New York City

Published on: July 25, 2012

Court Discussed Pleading Requirements for RICO Allegations

by Stephen Bilkis

Robert Ritchie et al are the respondents in the matter. The appellant in this case is Carvel Corporation. The case is being heard in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Appellate Division, and Second Department.

The appellant is represented by Jeffery A. Klatzkow from Yonkers. The respondents are represented by Herzfield & Rubin, P.C. from New York City. David B. Hamm, Herbert Rubin, Linda M. Brown, and Peter Kurshan are acting as counsel for the respondents.

The case is being heard in front of Thompson, J.P., Balletta, Harwood, and Rosenblatt, JJ.

Published on: September 7, 2011

Doctors in a Bronx hospital threatened with insurance dismissal

by Stephen Bilkis

Several obstetricians at the hospital, which specializing in high-risk pregnancies have been threatened with insurance dismissal by their indemnity provider, a malpractice insurance group.

On February 10, an official letter of warning was sent to 8 of the 13 active doctors of the hospital with the claim that a third party had encouraged the insurance group to not renew coverage for the hospital. A New York Criminal Lawyer notes that according to the letter, the “method of practice” and “practice environment” common to the doctors at the hospital was deemed “predictive of future claims in excess of the norm, and makes insuring you an unreasonable burden to the other policyholders.” The letter had no indication of the details of malpractice on the part of the doctors. However, this is a serious development which has far-reaching consequences for many.

If the insurance of these doctors were suddenly discontinued, surrounding hospitals that also operate in the Bronx area would find themselves unprepared for and overloaded with a massive influx of pregnant women seeking to give birth in their facilities. As observed by a New York Criminal Lawyer, the hospital in question delivers around 2,700 babies a year on average, mostly high-risk in nature. The details of this “high risk” depiction seem to include women who are teenagers, or suffer from medical issues such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Due to these circumstances, the chief medical officer of another hospital in the area was quoted as saying, “We don’t have the capacity currently to handle these babies… I look at it now as a borough-wide problem. We’d have to come together with the other providers to figure out what to do.”

Published on: August 9, 2011

Embezzler Goes Bankrupt in Miami

by Stephen Bilkis

A Des Moines man, formerly the finance director of a business in his hometown, embezzled $1 million from his employer. That is not the end of the story, however. He has now filed for bankruptcy, court records show.

The embezzler worked for several companies, all owned by the same man, and in the course of his work took a great deal of money. Nonetheless, he recently filed for the liquidation of personal debts under the protection of Chapter 7 of the federal bankruptcy code. Chapter 7 allows one who owes a debt to discharge what he owes in exchange for giving up certain property to pay back the debt.

New York Criminal Lawyers have learned the Des Moines man, who called himself unemployed with no income whatsoever, had $203,650 in assets, like a $200,000 home (now foreclosed), and $705,822 in liabilities, which included $165,000 in state taxes and more than $350,000 in credit card debt or other unsecured debt. Fraud cases like this one are common in Queens and New York City.

Published on: August 8, 2011

Alleged $30 Million Insider Trading Charges for Two Men in Washington, DC

by Stephen Bilkis

A senior associate at a major law firm in Washington, D.C. was arrested by the FBI on federal securities fraud charges, according to Manhattan Criminal Lawyers. It may be that it is all tied in to a $30 million plan that involved insider trading regarding pending corporate mergers.

The senior associate will be arraigned in Newark, along with a banker who has been charged with using the illegal information the associate provided. The U.S. Attorney and FBI officials will soon release statements. The attorneys for the accused have yet to make any comment on the matter.

Authorities in the U.S. Attorney’s office say the scheme had been going on for decades. It stole information not only from the firm the associate worked for, but from several other firms at which the associate had previously worked.