White Collar Archives

Feb 6, 2023

Rapping Up a RICO: The Use of Rap Lyrics As Admissions In The Young Thug Trial

Remember when The Chicks (previously known as the Dixie Chicks) were indicted for killing ‘Earl’ after they admitted to poisoning him in their song “Goodbye Earl”? What about Johnny Cash being convicted for shooting a man in Reno, something he confessed to in “Folson Prison Blues”? If your memory is failing you, it’s because those violent lyrics weren’t used against those artists; instead, it was universally understood the lyrics were part of the art, persona, and hyperbolic creative expression of The Chicks and Cash. But in his criminal proceedings, prosecutors are using Grammy award-winning rapper Young Thug’s lyrics to support… Read more

Jun 3, 2022

Ex-CEO Indicted for COVID-Related Fraud

What happens when, in the early, uncertain days of a burgeoning global pandemic, you tell investors that you have recurring orders for millions of rapid test kits for $35 million a week for the next six months? Well, your stock price surges, of course. But what if, before you made that announcement, you had reason to believe that you couldn’t actually obtain the tests after all? Well, then the SEC halts trading of your stock due to “questions and concerns regarding the adequacy and of publicly available information” about your company. And it only goes downhill from there. SCWorx Corporation… Read more

Feb 2, 2021

DOJ on the Lookout for PPP Fraud

On January 12, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the first civil settlement to arise out of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Internet retailer SlideBelts Inc. and its president and CEO, Brigham Taylor, have agreed to pay $100,000 in damages and penalties to resolve allegations that they obtained a $350,000 PPP loan by falsely representing to bank lenders when they applied for the forgivable loan that the company was not in bankruptcy, when in fact it was. The loan proceeds have already been repaid to the lender. The PPP was part of the CARES Act passed in March… Read more