New York Paralegal Blog

At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a U.S. district court has permanently shut down the illegal operations of a firm that placed bogus charges on the telephone bills of thousands of small businesses and consumers for Internet-related services they never agreed to buy. The court has barred the defendants from charging consumers’ telephone bills and barred them from telemarketing unless they get prior approval from the FTC and the court. It also ordered third parties through which charges were placed, including local exchange telephone companies, or LECs, to return money in escrow to consumers, and ordered the defendants to pay nearly $38 million in restitution for consumers. In January 2010 the FTC sued Inc21, charging that the company hired offshore telemarketers to call prospective clients to sell its Web-based services. The defendants then used LECs to place charges, usually between $12.95 and $39.95 per month, for those services on the phone bills of consumers and busi...

A lawsuit about Paris Hilton's hair? Sounds silly but to some extent it is true. In a complaint filed Monday in federal court in Missouri, Celebrity Signatures alleges that HairTech is infringing its patents, including clip-in hair extensions branded "Clipin-Go by Paris Hilton" and "Dream Catchers." Read more>>

EEOC Says Management Officials Engaged in Race-Based Assignments BALTIMORE - Hi Care, Inc. d/b/a Home Instead Senior Care, which provides home care services for seniors in Anne Arundel and Howard counties illegally engaged in a pattern and practice of race-based assignments of its caregiver employees, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced a lawsuit filed today. In its suit, the EEOC charges that since at least October 2007, Hi Care employed racial coding to identify clients who preferred Caucasians caregivers as “circle dots,” and relied upon such racial coding when assigning caregivers to work. The EEOC asserts that Hi Care catered to the racial preferences of its clients at its Arnold and Ellicott City, Md. offices.

Solid Waste Company Discriminated Against 21 Over-40 Employees, EEOC Charged LAS VEGAS — Republic Services, Inc. and its subsidiary Republic Silver State Disposal, Inc., will pay $2,975,000 and provide other relief to a class of older workers, settling an age discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today. According to the EEOC, Phoenix-based Republic terminated and denied job transfer opportunities to about 21 employees over the age of 40 at its facilities in southern Nevada between 2003 and 2005 because of their age. The list of terminated employees includes garbage collectors, drivers, and supervisors, some of whom were employed by the company for more than 25 years. The EEOC contends that those jobs were then offered to younger employees who were subsequently held to lower performance standards. The EEOC further charged that Republic engaged in a form of hazing called “break him off,” in which some emp...

WASHINGTON – Former Memphis Police Officer Isaac White was sentenced yesterday to 18 months in prison, two years supervised release and a $4,000 fine, announced Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights; Edward L. Stanton, III , U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee; Larry Godwin, Director, Memphis Police Department; and Amy Hess, FBI Special Agent in Charge. On Nov. 25, 2009, White pleaded guilty to violating the civil rights of Pierre Jefferson. White admitted that in May 2008, after handcuffing Jefferson, he rammed Jefferson’s head into the corner of a building, and struck Jefferson in the face several times, causing him to fall to the ground. White also admitted to kicking Jefferson after he fell to the ground.

Defendant Receives 15 Years in Prison Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the sentencing of MICHAEL FLORES, 41, to 15 years in prison, followed by 5 years of post-release supervision, for attempting to rape a young woman in East Harlem after posing as a police officer. On July 14, 2010, FLORES pled guilty to one count of Attempted Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree, a class C violent felony. “Sexual assault leaves lifelong scars on its victims,” said District Attorney Vance. “This prosecution cannot erase those scars for this victim, but this significant sentence will protect other women in our community from suffering similar fates at the hands of this defendant, and give this victim a measure of the justice she deserves.”

PHOENIX—Attorney General Terry Goddard today announced the indictment and arrest of Mayor Octavio Garcia Von Borstel, 29, of Nogales, Arizona, on multiple charges including bribery, theft, fraud, and money laundering. Garcia Von Borstel, a democrat, was arrested at his office at the Nogales City Hall this morning. Concurrently, search warrants were executed at his home, business and City Hall office.

NEW YORK, NY (September 28, 2010) - Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced a $515,000 settlement with Manhattan-based Nino’s Positano Ristorante Italiano for failing to pay workers legal wages and overtime. Nino’s Positano Ristorante Italiano, owned by Shemsi Selimaj a.k.a Nino Selimaj, is located at 890 2nd Avenue in New York City. The Attorney General’s investigation into the restaurant, which was initiated by complaints from employees, found that waiters, bussers, and runners worked an average of 60-72 hours each week, but were only paid for the first 40 hours of work. In addition, prep cooks, dishwashers, and other employees were underpaid by over $100 per week. The restaurant hid these legal violations by failing to keep records, as required by law, and at times taking workers entirely off the payroll.

Co-Worker Harassed Women in Farmington Facility, Federal Agency Charges ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Roberts Truck Center of New Mexico, LLC and other related Roberts entities, doing business as Roberts Truck Center in Farmington, N.M., which operates a truck sales, parts sales and service business, violated federal law by subjecting a class of women to sexual harassment and retaliating against one woman for complaining about it, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed on September 27. In its suit, the EEOC said that a co-worker employed by Roberts subjected Katherine Abernathy and a class of women, including at least three others, to sexual harassment. The women were subjected to pervasive sexual comments and innuendo and unwelcome touching or attempted touching of their bodies, which created a hostile work environment for them. The EEOC also charged that Abernathy suffered retaliation with respect to sales opportunities and in the terms and co...

State Prison for Crane Owner and Operator Who Sought Falsified Inspections and Licenses Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the sentencing of MICHAEL SACKARIS, 50, to two to six years in state prison for having offered numerous bribes to the Acting Chief Inspector for Cranes and Derricks for the New York City Department of Buildings (“DOB”). SACKARIS was the de facto owner of NU-WAY CRANE SERVICE (“NU-WAY”), a Suffolk County crane company, from 2002 to 2007. He offered the bribes in exchange for the falsification of both crane inspections and operator licenses. “Fatal crane accidents have cut short too many lives in New York City,” said District Attorney Vance. “Bribing a city employee – particularly one charged with ensuring the public’s safety – is more than a criminal affront to the taxpayers who expect honest services from the city’s workforce. It put New Yorkers at an unnecessary and unacceptable risk. We are fortunate that no one was directly inju...