Article: California readies to prevent blackouts, but threats remain

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California readies to prevent blackouts, but threats remain

ADAM BEAM, 19 May 2021

California’s top energy regulators on Tuesday said the state is better prepared to avoid last summer’s rotating blackouts, but they cautioned the power grid of the nation’s most populous state is still vulnerable to extreme heat waves that could force more outages later this year.

State officials say they have acquired an additional 3,500 megawatts of capacity ahead of a likely scorching summer that threatens to increase demand beyond what the grid can handle. That includes an additional 2,000 megawatts of batteries designed to store energy generated from renewable sources — like solar — that stop working when it gets dark.

In general, one megawatt of energy is enough to power hundreds of homes, depending on how it is generated. Continue reading “Article: California readies to prevent blackouts, but threats remain”

Article: Irvine Man Arrested on Federal Grand Jury Indictment Alleging He Fraudulently Obtained $5 Million in COVID-Relief PPP Loans

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Irvine Man Arrested on Federal Grand Jury Indictment Alleging He Fraudulently Obtained $5 Million in COVID-Relief PPP Loans

Department of Justice, 07 May 2021

SANTA ANA, California – An Orange County man was arrested today on federal charges alleging he fraudulently obtained approximately $5 million in Payment Protection Program (PPP) loans for his sham businesses, then used the money on himself, including purchasing Ferrari, Bentley and Lamborghini sports cars.

Mustafa Qadiri, 38, of Irvine, was named in a federal grand jury indictment returned Wednesday charging him with four counts of bank fraud, four counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and six counts of money laundering.

Qadiri surrendered to law enforcement this morning and is expected to make his initial appearance this afternoon in United States District Court in Santa Ana. Continue reading “Article: Irvine Man Arrested on Federal Grand Jury Indictment Alleging He Fraudulently Obtained $5 Million in COVID-Relief PPP Loans”

Article: FCC’s Net-Neutrality Proposal Marred by Millions of Fake Comments

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FCC’s Net-Neutrality Proposal Marred by Millions of Fake Comments

James V. Grimaldi, 06 May 2021

Nearly 18 million fake comments were filed with the Federal Communications Commission over its proposal to scale back internet regulation, fueled by both opponents and supporters of the rule, an investigation by the New York attorney general’s office found.

A report by Attorney General Letitia James’s office highlighted companies that specialize in a little-known influence industry that generates made-up comments and often attaches the names of real people caught up in marketing ploys. The 18 million fake comments represented more than 80% of all public comments filed to the FCC on its net-neutrality proposal four years ago. Continue reading “Article: FCC’s Net-Neutrality Proposal Marred by Millions of Fake Comments”

Article: He promised to turn dirt into gold. He got millions of dollars — and prison time

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He promised to turn dirt into gold. He got millions of dollars — and prison time

Amanda Jackson, CNN, 26 April 2021

(CNN) — A Utah man promised investors his business could turn dirt into gold and swindled millions of dollars from them over several years, according to federal officials. Now, he has been sentenced to prison for his role in an $8 million telemarketing fraud scheme.

Marc Tager, 55, is the latest defendant to be sentenced in the scam that started in 2014, according to the Department of Justice. On April 14, he was sentenced to 43 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, money laundering and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Continue reading “Article: He promised to turn dirt into gold. He got millions of dollars — and prison time”

Article: The mania phase, we’re in it

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The mania phase, we’re in it

Chuck Butler, 26 April 2021

Good Day… And a Marvelous Monday to you! Well, did you tune in for the panel discussion that I participated in last Thursday? I thought it went pretty well, and I thoroughly enjoyed doing my bit, that’s for sure! I hadn’t seen Mary Anne and Pamela Aden for a few years, and afterward, I had the thought that maybe they had found the fountain of youth, for they looked the same to me, as they did the last time I saw them in Orlando, years ago! And Omar spoke as well as he writes, which sometimes is a tough trick to pull off… And as far as I’m concerned, I have fun speaking, even more, than I do writing… not that I do either of them very well, but I have fun! Gerry & The Pacemakers greet me this morning with their song: Ferry Across The Mersey… I used to sing this song to Alex when he was a toddler to get him to sleep… Alex is nearing 26 this summer, so that tells you how long ago that was! Continue reading “Article: The mania phase, we’re in it”

Article: Meet The Tiny California Town “Full Of Dirt” That Snagged Elon Musk’s Boring Company

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Meet The Tiny California Town “Full Of Dirt” That Snagged Elon Musk’s Boring Company

TYLER DURDEN, 20 April 2021

Elon Musk is taking his Boring Company circus on the road to Adelanto, California.

Adelanto is a town of 37,000 where the mayor, Gabriel Reyes, works part time and the city manager, Jessie Flores, is the full time chief executive of the city, according to a recent Bloomberg report.

The county supervisor mentioned to Flores recently that Musk’s Boring Company was looking for a place to practice digging tunnels, so Flores reached out. “Steve, we’re the ones you’re looking for. When can we meet?,” Flores texted Boring’s President Steve Davis. Flores suggested meeting at SpaceX’s headquarters, which was about 2 hours away from Adelanto. Continue reading “Article: Meet The Tiny California Town “Full Of Dirt” That Snagged Elon Musk’s Boring Company”

Article: 5 Key Details As Drugmakers Face $50B Opioid Trial In Calif.

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5 Key Details As Drugmakers Face $50B Opioid Trial In Calif.

Jeff Overley, Cara Salvatore and Emily Field, 16 April 2021

Barring last-minute settlements, Johnson & Johnson, Endo Pharmaceuticals and other major drugmakers are poised to go to trial Monday against some of California’s largest counties, which are seeking $50 billion in one of the nation’s oldest opioid-crisis cases.

The West Coast clash centers on now-familiar allegations that pharmaceutical manufacturers — divisions of J&J, Endo, Teva Pharmaceuticals and Allergan PLC — to varying degrees bankrolled pernicious promotional campaigns for prescription painkillers, unleashing a devastating wave of drug dependence and death. Continue reading “Article: 5 Key Details As Drugmakers Face $50B Opioid Trial In Calif.”

Article: Pension Fund Drops Suit Against Tesla Over $1.8B Bond Offer

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Pension Fund Drops Suit Against Tesla Over $1.8B Bond Offer

Rachel Stone, 16 April 2021

A pension fund voluntarily ended its proposed class action against Tesla and its multibillionaire founder, Elon Musk, which claimed the automaker and a group of big banks acting as underwriters misled investors on a $1.8 billion bond offering.

Inter-Local Pension Fund GCC/IBT has bowed out of its securities fraud suit in California federal court following a decision in the Ninth Circuit in March not to rehear a related case, according to a notice filed Thursday. Continue reading “Article: Pension Fund Drops Suit Against Tesla Over $1.8B Bond Offer”

Article: Mass. Regulator Wants Robinhood Barred From State

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Mass. Regulator Wants Robinhood Barred From State

Chris Villani, 15 April 2021

Massachusetts’ top securities regulator said Thursday he wants Robinhood LLC barred from doing business in the Bay State, citing the stock trader’s “cavalier” approach to enticing inexperienced investors into risky bets.

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin is seeking to amend an administrative complaint he filed against the California-based company in December, saying the original fine and change of practices he was seeking was no longer sufficient. That was the first enforcement action brought under the state’s new fiduciary rule, which is stricter than regulations imposed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Continue reading “Article: Mass. Regulator Wants Robinhood Barred From State”

Article: California Department of Justice Secures $5.3 Million Settlement from Artichoke Joe’s Casino In the San Francisco Bay Area

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California Department of Justice Secures $5.3 Million Settlement from Artichoke Joe’s Casino In the San Francisco Bay Area

Sierra Sun Times,  27 March 2021

SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thurday announced a settlement in which Artichoke Joe’s Casino in San Bruno agreed to pay a penalty of $5.3 million for misleading gambling regulators and violating the Bank Secrecy Act, a federal law intended to combat money laundering. The casino is a 51-table cardroom with the eighth largest gross gambling revenue in the state. After the cardroom failed to timely or accurately report an investigation by the federal Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), DOJ’s Bureau of Gambling Control (Bureau) initiated a license disciplinary proceeding against the casino and its owners. Today’s settlement includes the largest agreed-upon penalty in the history of California gambling regulation.

Under California’s Gambling Control Act of 1998, casinos are required to make timely, full, and true disclosure to gambling regulators. The Bureau determined that Artichoke Joe’s Casino was in violation of the law when it failed to accurately report, reveal, or disclose in a timely manner that FinCEN or any other federal agency was examining the casino with respect to the Bank Secrecy Act and that the casino and FinCEN were in negotiations that could result in the casino’s admission of Bank Secrecy Act violations. Later, as part of the settlement reached with FinCEN, the casino admitted to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, and the Bureau amended its allegations to include the admission. Continue reading “Article: California Department of Justice Secures $5.3 Million Settlement from Artichoke Joe’s Casino In the San Francisco Bay Area”

Article: Feds: 2nd Cali Man Laundered $560,000 Stolen From Bergen Man, $285,000 In Gov’t Loan Scheme

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Feds: 2nd Cali Man Laundered $560,000 Stolen From Bergen Man, $285,000 In Gov’t Loan Scheme/strong>

Jerry DeMarco,  27 March 2021

A second California man has been charged in an email scam that cost a Bergen County property owner $560,000 – and there could be more, federal authorities said.

Anthony Debose Hannah, 57, controlled an account where co-conspirator Eric Bullard wired $230,000 of the money, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said.

Bullard, 59, of Los Angeles had hacked an email account at a law firm representing the victim, then wrote to the client with instructions to wire the $560,000 into an escrow account identified as “Eric’s Commercial LLC,” Honig said. Continue reading “Article: Feds: 2nd Cali Man Laundered $560,000 Stolen From Bergen Man, $285,000 In Gov’t Loan Scheme”

Article: Artichoke Joe’s Casino Agrees To Record $5.3 Million Penalty For Misleading Gambling Regulators, Violating Federal Law

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Artichoke Joe’s Casino Agrees To Record $5.3 Million Penalty For Misleading Gambling Regulators, Violating Federal Law

CBSN SF Bay Area,  26 March 2021

SAN BRUNO (AP) — One of California’s more profitable card rooms agreed Thursday to a record $5.3 million penalty for misleading gambling regulators and violating a federal law designed to deter money laundering, the state attorney general’s office said.

Artichoke Joe’s Casino in San Bruno failed to properly report an investigation by the federal Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, leading to the largest agreed-upon penalty in the history of California gambling regulation, officials said.

The state penalty is in addition to a $5 million federal settlement for failing to have an effective anti-money laundering program and failing to report certain suspicious activity between 2009 and 2017, state officials said. That $5 million is also the largest amount assessed against a California card room by federal regulators. Continue reading “Article: Artichoke Joe’s Casino Agrees To Record $5.3 Million Penalty For Misleading Gambling Regulators, Violating Federal Law”

Article: Lessons from the Texas big freeze

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Lessons from the Texas big freeze

Carl Pope, 24 March 2021

The Texas power market caps wholesale prices at an astonishingly high $9,000 per/mwh. When the crisis hit, the computers managing the market price crashed. Regulators then arbitrarily set prices at the peak rate, and left them there for four days, knowing that generators could not provide more power because their facilities were frozen. During the freeze, household daily utility bills of $2,500 and more were incurred by homeowners who had signed up for variable plans, even when for most of the four days they had no power. The City of Denton incurred $300 million in power bills in a week, $2,000 for each of its 15,000 residents.

The power companies maximised their profit from those units that were up and running. By the third week in February, it appeared all the energy companies serving the Texas market had made as much money in 2021 as they had in the previous three years.

“We were able to get super premium prices, that’s going to pay off handsomely like hitting the jackpot,” said Chief Financial Officer Roland Burns of Comstock Resources, a leading Texan energy producer. He later apologised when his remarks hit the headlines. Continue reading “Article: Lessons from the Texas big freeze”

Article: Robinhood ‘Concealed’ Costs Of Trading, Users Say

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Robinhood ‘Concealed’ Costs Of Trading, Users Say

Elise Hansen, 24 March 2021

Securities-trading app Robinhood failed to secure the best possible execution for many of its trades, a practice that according to regulators cost users roughly $34 million, a proposed class of users told a California federal court.

Customers Isaac Landreth and Jaime Marquez alleged Tuesday that they had invested tens of thousands of dollars using Robinhood’s trading platform, but that the company failed to properly explain how it made money and at times gave customers a worse deal than its competitors. Continue reading “Article: Robinhood ‘Concealed’ Costs Of Trading, Users Say”

Article: 180 Life Sciences Corp. CEO James Woody, MD, PhD Issues Letter to Stockholders

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180 Life Sciences Corp. CEO James Woody, MD, PhD Issues Letter to Stockholders

GLOBE NEWSWIRE, 24 March 2021

180 Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ: ATNF, the “Company”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company with its lead indication in Phase 2b/3 clinical trial, focused on the development of novel drugs that fulfill unmet needs in inflammatory diseases, fibrosis and pain, today released the following letter to stockholders from its Chief Executive Officer, Dr. James Woody. Continue reading “Article: 180 Life Sciences Corp. CEO James Woody, MD, PhD Issues Letter to Stockholders”

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