Planned pardon of Hernández, convicted for cocaine trafficking, comes before the country’s election.
José de Córdoba
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Tag: Financial Crime
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Trump to Pardon Honduran Ex-President Serving 45-Year Drug Sentence
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Opinion | Ukraine Corruption and U.S. Interests
Another corruption scandal is roiling Ukraine, and there’s no denying corruption exists there as it does in most of the former Soviet states. The question is whether this should override U.S. strategic interests in supporting Ukraine, especially if there are reasonable safeguards against the theft of U.S. assistance.
President Volodymr Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, resigned Friday after corruption authorities conducted a search at his home.. He said in a Telegram post he is cooperating with investigators, but his resignation comes as the Kremlin and Trump Administration are raising the pressure on Ukraine to cede territory to Russia. Mr. Yermak has been Ukraine’s toughest negotiator in peace talks, holding out against bad ideas.
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The Editorial Board
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Zelensky’s Top Aide Resigns as Corruption Probe Deepens
The departure of Ukraine’s top negotiator—the president’s right-hand man Andriy Yermak—comes at a pivotal moment for the country.
Ian Lovett
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Exclusive | Iranian Funds for Hezbollah Are Flowing Through Dubai
Iran has sent the Lebanese militia Hezbollah hundreds of millions of dollars over the past year via money exchanges and other businesses in Dubai, as Tehran seeks new ways to funnel money to its ally, people familiar with the matter said.
Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated terrorist group, is in desperate need of funds to rebuild and rearm its militia and pay other costs stemming from its bruising fight with Israel last year, the people said. Its smuggling routes through Syria were disrupted by the fall of the Iran-aligned Assad regime a year ago, and Lebanese authorities have made strides cracking down on couriers bringing suitcases of cash through the Beirut airport.
Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Dov Lieber
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Latest Push for Peace Is Zelensky’s Toughest Moment Since Start of War
The Ukrainian leader is trying to prepare his people for “a very difficult choice” after almost four years of full-scale conflict with Russia.
Ian Lovett
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A Mayor’s Assassination Reignites Mexico’s Debate Over Confronting Cartels
MEXICO CITY—Since taking office last year as mayor of Uruapan, Carlos Manzo often led police raids wearing his bulletproof vest and cowboy hat to fulfill his mandate to end endemic extortion in the avocado capital of the world.
The 40-year-old Manzo knew that the criminal gangs he confronted had more resources and superior weaponry. He was gunned down on Saturday as he officiated a candle-lighting ceremony for Day of the Dead, one of the main religious festivities in Mexico’s western Michoacán state.
Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
José de Córdoba
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With Sarkozy in Prison, France Asks: Has the Judiciary Gone Too Far?
PARIS—French courts have delivered one shock ruling after another this year, testing the balance of power between the country’s fiercely independent judiciary and its political leadership.
In March, a court banned far-right leader Marine Le Pen from running for office for five years after finding her guilty of embezzling European Union funds. Then, on Tuesday, conservative Nicolas Sarkozy became the first former president to see the inside of a prison cell, after judges sentenced him to five years for conspiring to obtain campaign funds from Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi.
Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Stacy Meichtry
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The Man Threatening Viktor Orbán’s 15-Year Grip on Hungary
OROSZLÁNY, Hungary—Jabbing his finger at a life-size cardboard cutout of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Péter Magyar wooed the voters of this coal-mining town with a feisty speech about corruption and economic decline.
Magyar, Orbán’s main rival in next year’s pivotal election, mocked him as a mafia boss, a Turkish sultan and Ali Baba with 40 thieves. He concluded with the Russian phrase “Tovarishchi, konetz”—or comrades, it’s over—the motto of the 1990 democratic election that ousted Hungary’s Soviet-installed regime.
Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Yaroslav Trofimov
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Trump Organization Expands in India, Where Many of Its Partners Face Accusations
GURUGRAM, India—When the Trump Organization in April announced another luxury real-estate project in India, Eric Trump gave a shout out to his local partners for helping accelerate the brand’s expansion.
“We’re incredibly excited to launch our second project in Gurgaon,” Eric Trump, who runs day-to-day operations, using the former name for the city near New Delhi. “And even prouder to be doing it once again with our amazing partners.”
Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Rory Jones
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Chinese business dispute allegedly sparked a bizarre U.S. plot with former U.K. and Australian military officials
Two former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies and two former foreign military officials have been charged with threatening a Chinese national and his family with violence and deportation during a sham raid at his Orange County home five years ago, federal prosecutors said Monday.
The four men also demanded $37 million and the rights to the man’s business, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles. Authorities have not released the businessman’s name.
The men were arraigned Monday on charges of conspiracy to commit extortion, attempted extortion, conspiracy against rights, and deprivation of rights under color of law. All pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors said the group drove to the victim’s house in Irvine on June 17, 2019, and forced him, his wife and their two children into a room for hours, took their phones, and threatened to deport him unless he complied with their demands. Authorities said the man is a legal permanent resident.
The men slammed the businessman against a wall and choked him, prosecutors said. Fearing for his and his family’s safety, he signed documents relinquishing his multimillion-dollar interest in Jiangsu Sinorgchem Technology Co. Ltd., a China-based company that makes rubber chemicals.
Federal prosecutors said the man’s business partner, a Chinese woman who was not indicted, financed the bogus raid. The two had been embroiled in legal disputes over the company in the United States and China for more than a decade, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said one of the men charged, Steven Arthur Lankford — who retired from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in 2020 — searched for information on the victim in a national database using a terminal at the sheriff’s department. They said Lankford, 68, drove the other three men to the victim’s house in an unmarked sheriff’s department vehicle, flashed his badge and identified himself as a police officer.
It was not immediately clear if Lankford has an attorney who can speak on his behalf. The Associated Press left a message Monday at a telephone number listed for Lankford, but he did not respond.
Federal prosecutors also charged Glen Louis Cozart, 63, of Upland, who also used to be a sheriff’s deputy. The AP left a phone message for Cozart, but he didn’t immediately respond.
Lankford was hired by Cozart, who in turn was hired by Max Samuel Bennett Turbett, a 39-year-old U.K. citizen and former member of the British military who also faces charges. Prosecutors said Turbett was hired by the Chinese businesswoman who financed the bogus raid.
Matthew Phillip Hart, 41, an Australian citizen and former member of the Australian military, is also charged in the case.
“It is critical that we hold public officials, including law enforcement officers, to the same standards as the rest of us,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “It is unacceptable and a serious civil rights violation for a sworn police officer to take the law into his own hands and abuse the authority of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.”
If convicted, the four men could each face up to 20 years in federal prison.
Recommended Newsletter: CEO Daily provides key context for the news leaders need to know from across the world of business. Every weekday morning, more than 125,000 readers trust CEO Daily for insights about–and from inside–the C-suite. Subscribe Now.John Antczak, The Associated Press
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Europol Claims That Bitcoin Remains Top Choice for Criminals
Bitcoin has remained the most used cryptocurrency by criminals, even with the rise of privacy coins like Monero.
According to the recent Europol Internet Organized Crime Threat Assessment report, financial crimes are also still the main illicit crypto use.
Bitcoin’s Popularity with Criminals Sparks Concerns
Bitcoin has been the preferred asset for ransomware groups due to its accessibility for non-savvy users compared to alternatives like Monero (XMR). Despite this, criminals often convert Bitcoin to stablecoins to avoid market volatility, particularly when obtained through investment fraud.
According to the report, the increasing prices of cryptos and media attention have led to a surge in fraudulent investment schemes. Cryptocurrencies, particularly the U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin Tether (USDT) on the Tron (TRX) network, are frequently reported in such schemes, likely due to the network’s low transaction fees.
In addition, altcoin use in illicit activities has surged, with underground banking and crypto debit cards gaining popularity for quick conversion to cash at automated teller machines (ATMs).
There’s also a growing trend of using encrypted messaging apps for cash-to-crypto exchanges, allowing criminals to bypass compliance checks and conceal their identities.
Meanwhile, Europol expressed concerns about the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs, saying they could open new avenues for scammers. Moreover, companies issuing these ETFs hold significant crypto reserves, making them attractive targets for fraudsters.
Monero is Gaining Traction Among Criminals
While Bitcoin remains the preferred crypto for ransomware groups, Europol’s report highlights the rising use of Monero (XMR) as an alternative. Monero’s privacy features make it an optimal choice for criminals looking to conceal their funds.
In January 2024, a significant crypto-jacking operation was uncovered in Ukraine. The operation had covertly mined over €1.8 million ($1.95 million) worth of cryptos. While the scheme primarily focused on mining Monero, it also included Ethereum (ETH) and Toncoin (TON).
The report emphasized that the decentralization inherent in Web3, blockchain technology, and peer-to-peer (P2P) networks creates environments conducive to cybercrime. These technologies enable transactions to be conducted anonymously and beyond the reach of authorities. Europol warned that as these decentralized systems continue to evolve, they will increasingly facilitate cybercriminal activities.
Europol noted law enforcement’s challenges in tracking and prosecuting such activities, especially when virtual asset service providers are non-compliant and offshore-based. This is due to privacy laws, especially concerning end-to-end encryption (E2EE) communication platforms, which prevent law enforcement agencies from accessing any criminal communications.
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Wayne Jones
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US Treasury Probes $165M Crypto Transactions Linked to Hamas Support: Report
According to a recent report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the U.S. Treasury Department is investigating $165 million worth of cryptocurrency transactions that might have supported Hamas, the Palestinian militant group.
Deputy Treasury Secretary Adewale Adeyemo signed a letter revealing these findings based on examining suspicious activity reports submitted between January 2020 and October 2023.
Treasury Deputy Pushes for Legislation
Adeyemo’s letter, addressed to the leaders of the Senate Banking and House Financial Services Committees, urged support for legislation to expand the Treasury Department’s oversight authority over crypto transactions.
It noted that the $165 million figure might not solely be attributed to crypto or Hamas, as financial institutions may have reported the total value of a customer’s transactions, including both traditional and digital assets, as being linked to Hamas, even if only a fraction of the reported activity was connected to the group.
Adeyemo expressed concerns that terrorist groups like Hamas might increasingly turn to cryptocurrencies for financing as traditional financial access is cut off. However, he acknowledged that the Treasury Department assesses Hamas and other terrorists’ preference for traditional financial products and services.
Over 200 Addresses Suspected of Involvement
According to the investigation by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), it has been identified that more than 200 cryptocurrency addresses could be linked to these transactions. The Treasury Department is currently engaged in an ongoing evaluation of the potential risks associated with cryptocurrencies and such services.
The focus of the Treasury Department’s investigation was on transactions registered with U.S. institutions that might have supported Hamas before its October 7 attack against Israel. FinCEN’s letter suggests that the reported use of cryptocurrency by the militant group may be exaggerated, though the precise amount remains unknown.
U.S. lawmakers have long been discussing crypto’s role in terrorist financing to sanction Hamas. Previously, a group of lawmakers led by House leaders requested President Joe Biden for more data on Hamas’s use of crypto through a letter.
It raised serious concerns about Hamas’s ability to use digital assets to finance its operations, citing reports indicating that about $41 million and about $93 million were linked to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad between August 2021 and June 2023. However, it remains unclear how much of the identified digital assets are accessible to or remain in the possession of Hamas.
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Hunter Biden indicted on 9 tax charges, adding to gun charges in special counsel probe
WASHINGTON — Hunter Biden was indicted on nine tax charges in California on Thursday as a special counsel investigation into the business dealings of President Joe Biden’s son intensifies against the backdrop of the looming 2024 election.
The new charges — three felonies and six misdemeanors — are in addition to federal firearms charges in Delaware alleging Hunter Biden broke laws against drug users having guns in 2018. They come after the implosion of a plea deal over the summer that would have spared him jail time.
Hunter Biden “spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills,” special counsel David Weiss said in a statement. The charges are centered on at least $1.4 million in taxes Hunter Biden owed during between 2016 and 2019, a period where he has acknowledged struggling with addiction. The back taxes have since been paid.
If convicted, Hunter Biden could face up to 17 years in prison. The special counsel probe remains open, Weiss said.
In a fiery response, defense attorney Abbe Lowell accused Weiss of “bowing to Republican pressure” in the case.
“Based on the facts and the law, if Hunter’s last name was anything other than Biden, the charges in Delaware, and now California, would not have been brought,” Lowell said in a statement.
The White House declined to comment on Thursday’s indictment, referring questions to the Justice Department or Hunter Biden’s personal representatives.
The charging documents filed in California, where he lives, details spending on everything from drugs and girlfriends to luxury hotels and exotic cars, “in short, everything but his taxes,” prosecutor Leo Wise wrote.
The indictment comes as congressional Republicans pursue an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, claiming he was engaged in an influence-peddling scheme with his son. The House is expected to vote next week on formally authorizing the inquiry.
No evidence has emerged so far to prove that Joe Biden, in his current or previous office, abused his role or accepted bribes, though questions have arisen about the ethics surrounding the Biden family’s international business.
The criminal investigation led by Weiss has been open since 2018, and was expected to wind down with the plea deal that Hunter Biden had planned to strike with prosecutors over the summer. He would have pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor tax evasion charges and would have entered a separate agreement on the gun charge, getting two years of probation rather than jail time.
It was pilloried as a “sweetheart deal” by Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, who is facing criminal charges in multiple cases.
The agreement also contained immunity provisions, and defense attorneys have argued that they remain in force since that part of the agreement was signed by a prosecutor before the deal was scrapped.
Prosecutors disagree, pointing out the documents weren’t signed by a judge and are invalid.
After the deal fell apart, prosecutors filed three federal gun charges alleging that Hunter Biden had lied about his drug use to buy a gun that he kept for 11 days in 2018. Federal law bans gun possession by “habitual drug users,” though the measure is seldom seen as a stand-alone charge and has been called into question by a federal appeals court.
The defense is planning to push next week for dismissal of the “unprecedented and unconstitutional” gun charges, Lowell said.
Hunter Biden’s longstanding struggle with substance abuse had worsened during that period after the death of his brother Beau Biden in 2015, prosecutors wrote in a draft plea agreement filed in court in Delaware.
He still made “substantial income” in 2017 and 2018, including $2.6 million in business and consulting fees from a company he formed with the CEOs of a Chinese business conglomerate and the Ukrainian energy company Burisma, but did not pay his taxes on a total of about $4 million in personal income during that period, prosecutors said in the scuttled Delaware plea agreement.
He did eventually file his taxes in 2020 and the back taxes were paid by a “third party” the following year, prosecutors said.
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Here’s why you might not have to pay a 6% commission next time you sell a home
Going back decades, if you wanted to buy or sell a stock on the open market, you had to pay a 2% commission to buy and a 2% commission to sell. Then the advent of discount brokerage, led by Charles Schwab Corp.
SCHW,
+1.64% ,
made lower commissions available until eventually, with improved technology and efficiency, the entire industry changed to enable the average investor to avoid commissions completely.But the internet hasn’t done much to reduce the cost of selling a home in the U.S. Sellers typically pay a 6% commission to a real-estate agent to list and sell a home, with the seller’s agent splitting that commission with the buyer’s agent. But all of that may change because of a verdict this week in a class-action lawsuit in federal court against the National Association of Realtors.
Aarthi Swaminathan covers the case, what may happen next and the implications for home sellers and buyers:
Real-estate advice from the Moneyist
MarketWatch illustration
Quentin Fottrell — the Moneyist — works with three readers to answer tricky real-estate questions:
Economic outlook
On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell may have bolstered the case that the central bank is finished raising interest rates for this economic cycle. The federal-funds rate was left in its target range of 5.25% to 5.50%.
Jon Gray, the president of Blackstone Group, spoke with MarketWatch Editor in Chief Mark DeCambre and said he expected the Fed to succeed in bringing down inflation without pushing the U.S. economy into a deep recession.
Friday employment numbers: Jobs report shows 150,000 new jobs in October as U.S. labor market cools
Bond-market trend switches again
The U.S. Treasury yield curve has been inverted for nearly a year.
FactSet
Normally, longer-term bonds have higher yields than those with short maturities. But the yield curve has been inverted for nearly a year, with 3-month U.S. Treasury bills
BX:TMUBMUSD03M
having higher yields than 10-year Treasury notes
BX:TMUBMUSD10Y.There has been elevated demand for long-term bonds, as investors have anticipated a recession and a reversal in Federal Reserve interest-rate policy. When interest rates decline, bond prices rise and vice versa.
As you can see on the chart above, the yield curve was narrowing until mid-October. Yields on 10-year Treasury notes were close to 5% on Oct. 19, but they have been falling the past several days as the three-month yield has remained close to 5.5%.
In this week’s ETF Wrap, Christine Idzelis reports on where all the money is flowing in the bond market.
In the Bond Report, Vivien Lou Chen summarizes the action as investors react to the Federal Reserve’s decision not to change its federal-funds-rate target range this week and to other economic news.
For income-seekers looking to avoid income taxes, here’s a deep dive into municipal bonds, with taxable-equivalent yields and a deeper look at those within four high-tax states.
Ford’s good news — in the bond market
Ford Motor Co.’s debt rating has been lifted by S&P to investment-grade.
Getty Images
Ford Motor Co.’s
F,
+4.14%
credit rating was upgraded to an investment-grade rating by Standard & Poor’s on Monday. This takes about $67 billion in bonds out of the high-yield, or “junk,” market, as Ciara Linnane reports.A stock-market warning based on history
The original Magnificent Seven.
Courtesy Everett Collection
By now you have probably heard the term “Magnificent Seven” used to describe stocks of the tremendous tech-oriented companies that have led this year’s rally for the S&P 500
SPX
: Apple Inc.
AAPL,
-0.52% ,
Microsoft Corp.
MSFT,
+1.29% ,
Amazon.com Inc.
AMZN,
+0.38% ,
Nvidia Corp.
NVDA,
+3.45% ,
Alphabet Inc.
GOOGL,
+1.26% GOOG,
+1.39% ,
Meta Platforms Inc.
META,
+1.20%
and Tesla Inc.
TSLA,
+0.66% .
With Tesla’s recent decline, that company is now the ninth-largest holding in the portfolio of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust
SPY,
which tracks the benchmark index. Here are the top 10 companies held by SPY (11 stocks, including two common-share classes for Alphabet), with total returns through Thursday:Company Ticker % of SPY portfolio 2023 total return 2022 total return Total return since end of 2021 Apple Inc. AAPL,
-0.52% 7.2% 37% -26% 1% Microsoft Corp. MSFT,
+1.29% 7.1% 46% -28% 5% Amazon.com Inc. AMZN,
+0.38% 3.5% 64% -50% -17% Nvidia Corp. NVDA,
+3.45% 3.0% 198% -50% 48% Alphabet Inc. Class A GOOGL,
+1.26% 2.1% 44% -39% -12% Meta Platforms Inc. Class A META,
+1.20% 1.9% 158% -64% -8% Alphabet Inc. Class C GOOG,
+1.39% 1.8% 45% -39% -11% Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Class B BRK.B,
+0.80% 1.8% 13% 3% 17% Tesla Inc. TSLA,
+0.66% 1.7% 77% -65% -38% UnitedHealth Group Inc. UNH,
-0.98% 1.4% 2% 7% 9% Eli Lilly and Company LLY,
-2.15% 1.3% 60% 34% 115% Sources: FactSet, State Street (for SPY holdings) Five of these stocks (including the two Alphabet share classes) are still down from the end of 2021. SPY itself has returned 14% this year, following an 18% decline in 2022. It is still down 7% from the end of 2021.
Mark Hulbert makes the case that a decade from now, the Magnificent Seven are unlikely to be among the largest companies in the stock market.
More from Hulbert: These dividend stocks and ETFs have healthy yields that can lift your portfolio
A different market opportunity: India is seeing a multidecade growth surge. Here’s how you can invest in it.
The MarketWatch 50
MarketWatch
The MarketWatch 50 series is back, with articles and video interviews starting this week, including:
PayPal soars after earnings report
PayPal CEO Alex Chriss.
MarketWatch/PayPal
After the market close on Wednesday, PayPal Holdings Inc.
PYPL,
+1.89%
announced quarterly results that came in ahead of analysts’ expectations, and the stock soared 7% on Thursday even though the company lowered its target for improving its operating margin.In the Ratings Game column, Emily Bary reports on the positive reaction to PayPal’s new CEO, Alex Chriss.
A less enthusiastic earnings reaction: EV-products maker BorgWarner’s stock suffers biggest drop in 15 years after downbeat sales outlook
Consumers drive mixed reactions to earnings results
Apple Inc. reported mixed quarterly results.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
Here’s more of the latest corporate financial results and reactions. First the good news:
And now the news that may not be so good:
Harsh verdict for SBF
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
AP
It might seem that some legal battles never end, but it took only a year from the collapse of FTX for the cryptocurrency exchange’s founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, to be convicted on all seven federal fraud and money-laundering charges brought against him. The charges were connected to the disappearance of $8 billion from FTX customer accounts.
Here’s more reaction and coverage of the virtual-currency industry:
Want more from MarketWatch? Sign up for this and other newsletters to get the latest news and advice on personal finance and investing.
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WSJ News Exclusive | Xi Jinping Is Looking for Someone to Blame for China’s Property Bust
Updated Oct. 26, 2023 12:05 am ET
With China’s property bust threatening to sink the country’s economic recovery, Xi Jinping is looking for someone to blame.
After putting the billionaire founder of Evergrande, a heavily indebted property firm, under investigation for possible crimes, Beijing is expanding its probes to include bankers and financial institutions that facilitated developers’ risky behavior, people familiar with the matter say.
Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
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Sen. Menendez of New Jersey and wife indicted on bribery charges as probe finds $100,000 in gold bars, prosecutors say
U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and his wife were indicted Friday on bribery charges after an investigation that turned up $100,000 in gold bars and $480,000 in hidden cash at their home, prosecutors said.
Federal prosecutors announced the charges against the 69-year-old Democrat nearly six years after an earlier criminal case against him ended with a deadlocked jury. They said a search of Bob Menendez’s home turned up $100,000 in gold bars and $480,000 in hidden cash.
The latest indictment is unrelated to the earlier charges that alleged Menendez accepted lavish gifts to pressure government officials on behalf of a Florida doctor.
The Senate Historical Office says Menendez appears to be the first sitting senator in U.S. history to have been indicted on two unrelated criminal allegations.
A lawyer for Menendez’s wife hasn’t responded to a message seeking comment. Messages were left for Menendez’s Senate spokesperson and his political consultant.
The first time Menendez was indicted, he had been accused of using his political influence to help a Florida eye doctor who had lavished him with gifts and campaign contributions.
The new charges follow a years-long investigation that examined, among other things, the dealings of a New Jersey businessman — a friend of Menendez’s wife — who secured sole authorization from the Egyptian government to certify that meat imported into that country meets Islamic dietary requirements.
Investigators also asked questions about the Menendez family’s interactions with a New Jersey developer.
Menendez’s political career had looked as though it might be over in 2015, when a federal grand jury in New Jersey indicted him on multiple charges over favors he did for a friend, Dr. Salomon Melgen.
Menendez was accused of pressuring government officials to resolve a Medicare billing dispute in Melgen’s favor, securing visas for the doctor’s girlfriends and helping protect a contract the doctor had to provide port-screening equipment to the Dominican Republic.
Menendez has always maintained his innocence. His lawyers said campaign contributions and gifts from Melgen — which included trips on his private jet to a resort in the Dominican Republic and a vacation in Paris — were tokens of their longtime friendship, not bribes.
Prosecutors dropped the case after a jury deadlocked in November 2017 on charges including bribery, fraud and conspiracy, and a judge dismissed some counts.
The Senate Ethics Committee later rebuked Menendez, finding that he had improperly accepted gifts, failed to disclose them and then used his influence to advance Melgen’s personal interests.
But months later, New Jersey voters returned Menendez to the Senate. He defeated a well-financed challenger in a midterm election that broke a Republican lock on power in Washington.
Melgen was convicted of health care fraud in 2017 but former President Donald Trump commuted his prison sentence.
Menendez is widely expected to run for reelection next year.
The son of Cuban immigrants, Menendez has held public office continuously since 1986, when he was elected mayor of Union City, New Jersey. He was a state legislator and spent 14 years in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2006, Gov. Jon Corzine appointed Menendez to the Senate seat he vacated when he became governor.
At least two other senators — Kay Bailey Hutchinson, R-Texas; Richard Kenney, D-Delaware — were indicted on multiple occasions while still in office, but each senator’s indictments covered overlapping allegations, according to the Senate Historical Office.
Neither Kenney nor Hutchinson were ultimately convicted, and both went on to serve their full terms. In total, 13 senators have been indicted throughout history, of which six have been convicted, according to the Senate Historical Office. Two of those convictions were overturned.
Menendez first publicly disclosed that he was the subject of a new federal investigation last October.
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Republican Texas AG Ken Paxton is acquitted of all 16 corruption charges at impeachment trial
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was acquitted Saturday of all charges at a historic impeachment trial that divided Republicans over whether to remove a powerful defender of former President Donald Trump after years of scandal and criminal charges.
The verdict reaffirmed Paxton’s durability in America’s biggest red state and is a broader victory for Texas’ hard right after an extraordinary trial that put on display fractures within the GOP nationally heading into the 2024 elections. In the end, Paxton was fully cleared by Senate Republicans, who serve alongside his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton.
Angela Paxton was not allowed to vote. But she attended all two weeks of the trial, including the reading of the verdict, when all but two of her fellow 18 Republican senators consistently voted to acquit her husband on 16 impeachment articles that accused him of misconduct, bribery and corruption. Ken Paxton, who was absent for most of the proceedings, did not attend the verdict.
It clears the way for Paxton to reclaim his role as Texas’ top lawyer, more than three months after his stunning impeachment in the Texas House forced him to temporarily step aside.
The outcome far from ends Paxton’s troubles. He still faces trial on felony securities fraud charges, remains under a separate FBI investigation and is in jeopardy of losing his ability to practice law in Texas because of his baseless attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
The jury of 30 senators spent about eight hours deliberating behind closed doors before emerging for the historic vote. A two-thirds majority is required to convict Paxton on any of the charges that accuse Paxton of bribery, corruption and unfitness for office.
The trial has plunged Texas Republicans into unfamiliar waters as they confronted whether Paxton should be removed over allegations that he abused his office to protect a political donor who was under FBI investigation.
For nearly a decade, Paxton has elevated his national profile by rushing his office into polarizing courtroom battles across the U.S., winning acclaim from Donald Trump and the GOP’s hard right.
The case centered on accusations that Paxton misused his office to help one of his donors, Austin real estate developer Nate Paul, who was indicted in June on charges of making false statements to banks. Paul has pleaded not guilty.
Eight of Paxton’s former deputies reported him to the FBI in 2020, setting off a federal investigation that will continue regardless of the verdict. Federal prosecutors investigating Paxton took testimony in August before a grand jury in San Antonio , according to two people with knowledge of the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because of secrecy rules around the proceeding.
One of the impeachment articles centered on an alleged extramarital affair Paxton had with Laura Olson, who worked for Paul. It allegeed that Paul’s hiring of Olson amounted to a bribe.
Paxton faces an array of legal troubles beyond the impeachment. Besides the federal investigation for the same allegations that gave rise to his impeachment, he also faces a bar disciplinary proceeding over his effort to overturn the 2020 election and has yet to stand trial on state securities fraud charges dating to 2015. He pleaded not guilty in the state case, but his lawyers have said removal from office might open the door to a plea agreement.
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Trouble in paradise: Shock guilty plea roils case of yoga gurus charged with stealing millions from bipolar Malibu doctor
Their shared hippie spirit brought them together over a vegan potluck dinner, but the prospect of years in federal prison for allegedly stealing millions from a mentally-ill Malibu doctor, has driven a wedge between them.
A federal fraud prosecution against a pair of yoga gurus accused of siphoning cash from Dr. Mark Sawusch’s $60 million fortune took a significant turn at the end of August when one pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against the other, her ex-boyfriend, according to court documents and people familiar with the matter.
Anna Moore’s guilty plea before a federal judge in Los Angeles on Aug. 28 represents a serious legal challenge to her longtime partner, Anthony Flores, who faces decades behind bars if convicted in the case. Flores pleaded not guilty after his arrest in January.
Details of Moore’s agreement with federal prosecutors remain under seal, but people familiar with the matter say her ultimate sentence in the case will largely be determined after her level of cooperation is evaluated. A sentencing hearing for Moore was set for Nov. 6.
“We are aware of Ms. Moore’s decision to plead guilty. Obviously this changes Mr. Flores’ legal situation in the case, and we are currently reviewing our options,” Flores’ attorney Ambrosio Rodriguez said.
Messages left with Moore’s attorney weren’t immediately returned. A spokesman for the U.S attorney’s office for the central district of California declined to comment.
The tragic end to Sawusch’s life began on June 23, 2017, when the brilliant, but troubled, ophthalmologist met Flores and Moore in a chance encounter at a vegan ice cream parlor in Venice Beach, Calif.
Flores, who went by Anton David, was a guru-esque figure with long, flowing hair and a beard. He worked as a hair stylist on film shoots. Moore, a pixie-like blond, was an actress and singer. The couple had met years earlier at a vegan potluck dinner and had fallen in love over what they described as a shared hippie spirit. Together, they ran a yoga center in Fresno, Calif., while going back-and-forth to L.A.
Their spiritual vibe cast a spell on Sawusch, who had just days earlier been released from a mental health facility, where he had been committed after suffering a breakdown, court filings said. Within a week, Flores and Moore had moved into Sawusch’s multi-million dollar beachfront home in Malibu, Calif., federal prosecutors said.
Over the next year, the pair gained increasingly firm control over the doctor’s life and finances, with Flores establishing power of attorney over Sawusch’s vast fortune while plying him with a steady diet of marijuana and LSD as he also underwent experimental ketamine treatments for his bipolar disorder that left him addled, investigators said.
Sawusch later died in May 2018 of a lethal mixture of ketamine and alcohol, according to a coroner’s report. The Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office ruled the death an accident.
In her guilty plea, Moore said she was not immediately aware of the scope of Flores’ alleged efforts to steal the doctor’s money, but admitted that following Sawusch’s death she participated in a later effort in probate court to keep the stolen money. Prosecutors have alleged that this was a separate fraud.
When Sawusch’s family sought to take control of his estate, they discovered that almost $3 million had been transferred from his accounts to ones controlled by Flores in the days before and after the doctor’s death, federal prosecutors said.
Sawusch’s family launched a civil lawsuit against the yogi couple and convinced a California state judge to issue a restraining order freezing Flores’ and Moores’ accounts, and order they return the money. Instead, federal prosecutors say, the two engaged in a second fraud by making false claims in probate court that Sawusch had verbally told them he would give them a third of his fortune plus his Malibu beach house.
The couple claimed that the doctor had given them the money in return for them taking care of him and as part of an effort to protect his fortune from his family, from whom he was estranged. The family said those claims were untrue and that the pair had kept Sawusch isolated from his friends and family.
Eventually, the couple returned around $2 million of the doctor’s money, but around $1 million remained unaccounted for, according to federal prosecutors.
Flores and Moore broke up during the pandemic after nearly a decade together. Moore moved to Mexico while Flores remained in Fresno, where he was arrested in late January. Moore was arrested at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston upon her return to the U.S. around the same time. Both have been held without bail since.
Read the series:
Part 4: Money, mania and LSD: A Malibu doctor’s tragic final weeks under yoga gurus’ sway
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Donald Trump’s mug shot, the new face of American political scandal
Former President Donald Trump has been charged with a litany of crimes over the past several months, but his status as defendant-in-chief has now been immortalized by a mug shot.
For those who believe Trump broke the law by arranging hush-money payments to a porn star, stealing classified documents, instigating a riot and trying to steal the 2020 election, the photo serves as a symbol of his criminal behavior. To the people who see Trump as the victim of politically-motivated prosecutions, the image signals that the nation’s legal system has been compromised by partisanship.
Either way, Trump’s mug shot marks a new era for American political scandal.
Read more: Trump surrenders, is booked in Georgia election-interference case
Of course, Trump joins a long list of American politicians who have found themselves facing prosecution.
From the founding of the republic to the current day, politicians being accused of wrongdoing has been an American tradition. The scope of cases runs across the political spectrum and the charges have ranged from sex scandals to bribery.
Trump’s summer of scandal began in New York, where Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged him with campaign-finance violations, claiming the former president made hush-money payments to a porn star and Playboy bunny to bury their stories of having had affairs with him. He was then hit with federal charges of illegally withholding classified documents at his Florida mansion after leaving office and for illegally working to disrupt the formal counting of the votes in Congress that confirmed his loss in the 2020 election.
But it took until Trump’s fourth indictment on state charges in Georgia, alleging that he and 18 others conspired to illegally overturn the 2020 election in which he narrowly lost the state to Biden, for a mugshot to formally appear.
Here’s a list of some recent, well-known politicians who have been arrested:
Rod Blagojevich
(U.S. Marshals Service)
Blagojevich served as the Democratic governor of Illinois from 2003 until 2009 when he was arrested, impeached and eventually sentenced to 14 years in prison for corruption.
The case revolved around a “pay-for-play” scandal in which Blagojevich solicited a bribe in return for appointing someone to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama after he’d been elected president.
Blagojevich was released in 2020 after Trump commuted his sentence.
John Edwards
(U.S. Marshals Service)
The former Democratic vice presidential and presidential candidate was indicted in 2011 on charges that he used campaign money to cover up an extramarital affair and to pay to support a child that was born as a result. Edwards wasn’t convicted but the revelation that he had an affair while his wife was dying of cancer ended his political career.
Tom DeLay
(Harris County Sheriff’s Office)
The onetime Republican House majority leader was indicted in 2005 by a Texas grand jury on campaign-finance and money-laundering charges. He stepped down as House speaker and opted not to seek reelection the following year. He was eventually convicted and sentenced to three years in prison but had the case overturned on appeal.
John Mitchell
(U.S. Marshals Service)
The U.S. attorney general under President Richard Nixon served 19 months in prison for his role in helping plan and orchestrate the break-in of the Democratic Party’s national headquarters at the Watergate Hotel. The scandal would lead to Nixon’s resignation in 1974.
Dennis Hastert
(Lake County Sheriff’s Office)
The Republican speaker of the House of Representatives from 1999 until 2007 was later sentenced to 15 months in prison for sexually abusing young boys while working as a high school teacher and coach in his home state of Illinois. At the time of his conviction in 2015, Hastert was the highest-ranking U.S. politician to ever be sentenced to prison time.
