Latest news with #U.S.District
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Volkswagen executives get prison time in 'Dieselgate' scandal
Punishments were handed out for Volkswagen (VWAGY) executives involved in the emissions-cheating scandal that rocked the auto industry a decade ago. Two former executives, Jens Hadler and Hanno Jelden, are heading to prison, while two others received suspended sentences. The case slowly ground through the European legal system, finally culminating on Monday with a panel of judges in Braunschweig, Germany, a city near Volkswagen's headquarters. It took four hours to read the sentences for the guilty. Presiding Judge Christian Schütz said the group of defendants acted as a 'gang' and described their actions as 'particularly serious' fraud. Volkswagen has admitted that some of its engineers installed software in diesel-powered vehicles that caused the cars to recognize when they were being tested for emissions and adjust their emissions to meet the standards. A criminal court filing in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Michigan in 2017 accused six Volkswagen executives of various crimes, including conspiracy. 'Purpose of the conspiracy was for to 'unlawfully enrich VW and themselves by, among other things, A) deceiving U.S. regulators in order to obtain necessary Certificates to sell diesel vehicles n the United States, B) selling VW vehicles to U.S. customers knowing that those vehicles were intentionally designed to detect, evade, and defeat U.S. emissions standards.' The criminal complaint says the conspiracy began at least as early as May 2006 and continued through 2015. Because the VW executives are based overseas and have not been extradited to the United States, the criminal proceedings have been on hold. The legal action, instead, has been in Europe where over 30 Volkswagon employees have been caught up in what has been dubbed the 'Dieselgate' scandal In 2015, when the scandal first began to unravel, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said that nearly 500,000 Volkswagen cars sold in the country between 2009 and 2015 had 'defeat device' software installed, which is designed to detect when a car is being tested for emissions and lower them accordingly. Meanwhile, out on the road, these cars released up to 40 times more pollution than allowed by the rules. Shareholders largely shrugged off the court action. Shares were trading 2% higher at opening today. —Jason Karaian contributed to this article. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ex-Rep. Santos asks President Trump for pardon, lawyer says
NEW YORK (PIX11) — Former U.S. Rep. George Santos is asking President Donald Trump for help wiggling out of his legal woes, according to his lawyers. The New York Republican is seeking a pardon, clemency, or commutation of his lengthy prison sentence, said his lawyer Robert M. Fantone. Santos was sentenced Friday to over seven years in prison, sobbing as he learned his punishment for the crimes that led to his expulsion from Congress. Santos, who pleaded guilty last summer to federal wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, appealed for mercy. In a federal court a short drive from his old congressional district, he said through tears that he was 'humbled' and 'chastened' and understood he had betrayed his constituents' trust. 'I offer my deepest apologies,' he said, adding: 'I cannot rewrite the past, but I can control the road ahead.' U.S. District Court Judge Joanna Seybert evidently wasn't convinced. 'Where is your remorse? Where do I see it?' she asked as she sentenced him to 87 months behind bars. 'It's always someone else's fault.' The New York Republican, who must report to prison July 25, didn't respond to reporters' questions outside the courthouse. Hours later, though, he took to social media angling for a White House reprieve, despite saying in recent days he wouldn't seek clemency. 'I believe that 7 years is an over the top politically influenced sentence and I implore that President Trump gives me a chance to prove I'm more than the mistakes I've made,' he wrote on the social platform X late Friday. Santos, 36, served in Congress less than a year before becoming just the sixth member of the House to be ousted by colleagues. He admitted to deceiving donors and stealing the identities of nearly a dozen people, including his family members, to fund his winning campaign. His plea deal included agreeing to pay roughly $580,000 in penalties. 'From the moment he declared his candidacy for Congress, Santos leveraged his campaign for his own enrichment and financial benefit,' U.S. Attorney John Durham, whose office prosecuted the case, said outside court. Santos' victims included a woman with brain damage and two octogenarian men, prosecutor Ryan Harris told the judge. Defense lawyer Andrew Mancilla had asked the judge for a sentence of two years, portraying Santos as a troubled figure who grew up in a 'broken house' and was subjected to bullying throughout his life. As a result, 'he built the man he wanted to be, not who he was,' Mancilla said. 'He did that because he believed that the world would not accept him for who he was.' 'Deep down, he is warm, kind, caring and thoughtful,' Mancilla said. But, the lawyer said, now 'everyone hates George Santos.' Santos was elected in 2022, flipping a wealthy district representing parts of Queens and Long Island for the GOP. Soon after, it was revealed that the political unknown had fabricated much of his life story, painting himself as a successful business owner who worked at prestigious Wall Street firms and held a valuable real estate portfolio. In reality, Santos was struggling financially and even faced eviction. — Associated Press material was used in this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Express Tribune
19-04-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Google found guilty of ad monopoly, now racing to appeal
Google has been found guilty of violating U.S. antitrust laws after a federal court ruled that the tech giant engaged in anticompetitive practices within the digital advertising market. The ruling, delivered by Judge Leonie Brinkema in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Virginia, states that Google 'willfully engaged in a series of anticompetitive acts,' particularly in the open-web display publisher ad server and ad exchange markets. Seventeen plaintiffs joined in the case, alleging that Google unlawfully tied its publisher ad server (DFP) and ad exchange (AdX), prioritizing its own services and products over competitors' in spaces meant to support a fair marketplace. The court found this behavior in violation of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. While the court cleared Google of wrongdoing related to user acquisition practices, it held the company accountable for monopolistic manipulation in ad tech. The 115-page verdict outlines how Google potentially skewed ad placements to benefit its first-party services at the expense of competitors. In response, Google announced plans to appeal the decision. 'We won half of this case and we will appeal the other half,' said Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google's VP of Regulatory Affairs. She added that Google's ad tools remain 'simple, affordable, and effective,' and claimed publishers use them by choice. If Google's appeal fails, a separate hearing will determine financial penalties and how the company must remedy the antitrust violations—penalties that could cost the tech giant up to $100 million.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alleged Murdaugh accomplice Laffitte requests statewide jury selection or change of venue
Former Hampton banker and alleged Alex Murdaugh accomplice Russell Lucius Laffitte got new hope when an appeals court recently ruled that he deserved a new federal trial. Now, Laffitte has a new trial date and new lawyers and is making new demands of the federal justice system. Laffitte, Murdaugh's former banker and, according to state and federal indictments, an accomplice who is accused of playing a role in helping the now disbarred and imprisoned Hampton lawyer steal millions from law clients and partners, will receive a new federal trial to commence May 5. In preparation for this second federal court showdown, Laffitte's attorneys are now arguing that, in light of the case's notoriety and media attention, Laffitte requires a statewide jury pool to get a fair trial or, in the alternative, a change of venue. Laffitte was convicted in November of 2022 on federal charges of conspiring with Murdaugh to commit wire fraud and bank fraud; wire fraud; bank fraud; and three counts of misapplication of bank funds and sentenced to seven years in federal prison. While Laffitte began serving that sentence, in 2024, a Fourth Circuit federal appellate tribunal rendered a Nov. 14 order that vacated the conviction from the U.S. District Court of South Carolina and the sentence imposed by federal Judge Richard Gergel. The appellate panel ruled that Judge Gergel violated Laffitte's Fifth Amendment right to be present when he questioned a juror, identified only as Juror 88, without Laffitte or his counsel present and violated Laffitte's Sixth Amendment right to an impartial jury when he later dismissed that juror during deliberations, adding that the juror's dismissal was linked to her pending view of the verdict. With the new trial date set, Laffitte's attorneys have filed a motion for a district-wide jury panel or venue transfer. As it now stands, Laffitte's new federal trial will begin with jury selection at 9 a.m. on May 5, followed immediately by opening statements before Judge Richard Gergel. The proceedings are currently set to be held in the Beaufort Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, in Courtroom 1 of the J. Waties Waring Judicial Center, 83 Meeting St., Charleston. The federal District of South Carolina is divided into four Areas: A, B, C, and D. As Laffitte's case also stands, jurors will be selected from Area C, which handles all federal cases in the Beaufort and CharlestonDivision includes Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Clarendon, Colleton, Dorchester, Georgetown, Hampton, and Jasper counties, also known collectively as the "Lowcountry." Laffitte's Feb. 3 motion for a district-wide jury panel asks the federal court to pull jurors from all four areas for a statewide jury selection. "A district-wide jury panel serves the principles of fairness, judicial economy, and the interests of justice and will maximize Mr. Laffitte's chances for a fair and impartial trial," argues the motion. "A district-wide jury panel is both appropriate in this case and necessary to safeguard Mr. Laffitte's constitutional right to a fair and impartial trial in this matter." The motion cites Laffitte's alleged connection with the notorious former personal injury lawyer and convicted murderer Murdaugh, the Laffitte family's legacy banking connections in multiple Lowcountry counties, and the fact that Laffitte still has pending state criminal charges in some of these counties — all of which could potentially prejudice jurors selected from Area C. "Mr. Murdaugh (formerly a well-known lawyer from a renowned family of Lowcountry lawyers) is now infamous in this state following his 2023 conviction for the alleged murders of his wife and son, in addition to his admitted involvement in multiple fraud schemes," the motion continues. "Mr. Laffitte is no doubt tarnished in the minds of many given his relationship (which was not as close as many in the public apparently believe) and Mr. Laffitte is often referred to as 'the Murdaugh banker'." The 25-page motion also argues that "pervasive and prejudicial media coverage has saturated the local jury pool with potentially biased information" and cites, in detail, the multiple books, news articles, documentaries and television programs related to Laffitte's case, and connecting him with the internationally followed Murdaugh cases, as well as the "viral podcasts which have sought to villainize Mr. Laffitte." The motion also includes a chart detailing the numbers of Murdaugh- and Laffitte-related news stories in each federal area from 2001-2025. Finally, the motion argues that this case is of statewide and national interest and "cries out for the use of a statewide jury" to ensure Laffitte's Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial before an impartial jury. Laffitte's attorneys cite several federal court precedents in which trial judges have used their discretion to order that a jury must be drawn from an entire federal district or a division of that district. If Laffitte's motion for a statewide jury panel is denied, his attorneys have also suggested an alternative: an intra-district transfer of venue, which means holding the May retrial in the Greenville, Columbia or Florence divisions. The motion adds that "the media coverage in this case in Areas A, B, and D has been much less pervasive than the coverage in Area C. Therefore, the transfer of venue to another division will increase the likelihood of assuring Mr. Laffitte receives a fair trial." Of the options, Laffitte's lawyers appeared to favor the Columbia area, as it would be a closer drive for witnesses from the Lowcountry region, and many of Laffitte's attorneys are located in the area, as well as attorneys for Murdaugh's former law firm and Laffitte's former bank, Palmetto State Bank. On Feb. 4, Judge Gergel filed an order giving federal prosecutors 10 days to file a motion opposing Laffitte's latest motion. Federal court filings also reveal that Laffitte has added new attorneys to his legal defense team. Laffitte is currently represented by Mark C. Moore, Michael A. Parente, Cheryl D. Shoun, and Jada T. Wilson of Maynard Nexsen PC of Columbia, according to the latest motion. A Feb. 3 notice of appearance filing added another attorney, Shaun C. Kent of the Kent Law Firm LLC of Manning, S.C., to the legal team. In addition to the federal trial in May, a state criminal trial is also expected for Laffitte in mid-October for state indictments that mirror the federal charges. Editor's Note: Kent is the attorney representing Richard Alexander "Buster" Murdaugh Jr., the surviving son of Alex Murdaugh, who has filed a defamation lawsuit against several documentary producers who covered the Murdaugh crime saga and related stories. This reporter and Gannett, the ultimate parent of the Guardian, have also been named as defendants. This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Former Murdaugh banker Laffitte moves for statewide jury, venue change
