Whistleblower Trapped In Turf Battle Between Two Former U.S. Attorneys

In February 2009, Brian Aryai, then Controller and New York CFO of Bovis Lend Lease (now Lend Lease Construction LMB Inc.), walked into the New York offices of law firm Hogan & Hartson (since renamed Hogan Lovells) to meet with partner and former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) Loretta Lynch.  Aryai, who previously had served as a special agent at the Department of Homeland Security, had known Lynch from their days of working organized crime and white collar cases at the EDNY.  Aryai laid out a massive scheme of overpayments to labor union foremen by large construction firms, including the one that employed him.  Lynch latched on to the case, forwarding it on to her colleagues at the EDNY.  She went on to serve again as the US Attorney for the EDNY and the case would become just one of many that defined her storied career read more »

Mysterious player in FIFA corruption probe surfaces as prosecution witness after disappearing in 2015

Eladio Rodriguez, a key bag man, disappeared after the initial corruption arrests in Switzerland in May 2015. At trial Wednesday, Rodriguez offered jurors an insider’s account of a scheme that ran for more than two decades. read more »

Bitcoin is a vehicle for fraudsters, warns Goldman Sachs boss

CEO Lloyd Blankfein attacks cryptocurrency after value dives 20% in a day, saying bank will not get involved until it becomes less volatile read more » 

SEC Charges Florida Penny Stock Operators With Defrauding Elderly Investors

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged two individuals with defrauding elderly investors in a penny stock scheme involving Florida entertainment companies and their “Spongebuddy” product.  The charges are part of the Miami Regional Office’s Recidivist Initiative which has thus far resulted in enforcement actions against 23 individuals, nine of whom also have been charged by criminal authorities. read more »