Criminal Division Cases
United States v. Joseph A. Kostelecky
The indictment alleges that between November 2011 and December 2012, Kostelecky, the sole executive in Poseidon Concepts Corporation’s U.S. division, engaged in conduct that caused the company to falsely report approximately $100 million in revenue from purported contracts with oil and natural gas companies. Kostelecky’s alleged misconduct included fraudulently directing the company’s accounting staff at the U.S. corporate headquarters in Denver to record revenue from such contracts and then assuring management that the associated revenue was collectable, when he knew that such contracts either did not exist or that the associated revenue was not collectable.
United States v. Tanaka et al. (Takata Corporation)
United States v. Tanaka et al. (Takata Corporation)
Takata Corporation, one of the world’s largest suppliers of automotive safety-related equipment, has been charged in a criminal information with one count of wire fraud for its conduct in connection with the sales of defective airbags. Former Tokyo-based Takata Corporation executives have also been indicted for their conduct in connection with the same scheme.
Volkswagen Diesel Engine Vehicle Matters
Volkswagen Diesel Engine Vehicle Matters
Volkswagen AG (VW) was charged by criminal information with conspiracy to defraud the United States, to commit wire fraud, and to violate the Clean Air Act; obstruction of justice; and entry of goods by false statements. The charges arise from the company’s long-running scheme to sell approximately 590,000 diesel vehicles in the U.S. by using a defeat device to cheat on emissions tests mandated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board, and lying and obstructing justice to further the scheme. In addition, six VW executives were also indicted in connection with the emissions fraud scheme. One of the VW engineer’s, James Liang, pleaded guilty to on September 9, 2016.
United States v. Dino Nastasi, et al. and Jonathan Fernandez, et al.
United States v. Dino Nastasi, et al. and Jonathan Fernandez, et al.
According to the indictment, beginning in or about 2010, the defendants owned, managed, and/or worked as a telemarketer in one or more call centers in Costa Rica that were engaged in a sweepstakes scheme directed at individuals residing in the United States. The defendants fraudulently induced victims to pay thousands of dollars by falsely representing that the victims had won valuable prizes. Once the defendants induced victims to make an initial payment, the defendants would continue to call those victims and insist that they make additional payments for new fabricated fees and costs until the victims either ran out of money or discovered the fraudulent nature of the scheme.
PENDING CRIMINAL DIVISION CASES
United States v. Harold Bailey Gallison, II, et al.
United States v. Harold Bailey Gallison, II, et al.
The indictment alleges that the defendants artificially “pumped” or inflated the trading volume and price of the securities by touting business activities and deceptive revenue forecasts, and by engaging in coordinated trading activity to create the appearance of increasing market demand. The defendants then allegedly “dumped” or sold the securities at the inflated prices and laundered the proceeds from their scheme through bank accounts in the United States and overseas.
United States v. UBS AG
United States v. UBS AG
According to the factual statement of breach attached to UBS’s plea agreement, UBS engaged in deceptive FX trading and sales practices after it signed the LIBOR non-prosecution agreement, including undisclosed markups added to certain FX transactions of customers. UBS traders and sales staff misrepresented to customers on certain transactions that markups were not being added, when in fact they were. On other occasions, UBS traders and sales staff used hand signals to conceal those markups from customers. On still other occasions, certain UBS traders tracked and executed limit orders at a level different from the customer’s specified level in order to add undisclosed markups. In addition, according to court documents, a UBS FX trader conspired with other banks acting as dealers in the FX spot market by agreeing to restrain competition in the purchase and sale of dollars and euros. UBS participated in this collusive conduct from October 2011 to at least January 2013.
United States v. DB Group Services UK Limited and Deutsche Bank AG (DPA)
On April 23, 2015, DB Group Services (UK) Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bank AG (Deutsche Bank), was charged with and pleaded guilty before a magistrate judge to wire fraud for its role in manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), a leading benchmark interest rate used in financial products and transactions around the world. On the same day, Deutsche Bank entered into a DPA and admitted its role in manipulating LIBOR and participating in a price-fixing conspiracy in violation of the Sherman Act by rigging Yen LIBOR contributions with other banks.
United States v. Gilbert Lundstrom
United States v. Gilbert Lundstrom
Gilbert G. Lundstrom, 72, of Lincoln, Nebraska was the CEO of TierOne Bank from 1999 to January 2010. According to allegations in the indictment, he and others concealed the true value of TierOne’s loan and real estate portfolio. They also provided falsely inflated figures in their reporting to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS).
United States v. James A. Laphen
United States v. James A. Laphen
According to court documents, James A. Laphen and others concealed the true value of TierOne’s loan and real estate portfolio and provided falsely inflated figures in its required reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS).
United States v. Don Langford
According to court documents, Don Langford, former Senior Vice President and Chief Credit Officer of TierOne, and others concealed the true value of TierOne’s loan and real estate portfolio and provided falsely inflated figures in its required reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS).
United States v. Elliot Phillip Rosenberg
United States v. Elliot Phillip Rosenberg
On June 17, 2014, Elliot Phillip Rosenberg, a citizen of the United States and a legal foreign resident of Costa Rica and the owner and manager of two sweepstakes telemarketing call centers in Costa Rica, was indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud, six counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and six counts of international money laundering, all in connection with a Costa Rican telemarketing fraud scheme. According to the indictment, beginning in or about 2010, Rosenberg owned and managed one or more call centers in Costa Rica engaged in a sweepstakes scheme directed at individuals residing in the United States. Rosenberg and his co-conspirators fraudulently induced victims to pay thousands of dollars by falsely representing that the victims had won valuable prizes. Rosenberg and his co-conspirators would continue to call and insist that additional payments be made for new fees until an individual either ran out of money or discovered the fraudulent nature of the scheme.