Fake IRS Agent Scam Targets Public–Identity Theft Tax Fraud is Rampant

Posted by Shanice Cooper. In an article by Forbes Magazine entitled, Fake IRS Agent Scam Targets Public, Even Feds, while Identity Theft Tax Fraud is Rampant, Robert Wood outlines the seemingly growing issue of identity theft. This particular article takes a close look at how horrible identity thieves are especially during the inevitable tax season. Identity …

Companies Tracking Workers With Cell Phones Off-hours May be Violating Their Constitutional Rights

Many companies provide workers with cell phones for company business. And they expect that their workers respect its proper use. But companies should afford their workers the same respect in terms of privacy. In a recent report, a woman was fired for deleting an app her employer used to track her movements. She sued for …

Italy, US Joint “Operation Columbus” Brings Down Drug Ring Run Out of a Pizzeria

In class, we discuss organized crime and its effects on business and society. Recently, Italian special agents, SCO, and the FBI arrested 13 persons in Calabria, Italy, allegedly connected with the ‘Ndrangheta crime family. With affiliates in the U.S., the suspects were organizing cocaine shipments out of Costa Rica. Authorities arrested them in the middle of the night while they were sleeping and charged …

SEC Charges Insider Trading Ahead of Merger

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged three software company founders with insider trading and forced them to disgorge $5.8 million in illegal profits, penalties and interest.  Insider trading occurs when people in high levels of management trade company securities based on non-public information. Lawson Software’s co-chairman, Herbert Richard Lawson, tipped his brother and a family …

Antitrust Suit Against Blue Cross and Blue Shield

Healthcare providers, small business, and individuals have filed antitrust lawsuits against Blue Cross and Blue Shield. They allege the 37 independently-owned companies that make up the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association are colluding to avoid competition, raise prices on premiums, and clamp down on payments to providers. Plaintiffs are seeking class action status. Blue Cross …

Fighting a DUI in New Jersey–A Review of Criminal Procedure

In a recent NJ.com article, expert lawyers in DUI laws revealed how they attack drunk driving charges.  Normally, defense lawyers rely on plea bargaining when a client is charged with a crime. Plea bargaining involves an agreement between a prosecutor and defendant where the defendant will plead to a lesser charge in return for dismissal …

Obama Promotes Benefits of Trade Deals to Workers and Small Businesses

Posted by Shanice Cooper. On February 15, 2016, in an article by Julie Hirschfield Davis, she details President Obama’s attempts in trying to persuade Congress how important trade is for small business worldwide. The article outlines the importance of small businesses being able to have the global accessibility for trade deals outside of the United States. …

Courts Decide Spiderman “Web Blaster” Patent Case

Posted by Bailey Obetz. In this article, Stephen Kimble, inventor of a toy that allowed consumers to shoot web-like material from their palms imitating the power of the superhero Spiderman, sued Marvel in 1997 for patent infringement because it was selling a similar item called the “Web Blaster.” In an agreement between Kimbel and Marvel, …

Italy, US Joint “Operation Columbus” Brings Down Drug Ring Run Out of a Pizzeria

In class, we discuss organized crime and its effects on business and society. Recently, Italian special agents, SCO, and the FBI arrested 13 persons in Calabria, Italy, allegedly connected with the ‘Ndrangheta crime family. With affiliates in the U.S., the suspects were organizing cocaine shipments out of Costa Rica. Authorities arrested them in the middle of the night while they were sleeping and charged …