Law360 Quotes Manatt Partner on New York's White Collar Crime Task Force

"NY White Collar Panel Aims to Wipe Out Enforcement Hurdles"
Law360

October 26, 2012 - Law360 quoted Manatt's Ronald Blum, a partner in the firm's Corporate Investigations & White Collar Defense Practice, on the changes the new White Collar Crime Task Force in New York is striving to make.

Law360 reports that New York's newly created White Collar Crime Task Force could chart a course toward stronger enforcement of targeting and punishing criminal fraudsters. Despite the state's Martin Act, which allows prosecutors to bring civil fraud claims using a favorable standard of proof, the state-level law enforcement community still feels like it is limited in its prosecuting powers. The task force, which consists of prosecutors, academics and lawyers, aims to find solutions in the next several months.

"It makes sense that the task force is looking at these issues. I don't want to prejudge how things should come out, but it makes sense to me that they're looking," said Blum, a former New York state prosecutor.

Sources said that tying securities fraud penalties under the Martin Act and other laws to the amount of money involved will be at the top of the task force's list of possible changes. Also, being able to tally up harms done against multiple victims under the state's grand larceny law would yield longer prison sentences and create stronger deterrent. Currently, criminals such as penny-stock scammers and online identify thieves do not face stiff penalties, sources said.

"The government has more leverage in persuading people to cooperate if the sentence a person is looking at is longer," Blum said. "One of the effects of lengthening white collar sentences under federal guidelines has been that federal prosecutors have more power to get people to cooperate."

Read the article here.