Private lawsuits are essential for defrauded shareholders

THE HILL

The wide disparity between SEC recoveries and those gotten in related private actions is nothing new. For instance, in the king of all securities frauds, Enron, the shareholder class action recovery was $7.2 billion in contrast to the SEC’s $450 million, a difference of 1,500 percent.

Over its 85-year history, the SEC has generally enjoyed a good reputation as the “Cops of Wall Street,” policing dishonest practices in the sale and trading of securities and deterring corporate corruption. read more »

Dallas doctor gets more than 5 years in prison for role in massive kickback scheme

DALLAS MORNING NEWS

A Dallas doctor already serving several years in prison for defrauding the U.S. government to the tune of $10 million has been sentenced to more than five years behind bars for a massive kickback scheme.

Richard Ferdinand Toussaint Jr., an anesthesiologist who co-founded Forest Park Medical Center, was sentenced Monday to 66 months in federal prison on one count of conspiracy to pay health care bribes and kickbacks and one count of illegal remuneration under the Travel Act. The sentence will run concurrently with a 41-month term in the fraud case. read more »

New York Accuses Egg Producer of Price Gouging in Pandemic

NEW YORK TIMES

New Yorkers may have paid quadruple what they should have for eggs at a time when virus cases were surging, according to a lawsuit by the state attorney general’s office.

One of the nation’s largest egg producers has been accused by New York authorities of raking in $4 million in illegal revenue by gouging customers with exorbitantly high prices when the state was grappling with rising coronavirus cases.

A lawsuit filed on Tuesday by Attorney General Letitia James of New York contends that the producer, Hillandale Farms, at times quadrupled the price of eggs to cash in on a surge in demand in March and April. read more »