A Steptoe blog about civil litigation in the Southern District of New York
In an opinion Friday, Judge Schofield dismissed a RICO complaint alleging that “North Korean hackers stole $101 million from Plaintiff Bangladesh Bank’s New York Federal Reserve account and then transferred and dispersed the money to Defendants’ bank accounts and casinos in the Philippines.”
The central flaw was the lack of a “pattern” of racketeering activity…
In a decision July 24, Judge Schofield dismissed civil RICO claims against the Trump Organization and Trump family members, while allowing the remaining putative class claims to proceed. The case (see our previous coverage here) alleged that Donald J. Trump, the Trump Organization, and members of the Trump family falsely promoted the multi-level-marketing scheme ACN, reaping millions of dollars in secret payments to promote the scheme that led to would-be entrepreneurs losing millions of dollars.
Continue Reading Judge Schofield Trims Claims in Multi-Level Marketing Scheme Class Action Against Trump Organization
A complaint filed today alleges that Donald J. Trump, the Trump Organization, and members of the Trump family falsely promoted the multi-level-marketing scheme ACN, reaping millions of dollars in secret payments to promote the scheme that led to would-be entrepreneurs losing millions of dollars. According to the complaint, the members of the purported class invested in the multi-level-marketing scheme by paying fees and purchasing training sessions that would allow them to sell ACN’s products (which included an obsolete “video phone”). ACN events featured prominent Trump endorsements of the scheme, allegedly without revealing that Trump was being compensated for his endorsement or that investing in the scheme came with high risk and was unlikely to result in any return to the investors (with costs at some times exceeding returns by a factor of ten to one).
The complaint includes federal RICO claims as well as state law and common law claims.
The plaintiffs are three individuals (and putative class representatives) who have also just filed a motion to proceed under pseudonyms. Their motion begins:
Continue Reading New Complaint Alleges Trump Family Defrauded Would-Be Entrepreneurs Through Multi-Level-Marketing Scheme; Plaintiffs Move to Sue Under Pseudonyms
Today, Judge Castel dismissed RICO claims brought against Alibaba Group Holding by a group of luxury goods makers including Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. The complaint accused Alibaba of providing services and a market platform to merchants that Alibaba should have known were selling counterfeit goods.
Judge Castel specifically considered the plaintiffs’ claims that Alibaba’s online marketplace and the merchants that used it constituted a criminal enterprise under RICO. Judge Castel rejected this argument, holding that lack the coordination necessary to create a RICO enterprise:
Continue Reading Judge Castel Dismisses RICO Claims in Case Over Alibaba Selling Counterfeit Goods
Yesterday, Judge Torres dismissed a putative class action of foreign models against Trump Model Management and two of its officers. The models brought claims under the FLSA, the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), and RICO, alleging that Trump Model Management had recruited them to come to the United States on H-1B visas but then underpaid…
Judge Forrest yesterday granted the defendants’ summary judgment motion in a case accusing FedEx of violating RICO by overcharging for packages based on weight and Canadian customs fees. She found that the plaintiffs had failed to show the necessary “distinctness” between the FedEx affiliate that committed the alleged wrongs and the “enterprise” through which it…
In an opinion today, Judge Koeltl partly dismissed a RICO case accusing a home action company called Concierge of deceiving customers about its “auction results, sales statistics, and track records,” and engaging in “other fraudulent conduct such as using shill bidders, allowing bids from unregistered bidders, and adding a reserve at the last minute.” Judge Koeltl found that Conceirge’s competitor, Grand Estates, lacked standing to bring RICO claims arising from fraud that harmed it only indirectly:
Continue Reading Judge Koeltl Finds No RICO Standing For Claim That Competitor Gained Unfair Advantage by Defrauding Customers
In an opinion today, Judge Seibel dismissed a case alleging that various banks and others in the mortgage industry had violated RICO by improperly foreclosing on the plaintiffs’ homes. Judge Seibel described the allegations as follows:
Continue Reading Judge Seibel Dismisses Foreclosed Homeowners’ RICO Case
