Posted by Sam Battista.
I came across this article recently about these topics that were brought up in class, and I thought it was appropriate to write a blog pertaining to this article. Seven reputable members of the Geneovese crime family were recently arrested on accounts of money laundering and racketeering. The group allegedly raked in millions of dollars through the Garden State by gambling, loansharking, and unlicensed check cashing. Most of these charges fall under the RICO laws because this is organized crime.
The group ran a massive loansharking operation, which generated about 1.3 million dollars in interest a year. It operated an offshore Costa Rica Gambling website and an unlicensed check cashing business, making over nine million in fees over a four year run. The group also laundered $660,000 dollars in drug money out of a Florida based check cashing entity. The group also gave out multimillion dollar loans with interest rates upwards of 156 percent. In addition, the group ran a illegal check cashing business out of a restaurant in Newark that cashed-in over 400 million dollars.
All of these violations are prohibited in the RICO laws and are considered organized crime. Most of the acts committed were covered or ran out of legitimate businesses. These individuals were all from New Jersey and are currently being prosecuted for their federal violations. People often think these type of crimes only happen in movies, but the truth is it’s a multimillion dollar business with violations happening everyday.
Sam is a business administration major with a concentration in real estate at Montclair State University, Class of 2016.
Posted by Anthony Leineweber.
The coal business just isn’t what it used to be and some companies are finding that out the hard way. Most recently, it was Bumi, “Asias most-indebted coal miner,” that had to bite the bullet and file for creditor protection here in the U.S. “Bumi Investment Pte Ltd listed assets and debt of as much as $1 billion each in Chapter 15 papers filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan.” Chapter 15 bankruptcy is fairly new as of 2005 and deals with problems like debt and the control of certain assets involving more than one country. “Companies use Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code to fend off creditor claims in the U.S. while they reorganize their finances elsewhere.”
“Bumi Investment and Jakarta-based Bumi Resources failed to make a coupon payment on $700 million of October 2017 notes last month, following a 30-day grace period.” Clearly, they are in serious trouble after not being able to get the money together even after being granted a 30 day grace period. About a week ago, the Singapore court disallowed any action or continuation by creditors for six months. “The court-obtained moratorium marks another chapter in efforts to contain the fallout in their mainstay coal business. Coal prices have slumped more than 50 percent since the end of 2010.”
Anthony is a marketing major at Montclair State University, Class of 2016.
Posted by Anthony Leineweber.
$167 million dollars sure is a lot of money, and that’s exactly what Decura investment firm is looking for from UBS’s investment bank. Decura claims their investment firm was not told about UBS’s future plans to downsize before agreeing to a contract with them in 2012. UBS “is not the bank with which Decura contracted on May 31, 2012,” Decura said in the documents. UBS calls their downsizing part of “project accelerate” and that their production and business standing has not and will not be affected in any way.
The reason for downsizing, according to UBS’s CEO Sergio Ermotti, is to “focus on money management while cutting costs to boost profits.” Clearly, Decura investment firm isn’t happy about that. They claim the cuts “mean the bank isn’t able to market its algorithmic trading and hedge fund products, triggering a termination clause in the contract.”
We’ll see how it all plays out, but it looks like these two sides aren’t coming to an agreement anytime soon.
Anthony is a marketing major at Montclair State University, Class of 2016.
Posted by Nicholas Andreula.
Three major U.S firms along with one German company are currently being investigated for possible price manipulation. “Goldman Sachs Group Inc., HSBC Holdings PLC, Standard Bank Group Ltd. and a German chemical maker” are being accused of working together in “manipulating platinum and palladium prices.” It is believed that this price manipulation has been going on for many years and has had a considerable impact on investors and individuals within the industry.
“Modern Settings filed the suit as a class action on Tuesday,” with what the firm believes to be substantial evidence in support of the case. This incident has caused a great deal of speculation regarding “price rigging” both within and in other unrelated industries. Companies such as Modern Settings are requesting the implementation of regulations to prevent similar incidences from happening in the future.
The firms involved have “refused to comment on the lawsuit when contacted by the Wall Street Journal.” Although the case has initiated the investigation of price manipulation within the industry, many believe that the “the changes have come too late.”
Nicholas is a business administration major with a concentration in finance at Montclair State University, Class of 2016.
Posted by Nicholas Andreula.
In recent months, a Toyoko-based airbag manufacturer, Takata, has been under fire with a multitude of lawsuits. Complaints of the malfunctioning airbags first began in 2010 when a woman was seriously injured after “shrapnel allegedly flew from one of the safety devices during the blast that inflated them.” Since then, an increasing amount of incidents involving the defected products have been reported and investigated. Due to many injuries and even some deaths, numerous individual suits and a “class-action suit in Florida against Takata and automakers including Honda, BMW, Nissan, and Toyota” have been filed.
A substantial amount of automakers have installed the defective airbags in vehicles, resulting in recalls on over “7.8 million cars in the U.S.” Owners of recalled vehicle models are being urged not to operate vehicles until the defected devices are either disabled or replaced. Takata and various auto manufacturers are currently facing a great deal of impending charges based on the recent incidents involving the devices.
In the past, Takata has been recognized for many important contributions to automobile safety by the “NHTSA, the top U.S. auto-safety regulator.” Due to the current and the possibility of future lawsuits, widespread fear for the company’s financial well-being has caused the company’s shares to fall “about 50 percent so far this year, as news of the injuries and the $413 million charge it took this summer.” Currently the issues regarding the device malfunction are being fully investigated by Takata, automakers, and the “U.S Department of Transportation.”
Nicholas is a business administration major with a concentration in finance at Montclair State University, Class of 2016.
Posted by Tiffany Zapata.
Sergei Pugachyov former banker, senator, and confidante to Valdimir Putin is now speaking out on his placement on Interpol’s most wanted list. According to Pugachov, he made the list because of a campaign created by elite Russian politicians against him. He is currently facing charges in Russia and the UK due to the 2010 collapse of the International Industrial Bank.
Pugachyov commented on Interpol’s activity, stating “Interpol’s involvement is illegal and he’ll explore ‘all avenues’ to fight to get his name removed.” He was listed on the international law enforcement agency’s roster and is being charged with counts of embezzlement, according to Interpol.
In attempts to prove his innocence, Pugachyov is trying to bring light to the situation and call-out Russian politicians. He stated: “The involvement of Interpol by the Russian authorities is an attempt to give credibility to the actions of high-level Russian officials involved in the expropriation, including direct orders of President Putin and a number of Russian cabinet ministers.”
He was subject to a red notice by Interpol but was able to cancel it by challenging it in court. He is determined and says he will do anything in his power to cancel the second notice as well.
Pugachyov was once known as one of the richest men in Russia. He now lives a bare life, stripped of all his assets and politically targeted in Russia due to the collapse of the bank in 2010. With the history of Russian governments, we can speculate this will not end well for Pugachyov.
Tiffany is a business administration major with a concentration in international business at Montclair State University, Class of 2016.
The European ATM Security Team (EAST) discovered that ATM hackers are now drilling holes in ATM machines near the card reader and installing electronic devices which tap into the “read head” of the magnetic strip reader to steal information. Normally, thieves would “skim” the information on the magnetic strip through an “overlay” device that would actually read the magnetic strip outside the machine when an unwary customer would insert his or her card.
Instead, these new devices work like a wiretap inside the machine and read the information as it passes through the head of the reader. The hole is then covered up with a decal after the device is removed with the stolen data. EAST still classifies the crime as “skimming” even though “‘the the magnetic stripe [on the customer/victim’s card] is not directly skimmed as the data is intercepted.’”
Cameras are still used by thieves to steal PIN numbers; therefore, EAST suggests customers cover the keypad with their hand before entering their PIN.
Posted by Genna Salvtoriello.
General Motors has been hit with a $3 billion dollar lawsuit by the state of Arizona. The lawsuit is due to a record number of 2.6 million vehicles this spring that have been claimed to be linked to safety defects such as a faulty ignition switch. This defect has been linked to 33 deaths and more injuries according to Kenneth Feinberg, who is looking after compensation to the victims of this defect and the damage that it has caused. Arizona’s lawsuit is focusing on the loss of value GM car owners have suffered due to the now damaged reputation of the “General Motors” name. The law that Arizona is suing General Motor’s under is a consumer fraud law that has a maximum penalty of $10,000. And that’s just for each individual violation. There are about 300,000 GM vehicles that are registered in the state of Arizona. Which means a judge could fine General Motors up to $3 billion dollar, according to a report in the New York Times.
However, the ignition doesn’t seem to be the only issue with GM cars. The lawsuit that Arizona is pending shows not just one, but multiple defects with the GM vehicles. These defects include seat belts, brake lights, airbags and transmission cables. The GM vehicles have dropped significantly in value because of the safety defects, which has cost those car owners to lose thousands of dollars. “GM is committed to setting a new industry standard for safety, quality and excellence. This includes recalling vehicles proactively when we identify a safety issue,” said spokesman James Cain. GM is also under investigation by the U.S. attorney in New York, congressional committees, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The number of claimants is rising for GM who is running a compensation program. The company is allowing potential victims of this recall over faulty ignition switches an extra month to file claims seeking compensation. It will be clear in the near future to see just how many people have been put at risk, or even worse, actually hurt by this life threatening recall.
Genna is a marketing major at Montclair State University, Class of 2017.
Posted by Genna Salvatoriello.
Target has come up with a brilliant way to not only give their shoppers good deals on Black Friday, but to make them come back wanting more. Target offered 10% off of its gift cards on Black Friday, which will help bring shoppers back. Target also revealed certain deals that will get its customers out of their homes and into the store. Some of these deals Target is offering include $50 off Beats headphones and $10 off an Apple TV. The catch is that it only applies if customers order online, and them pick these items up at the store. They also announced that their mobile app will offer 50% off a different toy each day throughout the holiday season.
After the data breach that compromised millions of customer accounts last holiday season, Target is hoping that these promotions will encourage more customers to shop with them. Target has made the right move with creating these promotions, especially because online shopping growth is expected to far outpace in-store growth this year. The National Retail federation projects that in-store sales will climb by 4.1%, while online sales will jump between 8% and 11%. Hopefully this will not be the case for Target, as they do their best to encourage customers back into their stores.
Genna is a marketing major at Montclair State University, Class of 2017.
Posted by Zhan’e Shaw.
Iknoor Singh, a Sikh student at Hofstra University, filed a lawsuit against the United States Army, claiming “the service refused to grant him a religious accommodation that would allow him to enlist in his school’s ROTC program without shaving his beard, cutting his hair and removing his turban.” The Army denied Iknoor Singh’s request for a religious exemption from the military’s grooming policies when he enlisted as a cadet on the grounds the exemption would have “’an adverse impact on the Army’s readiness, unit cohesion, standards, health, safety, or discipline.’”
The Army later stated Singh could seek an exemption only after he was enlisted as a cadet, “creating a reef in which Singh would have to violate his faith to be able to apply for a religious accommodation.” Singh stated “’I couldn’t believe the military was asking me to make the impossible decision of choosing between the country I love and my faith.’”
The ACLU and United Sikhs filed the suit on Singh’s behalf claiming the “Army’s denial of religious exemption violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.” In a statement, Hofstra said it “’entirely supports Mr. Singh’s ambitions to serve his country. He is currently enrolled in the ROTC class and we are providing him leadership training to the extent that the U.S Army has allowed.’”
In September 2014, the Army adjusted it’s grooming policies to allow female soldiers “to wear braids, cornrows,” and twists in their hair resulting from public complaints. The case is still ongoing.
Zhan’e is a business management major at Montclair State University, Class of 2016.