RICO case against "Stop Cop City" activists back in court
Driving the news: At 9:30am, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kevin Farmer will conduct his first hearing in the trial of defendants accused of violating Georgia's RICO Act, among other charges.
Activists are urging supporters to attend a rally outside the courthouse during and after the hearing to "show the state, the judge, and the ATL61 that there are eyes on this case and we support them."
Catch up quick: In September 2023, a Fulton grand jury indicted 61 people on various charges, including domestic terrorism, vandalism and racketeering.
One year later, the state dropped money laundering charges against three residents who operate the Atlanta Solidarity Fund, a charity that pays bail and provides legal defense to protesters.
Zoom in: Supporters of the ATL61 argue the state's case was designed to halt the movement and muzzle supporters who wanted Atlanta to cancel work on the 85-acre, $118 million police and firefighting academy.
Context: Experts believe the trial is the largest racketeering case against protestors in U.S. history, the Associated Press reports.
Defendants were supposed to go to trial last year but the case dragged on due to procedural questions and logistical complexities.
This delay has also put the defendants' lives in limbo, according to the AP.
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Business Wire
07-08-2025
- Business Wire
Fintiv Files RICO and Trade Secret Misappropriation Suit Against Apple Stemming from Alleged Theft of Mobile Wallet Technology Used to Create Apple Pay
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fintiv, Inc., a global leader in patented, digital wallet ecosystems, announced today the filing of a civil lawsuit against Apple, Inc. in the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, alleging violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, Georgia's RICO Act, The Defend Trade Secrets Act, and Georgia's Trade Secret Act. The lawsuit, filed by Kasowitz LLP, alleges that Apple engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity, including wire fraud and trade secret misappropriation, in furtherance of a scheme to steal Fintiv's proprietary mobile wallet technology and trade secrets that Apple used to create Apple Pay, a service that generates billions in annual revenue and has been a major force in growing Apple's market valuation to more than $3 trillion. As alleged in the complaint, Apple approached CorFire (Fintiv's predecessor) more than a decade ago under the pretense of forming a mobile payment business partnership. Between 2011 and 2012, it is alleged, Apple attended multiple meetings with CorFire representatives and received confidential technical information under non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). The purpose of those meetings was to enter into an agreement in which Apple would license CorFire's mobile wallet technology, for which CorFire would receive licensing fees, according to the complaint. Instead, it is alleged, Apple stole Fintiv's confidential information and later hired away key CorFire employees, before launching Apple Pay in 2014. Fintiv asserts in the court filing that Apple Pay's core features including secure element technology, NFC technology, and trusted service management platform were based on CorFire's innovations. The complaint further alleges that Apple, in order to convert Fintiv's stolen mobile wallet technology and trade secrets into cash, set up a fence by forming an association-in-fact enterprise with leading credit card issuing banks, like JP Morgan Chase and Citibank, and payment processing networks, like Visa and Mastercard, for the purpose of enabling and processing the billions of transactions and trillions in payments that Apple Pay users engage in annually. By utilizing Fintiv's stolen mobile wallet technology and trade secrets in Apple Pay, it is alleged Apple and the other RICO enterprise members earn tens of billions each year servicing the Apple Pay transactions. "The scale of Apple's unlawful conduct has been staggering," the complaint alleges. "By modifying Apple Pay for use on four separate categories of its devices, Apple has repeated and compounded its theft by knowingly utilizing Fintiv's stolen technology in the hundreds of millions of iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches and MacBooks it has sold worldwide," the complaint alleges. As further alleged in the complaint, "Apple Pay is the engine" that drives the RICO Enterprise. "Without the on-going benefit of Fintiv's stolen mobile wallet technology and trade secrets," the ability of Apple "to generate billions utilizing Apple Pay would be severely compromised." The complaint further alleges, "Apple's theft of Fintiv's technology is part of a pattern and practice that Apple has engaged in for years – falsely pretending to partner with companies in order to steal confidential and proprietary information under the guise of a working relationship, and thereafter hiring away key employees, all in order to steal the company's valuable intellectual property and use it to commercialize the business on its own." As examples, the complaint cites "a similar pernicious scheme" to steal trade secrets from Masimo Corp. "which had developed non-invasive technology related to blood oxygen monitoring which Apple believed was key to overcoming performance issues with its Apple watch." Apple, it is alleged, perpetrated a similar scheme against a biotech company named Valencell Inc., where it entered into discussions and negotiations under the guise of seeking to license Valencell's active heart- monitoring technology. Apple's alleged scheme was – as with Fintiv and Masimo – not to partner or license with Valencell, but to steal Valencell's technology and incorporate it into Apple's own products, which Apple then marketed and sold on its own without paying a nickel to Valencell," according to the complaint. Likewise, according to the allegations in the complaint, Apple never licensed Fintiv's trade secret and proprietary mobile wallet technology but has realized tens and tens of billions of dollars in value and revenues from Apple Pay. Marc Kasowitz, Fintiv's lead lawyer, calls Apple's alleged theft of trade secrets from Fintiv and its on-going racketeering, as the complaint alleges, "a colossal case of wrongdoing that is one the most egregious examples of corporate malfeasance I've seen in 45 years of law practice. By this action, Fintiv intends to hold Apple responsible for the full extent of its alleged illegal activities." About Fintiv Fintiv, a global leader of patented, white labeled Web2 to Web3 digital solutions for merchant payments, cross border and digital asset tokenization having deployed over 100 ecosystems in more than 35 countries. Fintiv has built one of the most significant and relevant patent portfolios globally and is now managing over 150 patents. Learn more at
Miami Herald
28-07-2025
- Miami Herald
Shelter worker sexually abusing girl was rehired, lawsuit says, & 5 more cases
The summaries below were drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories below were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists. Thousands of legal cases reach U.S. courts every year. From accusations of mistreatment in prisons to fraud to sexual abuse and beyond, here are some of the latest from across the country. Teacher preyed on 20 girls, 'fantasized' about sex acts with MA student, feds say In Boston, federal prosecutors say John Magee Gavin, a former teacher, engaged in sexual conversations with underage girls over Discord. He contacted at least 20 minors from various states and had child sexual abuse material on his phone, according to prosecutors. Gavin faces charges including coercion and enticement of a minor and has pleaded not guilty, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts. | Published July 21 | Read More ICE 'abducted' 22-year-old student seeking medical help in Virginia, group says Cristian Romo-Bermejo, a student in Virginia, was taken into ICE custody after seeking medical help during a mental health crisis, according to an immigrant advocacy group, CASA. The organization says Romo-Bermejo, who has lived in the U.S. for 20 years after being brought from Mexico as a toddler, was arrested and is now facing the risk of deportation. His wife and supporters are advocating for his release. | Published July 22 | Read More Dad restrained by cops died after saying he couldn't breathe in AL, lawyers say In Irondale, Alabama, Phillip Reeder died after being restrained by police during a mental health crisis, according to his family's lawyers. The attorneys say an officer kept a knee on Reeder's neck despite his pleas that he couldn't breathe. Reeder's death has been ruled a homicide by the coroner, according to the attorneys. | Published July 22 | Read More 'You're dead.' Man faces prison over threats to Palestinian group in DC, feds say Kevin Brent Buchanan from Utah pleaded guilty to making threats against a Palestinian rights organization in Washington, D.C., federal prosecutors say. Buchanan left violent voicemails threatening the group's staff and now faces up to five years in prison, according to prosecutors. He admitted to targeting the group because of their advocacy for Palestinians, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. | Published July 23 | Read More Shelter worker sexually abusing 13-year-old was fired, re-hired, GA lawsuit says In Georgia, a lawsuit says a youth shelter employee, Caleb Xavier Randolph, sexually abused a 13-year-old girl, with the shelter's leadership allegedly covering up the abuse. The lawsuit says Randolph was fired, then rehired and continued the abuse. The girl's mother is suing multiple parties, including the shelter and local officials, under Georgia's RICO Act, according to the lawsuit. | Published July 24 | Read More William James Purdy, a former Mormon missionary from West Valley, Utah, is accused of sexually abusing 14 boys in Tonga. Federal prosecutors say Purdy fled Tonga as a fugitive in March 2023 and was later arrested in Pittsburgh, where he was attending law school. He faces charges of sexual exploitation of children and travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual contact, according to the Justice Department. | Published July 25 | Read More McClatchy News continues to follow lawsuits and legal cases from around the country. Check back for more legal stories.
Miami Herald
24-07-2025
- Miami Herald
Shelter worker sexually abusing 13-year-old was fired, re-hired, GA lawsuit says
A Georgia youth shelter employee repeatedly sexually abused a 13-year-old girl while his mother, the shelter's director, and elected officials were aware and worked to cover up the abuse, according to a lawsuit. While working at the Rainbow House in Jonesboro, Caleb Xavier Randolph sexually assaulted the teen in 2022, and was later criminally convicted of abuse charges, according to the lawsuit brought by the girl's mother on July 17. Randolph was fired, then re-hired more than a week later and continued abusing the girl at the shelter affiliated with the Georgia Department of Human Services, a complaint says. The lawsuit argues the department's Division of Family and Children Services, Clayton County District Attorney Tasha Mosley, Randolph's mother, Mia Kimber, and other local leaders are complicit in a cover-up. They are accused of working to hide sexual abuse at the Rainbow House, as detailed in a news release by attorneys for the girl's mother, Roger Soroka, of Soroka & Associates, and Bryan Sutlive, of Sutlive Law. 'This case isn't just about one predator, it's about a network of power that enabled him,' Soroka said in a statement. 'The District Attorney knew, Rainbow House leadership knew, the Department of Family & Children Services knew, and many others knew,' Soroka said. 'They didn't just look the other way…' The girl's mother is suing on 12 causes of action, including negligence and an organized crime claim under Georgia's RICO Act. Mosley, one of the defendants, refuted the claims brought against her in an email to McClatchy News on July 24. The lawsuit says Mosley was the Rainbow House's chairperson when Randolph sexually assaulted the 13-year-old and that she 'failed to properly investigate' reports of sexual abuse. 'I do categorically deny all of the allegations listed in the lawsuit,' Mosley said in a statement. The lawsuit comes more than a year after Randolph, of Macon, pleaded guilty in May 2024 to statutory rape and first-degree sexual contact in connection with another teen in the Rainbow House's care, the Macon Telegraph reported. Randolph, who was 27 at the time, was sentenced to 17 years in prison, followed by 13 years of probation. When Clayton County police arrested Randolph in March 2023, they also arrested Kimber and another shelter employee, according to a news release the police department shared on Facebook. As the Rainbow House's executive director, Kimber and the other employee were accused of failing to report sexual misconduct at the shelter. The employee was later cleared of wrongdoing, according to Soroka and Sutlive. A criminal case against Kimber is pending, court records show. She is charged with cruelty against children. In addition to Mosley, Randolph, Kimber, Clayton County, the Division of Children and Family Services are named as defendants in the lawsuit. A criminal defense attorney who represented Randolph, Kimber's criminal defense attorney, Clayton County and the state Department of Human Services did not return McClatchy News' requests for comment June 24. The teen is placed in the Rainbow House According to the lawsuit, in January 2022, the mother, her then-13-year-old daughter and her two other children moved to the Atlanta metro area. After a few weeks, the mother 'reached out to local ministries for clothing, personal care items, and housing assistance,' as her resources were limited, the complaint says. A member of New Life Church and Community Center, a non-profit based in Decatur, offered to help and told her to meet her at Lithonia Park in DeKalb County in April 2022, according to the filing. The organization runs a 'Hotels to Home' program for families experiencing hardship, the complaint says. But Soroka and Sutlive said the program funnels 'vulnerable families into danger.' New Life Church and Community Center did not immediately respond to McClatchy News' request for comment. The morning of April 26, 2022, after walking her 13-year-old daughter to school, the mother arrived at the park to meet with the church member, according to the complaint, which says she was under the impression the woman was going to help enroll her in the church's program and find temporary housing. But she encountered police instead, the complaint says. 'Without her knowledge or consent, (her daughter) was pulled from school by DFCS and placed into state custody,' Soroka and Sutlive's news release said. The 13-year-old was in DFCS custody in Atlanta for days, while her mother and siblings relocated to a hotel and tried looking for her, according to the lawsuit. '(She) endured starvation, food poisoning, neglect and unfit living conditions while in the care and custody of DFCS,' the complaint says, and was not allowed to shower for days. She stayed 'in the same clothes as the day she was removed from school,' the filing continues. Then she was placed in the Rainbow House in May 2022, the complaint says. According to Soroka and Sutlive, multiple staff members, in addition to Randolph, assaulted her. 'This little girl was a child in crisis, placed in state care to be protected, but instead, was exploited, hidden away, and ignored,' Sutlive said in a statement. Alleged RICO enterprise The lawsuit specifically accuses Kimber, Mosley, Rainbow House and Jeffrey Turner, the former chairman of Clayton County Board of Commissioners who also formerly served as the county's police chief, of racketeering activities, referring to them as RICO defendants. They 'systematically took active steps to conceal reports of child sexual abuse occurring at the Rainbow House,' the complaint says. With the lawsuit, the mother of the teen is seeking a jury trial and more than $1 million in general, special and compensatory damages. 'Rainbow House and multiple people in power preyed on the most vulnerable: children with no stable homes, no consistent records, and often no one looking out for them,' Sutlive said. 'These weren't just isolated failures; this was a deliberate targeting of kids who could disappear without anyone asking questions.'
