Legal
Sued Over Prediction Markets, Coinbase and Gemini Push Back
New York's Office of the Attorney General sued Coinbase and Gemini in state court Tuesday, charging both companies with operating illegal, unlicensed…
Masthead · Legal Affairs Writer
James Okafor
Washington, D.C. · Joined January 2026
Georgetown Law '18. Chose journalism over practice. Covers DOJ fraud cases, patent wars, and qui tam whistleblower suits. Washington, D.C.
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Stories by James
Legal
PACE Act Cuts 40-State License Requirement for Payment Fintechs
Two House members introduced the Payments Access and Consumer Efficiency (PACE) Act on April 21, giving nonbank payment service providers a federal path to…
Legal
Sued for Price-Fixing, Amazon Faces California AG at July 23 Hearing
California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued Amazon, alleging the company ran a years-long price-fixing scheme that lifted consumer prices across rival retail…
Legal
Ordered to Pay $35K, Key Tronic Executives Doctored Inventory Records
The SEC charged Key Tronic, a contract manufacturer of computer components and medical devices, along with two executives: Brett Larsen, the company's CFO…
Legal
CBP Opens $166B IEEPA Refund Portal, Full Payout Still Uncertain
CBP opened the CAPE portal today, placing 330,000-plus importers in line for a share of $166 billion in IEEPA duties, two months after the Supreme Court…
Legal
Opened: CBP's $127B Tariff Refund Portal; Walmart Owed $10.2B
Following the Supreme Court's February ruling that invalidated tariffs collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, U.S. Customs and…
Legal
Zaglin Drops New Trial Motion, 8-Year FCPA Sentence Stands
Carl Zaglin, convicted of FCPA violations in the Southern District of Florida, has withdrawn his Second Motion for a New Trial — quietly collapsing a bid…
Legal
OCC Hits Federal Savings Bank With Consent Order for Deceptive VA Loan Ads
The OCC issued a consent order against The Federal Savings Bank of Chicago this month, alleging deceptive acts or practices in the bank's advertising to…
Legal
FinCEN Filed NPRM Offering 10-30% Cut to Financial Crime Whistleblowers
FinCEN published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking under 31 U.S.C. § 5323 that would pay whistleblowers 10-30% of monetary sanctions collected in cases…
Legal
Revived: $176.5M Patent Verdict Leaves Lilly to Evaluate Options
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Thursday reinstated the $176.5 million verdict that Teva won in 2022, reviving its claim that Eli Lilly's…
Legal
Huizenga Filed Bill to Sanction DeepSeek Under 1977 Law
If the Deterring American AI Model Theft Act passes, companies like DeepSeek, Moonshot, and MiniMax could face placement on the Commerce Department's Entity…
Legal
FTC Sues NERD Solutions for $8.8M Student Loan Scheme
The FTC sued NERD Solutions Inc., ED REF Inc., and their operators Natalie Rodriguez and Pablo Ortiz in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of…
Legal
Judge Orders Drillmec VP to Forfeit $1,019,757 in PEMEX Bribery Case
Judge David Hittner in the Southern District of Texas ordered Diego Bergonzi to forfeit $1,019,757 earlier this week, the exact proceeds Bergonzi pocketed…
Legal
Judges Dismissed 5 FCPA Cases Over DOJ Misconduct in 26 Trials
Judge Howard Matz called it "an unusual and extreme picture of a prosecution gone badly awry.
Legal
Seventh Circuit Frees 2 ComEd Execs, Orders New Trial
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ordered two former Commonwealth Edison executives released from federal prison hours after oral arguments on the FCPA's…
Legal
Cleared: Judge Hoyt Acquits Rovirosa in FCPA's 4th Post-Trial Win
Judge Kenneth Hoyt of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas dismissed the FCPA indictment against Ramon Alexandro Rovirosa Martinez…
Legal
Treasury Filed First GENIUS Act Rule on $10B Stablecoin State Oversight
Treasury filed its first proposed rule under the GENIUS Act, 12 C.F.R. Parts 1520–1521, setting the standard that determines whether a stablecoin issuer…
Legal
Filed: DOJ Moves to Block Rovirosa Release Before Hoyt's Dismissal
The DOJ asked U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth Hoyt in the Southern District of Texas to stay his forthcoming dismissal order in the foreign bribery…
Legal
FDIC Proposed Stablecoin Framework; 13% of Firms Report Actual Usage
The FDIC this week released its proposed rule under the GENIUS Act, tying stablecoin issuance to reserve integrity, liquidity discipline and custodial…
Legal
CFTC Names 5-Member Task Force for AI and Crypto Rules
The CFTC named five senior advisors to its Innovation Task Force on April 10, setting up a formal rule-writing process for crypto assets, artificial…
Legal
Curb Dollar Stablecoins, Bank of France Tells EU in 3-Point Plan
Denis Beau, first deputy governor of the Bank of France, told EU policymakers at the Eurofi High Level Seminar on March 26 that the Markets in Crypto-Assets…
Legal
Blocked: Arizona Can't Enforce Gambling Laws Against Prediction Markets
A Phoenix federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked Arizona from enforcing its gambling laws against federally regulated prediction markets.
Legal
Ruled Too Late, Mallinckrodt Irish Unit Stays in State Price-Fixing Suit
A Connecticut federal judge ruled Mallinckrodt's Irish unit can't escape a state price-fixing suit after a five-year jurisdictional delay.
Legal
Targets 50-State AI Patchwork: White House Framework Recommends Preemption
The White House released its National Policy Framework for AI on March 20, 2026, calling on Congress to preempt state AI laws that "impose undue burdens.
Legal
FTC Warns PayPal, Stripe, Visa, Mastercard on Debanking
FTC Chairman Ferguson warned PayPal, Stripe, Visa, and Mastercard that debanking customers on political grounds may violate the FTC Act.
Legal
Minnesota AG Enters New Era of Data Privacy Enforcement
Minnesota's attorney general is moving into a new phase of data privacy enforcement, signaling a shift in how the state approaches compliance obligations…
Legal
FinCEN, OFAC File Joint Stablecoin AML Rule Under Genius Act
FinCEN and OFAC filed a joint proposed rule on April 8 to implement AML and sanctions compliance requirements for stablecoin issuers under the Genius Act.
Legal
FinCEN Issued AML Rules That Treat Stablecoin Issuers as Banks
FinCEN and OFAC issued a joint proposed rule on April 8 that would classify stablecoin issuers as financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act.
Legal
Fed Rewrites FedNow's Two-Bank Rule to Allow Cross-Border Transfers
The Fed proposed replacing FedNow's two-bank transfer cap with an intermediary model, opening the platform to cross-border payments for the first time.
Legal
Filed: CFPB Asks D.C. Circuit to Allow 68% Staff Cut to 556
Acting Director Vought's plan would cut CFPB staff from 1,174 to 556 and reduce non-depository exams to 22 a year.
Legal
Trump's 100% Pharma Tariffs Carve Out Half the Industry
Trump's 100% Section 232 pharma tariffs exempt 13 drugmakers, generics, and trade-deal nations. Mid-sized biotechs are most at risk. Exemptions expire 2029.
Legal
DOJ Backs Pharma on 340B, Leaving Safety-Net Hospitals Exposed
The DOJ reversed course to back pharma in the 340B contract pharmacy dispute, leaving safety-net hospitals without a federal ally.
Legal
Trump Signs 100% Tariff Order on Imported Drugs
Trump signed an executive order imposing 100% tariffs on drug imports from countries without U.S. trade deals, effective within months.
