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Recently, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN) issued a pivotal final rule aimed at tightening regulatory oversight in the residential real estate sector. This change marks a significant step towards enhancing transparency in an industry that has, until now, been relatively free from such regulatory scrutiny. Generally, the new rule requires certain real estate professionals to report information about non-financed transfers of residential real estate to legal entities or trusts.

What Is the New FINCEN Rule?

FINCEN’s new rule extends Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) obligations to investment advisers involved in residential real estate transactions. The aim is to prevent illicit financial activities in an industry known for large cash transactions that can serve as vehicles for money laundering, fraud, and other financial crimes.

The Georgia Composite Medical Board is the state organization that monitors physicians and other medical professionals through its licensing and disciplinary policies. The purpose of the Board is to safeguard public health by ensuring proper licensing procedures and regulating healthcare professionals.

Who makes up the Composite Board? The Board is made up of fifteen members appointed by the Governor. Thirteen of those members are physicians, and two of those members are public representatives who have no ties to medicine. Each Board member typically serves a four-year term.

What does the Board do? The Board’s functions include screening candidates for licensure, issuing licenses to qualified professionals, developing rules and guidelines for healthcare practice, and disciplining licensees when necessary. In Georgia, the Composite Board licenses and monitors healthcare professionals including the following: Medical doctors (MDs), Doctors of osteopathic medicine (DOs), Physician assistants (PAs), Anesthesiologist assistants (AAs), Acupuncturists, and pain management clinics. However, the Composite Board does not license or regulate podiatrists, chiropractors, dentists, marriage and family therapists, social workers, professional counselors, physical therapists, registered nurses, or licensed practical nurses – those professions are regulated by the Office of the Secretary of State.

Once a person receives notice that a Title IX allegation has been made against them in Georgia, a school will generally proceed and attempt to resolve the case within 120 days. The Title IX process moves quickly relative to the criminal justice system; however, the implications and lasting consequences of an allegation can be significant, making it imperative to have a skilled attorney assisting at all stages.

After an allegation has been made, there are a limited number of ways that the Title IX investigation can resolve:

  1. Complaint Dismissal: In narrow circumstances, an institution is permitted, but not required, to dismiss complaints. See Board of Regents Policy 6.7.4(f).

Acceptance of responsibility is a concept in that appears in many federal criminal cases. It refers to the idea that a defendant acknowledges their culpability for the offense they are charged with. This is not just admitting guilt, but also demonstrating remorse and a willingness to cooperate with authorities. The defendant must genuinely take responsibility for their actions and the consequences that result from them. Acceptance of responsibility can play a significant role in determining a defendant’s sentence, as well as a defendant’s overall standing in the eyes of the court.

One way in which acceptance of responsibility is often demonstrated is through the defendant’s guilty plea. When a defendant pleads guilty, they are admitting to the charges against them and accept the consequences that come with those charges. This can be seen as a sign of acceptance of responsibility, as the defendant is acknowledging that they committed the crime and is willing to accept the punishment for it. Aside from pleading guilty early in the legal process, acceptance of responsibility is often demonstrated through actions such as cooperating with law enforcement or prosecutors, showing remorse for one’s actions, or taking steps towards rehabilitation and/or restitution.

During federal sentencing, a defendant who has exhibited remorse can be awarded either a two- or three-level decrease in their calculated guideline range based on USSG § 3E1.1 Acceptance of Responsibility. A majority of federal criminal defendants who plead guilty receive this sentencing decrease; but, whether it applies to a case is ultimately within the court’s discretion. Section 3E1.1 is relevant only in the federal system; however, on the state level, the general concept of accepting responsibility is still applicable at sentencing.

Settlements and judgments under the False Claims Act have reached a unprecedented high in the United States. According to the Department of Justice in a press release, there were 543 settlements and judgments in the 2023 fiscal year, which exceeded over $2.68 billion. In the release, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Boynton states “As the record-breaking number of recoveries reflects, those who seek to defraud the government will pay a high price.”

The False Claims Act (FCA), also known as the “Lincoln Law,” is a federal law that imposes liability on individuals and companies who defraud governmental programs. This includes submitting false invoices, making false statements to get paid by the government, or avoiding payment of money owed to the government. The law was originally enacted during the Civil War to combat fraud by government contractors supplying the Union Army with substandard goods; however, the FCA was strengthened in 1986, when Congress increased incentives for whistleblowers to file lawsuits alleging false claims on behalf of the government.

Under the FCA, individuals or entities can be held liable for knowingly submitting false or fraudulent claims for payment to the government. The FCA allows private individuals, known as “whistleblowers” or “relators,” to file lawsuits on behalf of the government and share in any monetary recovery. These lawsuits are known as qui tam actions. If the government intervenes in the lawsuit and recovers funds, the whistleblower is typically entitled to receive a portion of the recovered amount, often ranging from 15% to 30%. In fiscal year 2023, whistleblowers filed 712 qui tam suits, and this past year the Justice Department reported settlements and judgments exceeding $2.3 billion in these and earlier-filed suits.

IMG_1293-768x1024 Airports are high security environments with strict rules enforced through law enforcement, federal agents, TSA checkpoints, drug-sniffing dogs, US Marshals aboard flights, and more. Being arrested at an airport is overwhelming, scary, and often times, completely unexpected. However, the consequences of these arrest can be serious and long-lasting. An arrest at an airport could lead to detention by law enforcement, criminal charges, and the need to retain legal representation.

If you are arrested at an airport, you may be taken into custody and transported to a detention center or police station where you will be held and processed until further legal proceedings. However, this does not always happen at the airport – you may leave the airport and later have a warrant issued for your arrest. In that case, you would still need to turn yourself in for processing with law enforcement. In either circumstance, it is essential to remember your rights, including the right to remain silent and the right to legal counsel. Contacting an experienced criminal defense attorney will help you navigate that distressing process with an advocate by your side.

Airport arrests can lead to severe criminal charges depending on the circumstances of your case. Common criminal charges in this context cover a broad range including drug offenses, sexual offenses, firearm offenses, DUIs, disorderly conduct, battery, theft, trafficking, and fraud. You could also be arrested at the airport for entirely unrelated criminal charges if you are simply identified and apprehended pursuant to an active arrest warrant, such as this recent arrest in Atlanta. Committing crimes while aboard an aircraft (like interfering with the performance of the duties of a flight crew) can lead to federal criminal charges and even more severe penalties. Many of these charges carry significant terms of imprisonment and hefty fines.

A new type of fraudulent online investment scheme has led to thousands of victims worldwide and significant financial losses. In a pig butchering scam, victims are gradually lured into making financial contributions to a seemingly sound investment only to have the person they are dealing with subsequently disappear with the funds.

These types of schemes originated in 2020 and have gained international momentum through the use of social media platforms and online dating applications. In a departure from conventional financial scams, these fraudsters focus on psychological manipulation of victims by crafting elaborate fake identities to establish romantic or emotional connections with their targets.

After the scammer creates a fake online persona, the scam begins by initiating contact with a target. Often, the scammer will pretend to have stumbled across a “wrong number” as they contacted the victim. The next step is starting a conversation with a potential victim to gain their trust. The scammers often initiate benign chats about life, family, and work, and they’ll fabricate details about their own life that make them seem similar to you. Once the scammer gains trust, they will eventually pivot the conversation to investing and making claims about their own purported success with investments.

In criminal proceedings, the State often attempts to use evidence of “similar transactions” against a defendant. This typically comes in the form of the State introducing evidence at trial of a defendant’s prior crimes to help prove that defendant’s guilt.

Under O.C.G.A. § 24-4-404(b), evidence of other acts can be introduced by the prosecution to prove a defendant’s “motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident.”  This type of evidence is only admissible if the State shows:

“(1) that it seeks to introduce the evidence not to raise an improper inference as to the defendant’s character but for some proper purpose; (2) that there is sufficient evidence to establish that the defendant committed the independent offense; and (3) that there is a sufficient connection or similarity between the independent offense and the crime charged so that proof of the former tends to prove the latter.” Amica v. State, 704 S.E.2d 831 (Ga.App. 2010).

An NFT, or Non-Fungible Token, is a digital asset representing ownership or proof of authenticity of a unique item or piece of content using blockchain technology. Unlike cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, which are fungible and can be exchanged on a one-to-one basis, NFTs are non-interchangeable and one-of-a-kind. As long as you’re following copyright laws and selling legitimate assets, creating, selling, and reselling NFTs is legal. However, due to the decentralized and anonymous nature of the crypto world, NFTs come with a host of legal issues. Like with most digital innovations, regulatory legislation has been slow to catch up and establish clear guidelines; still, wrongful use of NFTs can implicate an array of criminal charges.

Money Laundering refers to the illegal process of concealing the origins of money obtained through criminal activities, making it appear as if it comes from a legitimate source. This is criminalized under 18 U.S.C. § 1956. Money laundering using NFTs involves the illicit use of these digital assets to disguise the origins of illegally obtained funds. In this context, individuals create a fake record of sales on the blockchain by selling NFTs to themselves using different accounts. Once finished, they sell the NFT to an unsuspecting buyer and repeat the process.

Fraud has grown increasingly common in the crypto landscape due to its anonymous and decentralized nature. Fraud involving NFTs can manifest in various ways due to the unique characteristics of these digital assets. This is mostly being prosecuted as wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1343. Some common forms of fraud associated with NFTs include:

Under 18 U.S.C. § 3564(c), a federal court may modify or terminate a term of probation, or supervised release, that has been previously imposed. For a federal misdemeanor, a term of probation can be modified or terminated at any time. For felonies, however, the defendant must have completed at least one year of their federal probation before the Court may modify or terminate the sentence.

In deciding whether to terminate probation early, the Court will consider the factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. 3553(a). The 3553(a) factors include: the nature and circumstances of the offense, the history and characteristics of the defendant, the need for the sentence imposed to reflect the seriousness of the offense, to promote respect for the law, and to provide just punishment for the offense, the need for the sentence imposed to afford adequate deterrence to criminal conduct, the need for the sentence imposed to protect the public from further crimes of the defendant, the need for the sentence imposed to provide the defendant with needed educational or vocational training, medical care, or other correctional treatment, and the need for the sentence imposed to avoid unwarranted sentence disparities among defendants with similar records who have been found guilty of similar conduct.

After a defendant files a petition to have their sentence modified or terminated, it is the Judge’s decision whether probation should be terminated early. This judge will often be the same judge that imposed the original sentence. In most cases, judges deny requests; however, certain factors can strengthen a defendant’s request for early termination of probation. Overall, to successfully terminate a term of probation, the defendant must show that they have earned it through good conduct, and it would be in the interests of justice.

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