Caterpillar: It’s Never Good When the Feds Come a Knockin

Things were looking up for Caterpillar and then the Fed’s came a knockin’

Shares of Caterpillar had returned 7.1 percent so far this year–and 47% over the last 12 months–as optimism about the state of the global economy pushed its shares higher. But Caterpillar’s shares are tumbling this afternoon after reports that its offices in Peoria, Ill. and elsewhere were raided by Federal officers today.

What are they investigating? No one seems to know as of yet, but I’m sure we will soon. read more »

Shares Plunge After Its Offices Are Raided

IRS, FDIC and Commerce Department officials are in three areas

Caterpillar spokeswoman said machinery maker is cooperating

Caterpillar Inc. shares headed for the steepest decline in eight months as the biggest maker of machinery for mining and construction had its Illinois offices raided by U.S. tax and financial agents.

Searches were conducted Thursday in Peoria, East Peoria and Morton by the Internal Revenue Service, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Commerce Department, Sharon Paul, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office for the Central District of Illinois, said by telephone. read more »

Yonkers doctor charged in $57M health care scam

Emad Soliman, a neurologist from New Castle, faces federal charges.

A Yonkers neurologist is among six people accused of running a $57 million health care scam, officials said.

Emad Soliman is facing federal criminal charges for his role in submitting false insurance claims, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced on Wednesday. He is also facing a civil lawsuit that was filed by a whistleblower in 2015 and was unsealed on Wednesday, officials said.

Soliman, a New Castle resident, was arrested in Westchester County on Wednesday morning, officials said. He is the president and founder of Westchester Neurological Consultants, based at 970 N. Broadway in Yonkers.

Officials said between 2003 and November 2015 the operation centered on City Medical Associates, a cardiology and neurology clinic in Queens. Employees at CMA allegedly submitted phony claims to insurance providers, including providers paid through Medicaid and Medicare, by lying that medical tests had been ordered or performed by doctors who did not work at CMA. read more »

More than eight years on, victims of the Stanford Ponzi scheme continue fighting to recoup their money—with little luck

Blaine Smith says he and his wife sunk more than $1 million in fraudulent Stanford Group CDs. Dallas resident Angela Shaw says she and her husband lost $2 million.

Since Feb. 17, 2009, when federal investigators stormed the Stanford Group offices, Shaw— the founder of Stanford Victims Coalition USA—and Smith, who leads the Louisiana chapter, have been trying to get their money back. A high-powered, highly paid Dallas law firm has been working on their behalf, as have a bipartisan range of elected officials.

After eight years, what do investors like Shaw and Smith have to show for their efforts? About 2% of what they put in, if they’re lucky. But victims in Louisiana and across the country are still finding hope in courtrooms and in the halls of Congress. read more »

Judge tosses civil fraud charges against Attorney General Ken Paxton

A federal judge has thrown out civil fraud charges against Ken Paxton, a huge win for the attorney general but one that will have no direct impact on his ongoing criminal case.

U.S. District Court Judge Amos L. Mazzant III on Thursday cleared Paxton, saying the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission failed to show it could prove Paxton defrauded investors in a McKinney technology startup by not disclosing he was being paid a commission off their investments.

The judge also ruled the federal agency did not show Paxton needed to be registered as a securities "broker-dealer" while he funneled different potential investors to a friend's firm because he never handled their money himself. Since Mazzant dismissed the charges with prejudice, the SEC will not have the chance to appeal his decision. read more »

Celgene, whistleblower pursuing mediation in off-label marketing case

Celgene Corp and a whistleblower who brought a lawsuit accusing it of promoting its cancer drugs Revlimid and Thalomid for off-label uses have asked the judge presiding over the case not to issue any substantive rulings for 30 days while they pursue mediation. read more »