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Court reverses verdict in Calif. baby-selling case
Headline Court News |
2013/06/19 10:50
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A midlevel California appeals court has overturned the conviction of a Salinas man who allegedly tried to sell his 8-month-old baby in a Walmart parking lot.
The state's 6th District Court of Appeal ruled Friday that the judge who originally heard the case gave incomplete instructions to the jury that ultimately convicted 41-year-old Patrick Fousek of child endangerment, The Monterey Herald reports.
Both Fousek and his girlfriend, Samantha Tomasini, were arrested two years ago when two women reported that Fousek had approached them and asked if they wanted to buy his infant daughter for $25. Fousek's lawyers argued during his 2011 trial that the offer had not been serious, but the appeals court said Monterey County prosecutors had presented enough evidence to support a guilty verdict.
But the court, in its unpublished opinion, said Superior Court Judge Pamela Butler should have been told they needed to agree unanimously on the specific act or acts on which they based their verdict. In Fousek's case, that could have been the proposed sale of the baby, the squalid home in which she was being raised, or the fact that Tomasini allegedly breastfed the little girl while high on methamphetamine. |
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Folsom man pleads guilty in $40M investment scam
Headline Court News |
2013/02/04 21:37
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The president of a Northern California financial firm has pleaded guilty to wire fraud in an investment scam that bilked more than 300 people out of roughly $40 million.
Federal prosecutors in Sacramento say Anthony Vassallo and his associates collected about $80 million, returning half to clients to lull them into thinking they were getting a good return on their investment.
The 33-year-old Folsom man pleaded guilty Friday. He could face 16 years in prison under a plea agreement when he is sentenced May 3.
His Equity Investment Management and Trading Inc. promised investors risk-free, 36 percent annual returns, but he put their money into high-risk investments and personal luxuries, including a $103,000 Lexus for his wife.
Investigators say he met many of his victims through the Mormon church. |
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Firm settles with W.Va. AG over mortgage case
Headline Court News |
2012/12/10 23:04
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A Texas law firm has reached an agreement with West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw to resolve a case stemming from a national mortgage settlement.
Officials said Wednesday that Murray LLP has agreed to stop offering services in West Virginia to help homeowners receive benefits from a settlement between lenders and states.
Claim forms already were sent to more than 5,000 West Virginians who lost their homes to foreclosure eligible for payments under the settlement.
McGraw had sued the company earlier this month for allegedly charging fees to consumers for completing the claim form.
Officials say the company has agreed it would not represent or collect payments from West Virginia consumers in relation to the settlement. |
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Illegal immigrant in Fla. fights for law license
Headline Court News |
2012/10/06 16:03
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A Florida man's bid to become the first illegal immigrant to obtain a law license in the United States met skepticism Tuesday from most of the state's Supreme Court justices.
Jose Godinez-Samperio came to the U.S. with his parents on visitors' visas when he was 9 years old, but the family never returned to Mexico. He graduated from New College in Florida, earned a law degree from Florida State University and passed the state bar exam last year.
"He's somebody who has done everything he's supposed to do. He complied with every rule," Godinez-Samperio's attorney and former American Bar Association president Talbot "Sandy" D'Alemberte, said after the hearing.
Godinez-Samperio's case is one of a few across the country. Illegal immigrants in New York and California also want to practice law there.
The Board of Bar Examiners in Florida found no reason to deny the 25-year-old Godinez-Samperio a license but asked the state's high court for guidance, said the board's lawyer, Robert Blythe.
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