Washington, D.C., Feb. 19, 2009 (LAWFUEL) – The Securities and Exchange Commission has obtained a court order halting a Ponzi scheme that specifically targeted members of the Deaf community in the United States and Japan. The SEC alleges that Hawaii-based Billion Coupons, Inc. (BCI) and its CEO Marvin R. Cooper raised $4.4 million from 125 […]

TUCSON, Ariz. (LAWFUEL) – William Paul Rigli, 42, of Tucson, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Cindy K. Jorgenson to10 years in prison and lifetime supervision after his release. Rigli pleaded guilty on November 26, 2008 to possession of child pornography. Rigli ordered 13 movies depicting minor boys and girls engaging in sexually explicit

PHOENIX (LAWFUEL) – Gregory Thomas Cardullo, 25, of Mesa, Ariz., was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow to 160 months in prison to be followed by lifetime supervised release. Cardullo must also register as a sex offender upon his release from prison. Cardullo pleaded guilty on November 6, 2007 to one Count

Washington, D.C., Feb. 18, 2009 (LAWFUEL) – The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed an enforcement action against UBS AG, charging the firm with acting as an unregistered broker-dealer and investment adviser. The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that UBS’s conduct facilitated the ability of certain

Washington, D.C., Feb. 18, 2009 (LAWFUEL) – The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that Andrew N. Vollmer, Acting General Counsel, plans to leave the Commission and return to the private sector. Mr. Vollmer joined the SEC staff in July 2006 as Deputy General Counsel, and held that position until becoming Acting General Counsel in

PHOENIX (LAWFUEL) – Seven Mexican nationals pleaded not guilty this morning before a U.S. Magistrate Judge to charges including hostage taking, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence and harboring illegal aliens for profit. On February 11, 2009, a federal grand jury in Phoenix returned a 4-count indictment against Mauricio Gerardo Aguilar-Espinoza, 25;

PHOENIX (LAWFUEL) – Andres Eduardo Zazueta-Castro, 23, of Sinaloa, Mexico, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Paul G. Rosenblatt to five years in federal prison. Zazueta-Castro pleaded guilty on October 21, 2008 to Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime. On June 26, 2008, law enforcement officers found Zazueta-Castro in

PHOENIX (LAWFUEL) – Agustin Salas-Garcia, 37, previously of Eloy, Ariz., was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Martone to 18 months in federal prison. Salas-Garcia pleaded guilty on November 24, 2008 to Transporting Illegal Aliens, Accessory after the Fact. A legal permanent resident at the time of the offense, Salas-Garcia will be deported

LAWFUEL.com – UK Legal Newswire – London – DLA Piper’s Finance and Projects Group has strengthened its Projects practice with the appointment of Costanza Russo as a partner based in the firm’s London office. Costanza has been made up to partner on joining, having been a senior associate at Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker (Europe)

LAWFUEL.com – Legal Newswire SILICON VALLEY, CA – February 18, 2009 – O’Melveny & Myers LLP represented the investors, led by Venrock, in Cadence Pharmaceuticals’ recent US$86.6 million private placement of common stock. O’Melveny partner Sam Zucker and counsel Jennifer DePalma led the representation. About O’Melveny & Myers LLP With more than 1,000 lawyers in