stand with Facebook. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the New York Civil Liberties Union will also be getting involved.

This case is yet another example of how the intersection between new technology and existing laws can get quite messy. The warrant originally requested by the NYPD involved a grand total of 381 Facebook accounts–many of which were only connected tangentially. The requested accounts had interacted with those of the accused–nothing more. Facebook argued that the search of those 381 accounts was tantamount to searching roughly 400 homes. That argument is fair, but a bit stretched. If there was a crime committed, the NYPD would have the right to search 400 houses, as long as they could prove it was reasonable.

In response, Facebook’s Deputy Chief Counsel Chris Sonderby argued,

It appeared to us from the outset that there would be a large number of people who were never charged in court. The district attorney’s response was that these people would have their day in court. There are more than 300 people that will never have that chance.

But according to NYPD and prosecutors, they did just that–they provided almost 100 pages of documentation explaining why they were searching each account when they requested the warrant.

There’s also the question of what right Facebook has to the accounts in their system. They challenged the warrant on behalf of their clients, and there’s a lot of legal ambiguity as to whether they were able to do so. They most certainly could not have alerted their clients that they were being investigated–that would have been impeding an investigation. Facebook claims that this created a big problem for their attorneys–they couldn’t do anything to stop it on their clients’ behalf, and they couldn’t do anything to warn their customers to get them involved.

The fact that other social networks have now said they’re going to join this legal fight will go a long way. As electronic communications become more and more popular, existing laws may not be able to keep up. While the collective action of social media companies may be forming a powerful lobby, whether or not their arguments for privacy and Fourth Amendment rights will prevail is up to the appeals court.

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Anneliese Mahoney (@AMahoney8672) is Lead Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [Nick Booth via Flickr]

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Social Media Search Warrant Fight Heats Up appeared first on Law Street.

The latest news from Northwestern Law School seems eerily reminiscent of the TV show “Suits.” Just a few months before graduation, Northwestern University Law School discovered that one of its students, Mauricio Celis, was a Texas felon infamous for posing as a lawyer. Celis was expelled in March from the school’s International Law LLM program as soon as they discovered his criminal history. He is now suing Northwestern over the decision.

Northwestern Law argued that the 42-year-old LLM student misled admissions officials by failing to inform them of his criminal history during the admissions process. Celis’ record includes a felony conviction for falsely presenting himself as a lawyer and a misdemeanor conviction for misidentifying himself as a police officer in an incident involving a woman wandering nude from his hot tub to a local convenience store. According to Northwestern Law, Celis’ criminal history makes him an “undesirable candidate” for their program. School officials say he would not have been admitted had they known of his past.

Celis is arguing, however, that they never asked about his criminal history during the admissions process. He was accepted to the prestigious program in 2012, spent about $76 thousand on tuition and fees, and was never once asked about his criminal history in the process.

While Celis has not commented on the lawsuit, he mantains that he is innocent in the Texas cases, despite the fact that both ended in convictions. He told the Chicago Tribune, “I’ve been trying to put this thing behind me for many, many years already”. According to his Northwestern application, Celis holds dual citizenship in the United States and Mexico. He worked in the legal field in Mexico and then co-founded a personal injury law firm in Texas in 2005.

In 2006, Celis made headlines in Chicago. After six children died in an apartment fire, he read a statement outside their wake. The Chicago Tribune picked up the story, and quoted Celis as the family’s attorney. According to Celis, he has no idea how the Tribune got the impression that he was the family’s attorney. He believes that he was brought in to help because he speaks Spanish, like the victims’ family members.  He has also stated that he has “never allowed anyone to have the impression” that he was licensed to practice law in the United States, and that while he was happy to help, he “let the lawyers do the lawyering.”

In 2007, Celis was indicted in Texas on charges that he illegally presented himself as a lawyer. Based on the court records, the argument was over whether or not Celis could technically be considered a lawyer from Mexico, despite the fact that he never obtained a license to practice law in the United States. Celis argued that the legal education that he received in Mexico qualified him to practice certain types of law there, although he was unable to provide any official documentation of his certification. He also maintained that he never actually practiced law in the United States.

However, the jury wasn’t buying it. They found Celis guilty on 14 counts in 2009, and he was sentenced to 10 years of probation. In response to the jury’s verdict, Celis said, “they looked at me as being some shyster faking my credentials, I am a Mexican lawyer.”

Regardless, Celis was convicted, and the issue at stake here is that Northwestern Law really should have caught it. If they were truly concerned about having convicted felons in their program, then that is something that they should ask about on their application. At the very least, they could have googled him. One quick search and you have access to public criminal records. That way, they wouldn’t have had to kick a student out just months before he was set to graduate. Paul Campos, a University of Colorado law professor and frequent critic of law schools put it best, stating,  “the fact that this guy got into Northwestern … it’s, I think, kind of revelatory of how much checking goes on even at a top program.” If a school doesn’t manage to ask its applicants a question that is found on every McDonalds application, then that’s on them.

Northwestern is arguing that Celis should have known that his criminal history was a problem, and should have voluntarily disclosed the information to admissions. However, I would disagree: if you don’t ask, what would stop someone with a criminal history from applying to your program? If someone with a criminal past wants to do something positive in their life, like get an education, why would they voluntarily disclose information that could stand in their way? It’s the school’s responsibility to ask the right questions of their applicants, not the applicants’ responsibility to anticipate possible issues.

According to court records filed in Chicago, Celis and Northwestern both agreed to a voluntary dismissal of the lawsuit. No details of a settlement were disclosed. While they were able to work something out this time, hopefully this situation will make law schools rethink their application processes so something like this does not happen again.

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Brittany Alzfan (@BrittanyAlzfan) is a student at the George Washington University majoring in Criminal Justice. She was a member of Law Street’s founding Law School Rankings team during the summer of 2014. Contact Brittany at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [Chris Devers via Flickr]

Brittany Alzfan

Brittany Alzfan is a student at the George Washington University majoring in Criminal Justice. She was a member of Law Street’s founding Law School Rankings team during the summer of 2014. Contact Brittany at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Too Much, Too Late: Northwestern Law Expels LLM Student for Former Crimes appeared first on Law Street.

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) recently released a report with a stunning conclusion: people are losing more money to internet scammers than ever before. In its 14th year of operation, the IC3 released the 2013 Internet Crime Report, which shows a “48.8 percent increase in reported losses since 2012.”

What are these crimes, who are they targeting, and what is causing the sudden surge in reported losses?

What is the IC3?

The IC3 is a partnership between the  Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National White Collar Crime Center (NWC3). It acts as a reporting mechanism for victims of online crime as well as a resource for law enforcement at many levels. Each year it releases a detailed annual report on cybercrime.

In the 2013 report the IC3 stated, “criminals continue to use a variety of scams to defraud Internet users,” making it clear that the online crime picture is a diverse one. It’s important to analyze precisely for this reason. There were 262,813 complaints received, of which roughly half of the victims reported financial loss. These losses totaled almost $800 million.

What are the Cybercrimes?

The 2013 report breaks down the different types and methods of cybercrimes. Vehicle fraud, for example, is one of the most prevalent forms. Trying to buy cars from scammers has cost over 1,400 people an average of $3,640 per incident. Perpetrators who pose as FBI agents have cost victims $6,348,881 in total. Cybercriminals can also defraud victims by pretending to sell real estate, producing ransomware or scareware, and even threatening to carry out jobs as hit men.

Surprisingly, romance scamming has caused the highest average losses for its victims. These scams involve a falsified online romantic relationship and cost the average victim about $12,756. By professing love and enticing victims to send financial assistance, romance scammers generally target “people aged 40 years and older, divorced, widowed, disabled, and often elderly,” the report said.

The targets of cybercrimes are primarily middle-aged. For years now the largest demographic has been the 40-59 year old age group, consistently making up over 40 percent of victims of online crime. The extreme age demographics, those under 20 and over 60, are both affected much less, as they make up just over 3 percent and just over 15 percent of victims, respectively. One possible explanation is that those who have grown up with the internet navigate its criminal spaces more carefully, while many of the elderly are simply not online.

What has been happening with Cybercrime?

Although each demographics’ share of cybercrime victims has remained relatively stable, the reported losses have been far from static. An increase of almost 50 percent from 2012 to 2013 demonstrates a wildly changing environment for online crime. While this spike may suggest that the IC3 has been receiving more complaints, its reports indicate otherwise. Each listed demographic actually reported fewer complaints in the previous year. Financial losses per complaint must be rising.

While there was nearly a 22 percent decrease from the number of complaints in 2009 to 2013, the IC3’s reported losses rose from $559.7 million in 2009 to over $781.8 million in 2013. Among those who reported any financial loss, the average loss increased from about $5,500 to well over $6,000 between 2009 and 2013. It seems as though the increased reported losses do not reflect a greater public knowledge of the IC3 and an increased number of reports. Instead, the decrease in actual complaints coupled with the increase in average reported losses suggests that internet scamming may be more lucrative than it has ever been.

As are all sources of criminal information, the IC3 is limited. It relies on the victim filing a complaint through the IC3, and as with all crimes, many cases will go unreported. Unfortunately, it stands alone in its domain. Other data collection systems like the Uniform Crime Reports aggregate data from law enforcement agencies, not from the victims themselves. The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) uses surveys to determine victimization, but does not focus on internet crime. It asks young people about cyber bullying and has compiled a report specifically on identity theft. Aside from these questions, it appears that the NCVS fails to collect information about cybercrime. However if, cybercrime is paying more, then the IC3 and similar programs should be supported as much as possible.

[IC3 Report]

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Jake Ephros (@JakeEphros)

Featured image courtesy of [EP Technology via Flickr]

Jake Ephros

Jake Ephros is a native of Montclair, New Jersey where he volunteered for political campaigns from a young age. He studies Political Science, Economics, and Philosophy at American University and looks forward to a career built around political activism, through journalism, organizing, or the government. Contact Jake at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Who Said (Cyber)crime Doesn’t Pay? appeared first on Law Street.

December was a bad month for anyone who didn’t want their personal information leaked to hackers or other third-party sources.

Retail giant Target had a problem about two weeks ago when 40 million customer records were stolen. The information contained on the records included names, credit and debit numbers, expiration dates, and security codes. The hackers with that information could easily use it to make fraudulent purchases on customers’ cards.

Popular messaging application Snapchat released that several million of their users’ usernames and corresponding phone numbers were leaked late on New Year’s Eve. There’s actually a site to check if your username was leaked, and it provides tips on how to handle it if it was. If your username was breached, it means that your phone number could be given to spammers or the like.

Skype was also recently breached by the Syrian Electronic Army, a hacking group. Skype has reported, however, that no user information was stolen or lost.

Obviously a breach involving credit card information and a breach involving usernames and phone numbers seem very different, but the truth is that they’re both notably problematic. They indicate a reliance we have on technology that is utterly new to our time, and because that reliance is new, ways to steal from us have also evolved. Everything can be done online, from banking to applying to college to planning a trip. And it’s easy to do those things, it’s easy to trust a site when they say they are secure. But we have to remember that every time we provide our information, there is the possibility that it makes its way into the wrong hands. And retailers have to realize that storing information online can be just as dangerous for them as for a teenager using Snapchat.

The types of breaches that we saw this month definitely aren’t new, and they aren’t the worst in recent history. TJ Maxx Corporation actually had a similar incident in 2006, but instead of 40 million customer records lost, it totaled about 90 million. And in 2009, Heartland, a credit card processing system, had 130 million records stolen.

The former chief security officer of Heartland, Steven M. Elefant, made an important point about security breaches and theft propagated through the internet. He stated, “it’s a game of cat and mouse. We’re dealing with sophisticated bad guys that have many ways to attack.” New security features can be installed and developed. But for every new feature that is developed, a hacker will probably be able to find a way around it. It might take time and effort, but it’s possible.

There are some solutions that could be put in place, but they might be logistically complicated. In Europe, smart chip technology is used. The United States use magnetic strips to hold information, but European cards usually little chips that are much harder to counterfeit. Since the smart-chips were implemented in Europe, fraud and theft have declined. The JobsUnited States seems to be stuck in a time warp. Most of our allies and trading partners use smart-chip cards, but we use the strip cards that were invented in the 1960s. As a result, by October 2015, new chip card standards will be put into place by most major credit card companies, like Visa and MasterCard. While this won’t completely eliminate fraud, it should make some impact.

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Anneliese Mahoney (@AMahoney8672) is Lead Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [Brian Klug via Flickr]

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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