Chinese-born executive pleads guilty in U.N. bribery case

A Chinese-born executive pleaded guilty on Wednesday in New York to three criminal counts in connection with a U.S. bribery probe involving a former U.N. General Assembly president.

Julia Vivi Wang admitted to bribery and conspiracy charges, both in violation of the federal Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and to submitting fraudulent income tax returns.

Wang, 57, also entered a plea agreement under which she is expected to cooperate with prosecutors.

The defendant entered her plea before U.S. District Judge George Daniels in Manhattan federal court. She faces up to five years in prison on each FCPA count. A sentencing date has not been set. Her lawyer declined to comment.

Wang is among several people charged by U.S. prosecutors since 2015 over alleged influence-peddling linked to the United Nations. read more »

New York man sentenced to six-and-a-half years prison for 'Hamilton' ticket scam

A federal judge sentenced a New York City man to 6-1/2 years in prison on Tuesday, after he had pleaded guilty to defrauding investors in a sham ticket-reselling business for popular events, including the Broadway smash “Hamilton.”

Joseph Meli, the defendant, was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood in Manhattan to make $58.8 million of restitution to his victims.

“These weren’t mistakes,” and the investors’ loss was “enormously serious,” Wood told a packed courtroom.

She quoted a recorded statement Meli made before his January 2017 arrest, in which he admitted to running a “shell game,” and “taking money from one guy to pay off the other guy.”

Wood had sentenced a co-defendant, Steven Simmons, to three years, one month in prison earlier on Tuesday.

Meli, 43, pleaded guilty in October to securities fraud, for having in written agreements with investors exaggerated his ability to get tickets for such events as “Hamilton” and “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” on Broadway, and concerts by Adele, Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and Katy Perry, court papers show. read more »

Facebook said the personal data of most of its 2 billion users has been collected and shared with outsiders

Facebook said Wednesday that “malicious actors” took advantage of search tools on its platform, making it possible for them to discover the identities and collect information on most of its 2 billion users worldwide.

The revelation came amid rising acknowledgement by Facebook about its struggles to control the data it gathers on users. Among the announcements Wednesday was that Cambridge Analytica, a political consultancy hired by President Trump and other Republicans, had improperly gathered detailed Facebook information on 87 million people, of whom 71 million were Americans.

But the abuse of Facebook’s search tools -- now disabled -- happened far more broadly and over the course of several years, with few Facebook users likely escaping the scam, company officials acknowledged.

The scam started when malicious hackers harvested email addresses and phone numbers on the so-called “Dark Web,” where criminals post information stolen from data breaches over the years. Then the hackers used automated computer programs to feed the numbers and addresses into Facebook’s “search” box, allowing them to discover the full names of people affiliated with the phone numbers or addresses, along with whatever Facebook profile information they chose to make public, often including their profile photos and hometown. read more »

State Rep., ex- Alabama GOP chief, medical exec arrested on corruption charges

"Three individuals -- two of whom reside in Alabama and one who resides in California -- were arrested on charges stemming from their involvement in a public corruption scheme," United States Attorney Louis V. Franklin, Sr., announced today in a press release.

The charges stem from an effort to by G. Ford Gilbert, the Carmichael, California owner of Trina Healthcare, to push a bill through the Alabama Legislature that would force Blue Cross and Blue Shield to cover diabetes treatments at centers such as the ones he owned.

Williams and Connors appeared in court this afternoon in Montgomery after their arrests this morning at their homes. Both men appeared in court in handcuffs shackled to their waists. read more »