Larry Neumeister, Author at The Rapid City Post

FILE - FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried leaves Manhattan federal court, June 15, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)

Appeals judges react skeptically to Sam Bankman-Fried’s bid to overturn fraud conviction

November 4, 2025

A federal appeals panel in Manhattan reacted skeptically to arguments by a lawyer for once high-flying cryptocurrency entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried that his fraud conviction should be overturned. The arguments occurred Tuesday before the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Attorney Alexandra Shapiro told a three-judge panel that errors by the trial judge prevented Bankman-Fried from fully fighting the government’s claims that he cheated his customers and investors. A government attorney, Nathan Rehn, countered that the trial was fair and the evidence against Bankman-Fried was overwhelming. Bankman-Fried is serving a 25-year prison term.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs seeks speedy appeals court hearing while he serves a 4-year sentence

October 30, 2025

Hip-hop producer Sean “Diddy” Combs wants a federal appeals court to quickly consider the legality of his conviction on prostitution-related charges and his more than four-year prison sentence. His lawyers filed papers with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday, asking that oral arguments in his appeal occur in April. Combs was convicted in July of flying his girlfriends and male sex workers across state lines to engage in drug-fueled sexual encounters. However, he was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges that could have put him behind bars for life.

Iranian American journalist Masih Alinejad walks out of Manhattan federal court, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, in New York, after two Russian mobsters were sentenced to 25 years in prison for agreeing to attempt to assassinate her. (AP Photo/Larry Neumeister)

Russian mobsters sentenced to 25 years for foiled plot to assassinate Iranian dissident journalist

October 29, 2025

Two Russian mobsters have each been sentenced to 25 years in prison for agreeing to try to assassinate Iranian American journalist Masih Alinejad for $500,000. The men were sentenced Wednesday. They were convicted in March. Judge Colleen McMahon said she wanted to send a message to foreign powers about trying to kill people in the United States. Prosecutors say Iranian officials tried to harass, smear and silence Alinejad for exposing corruption. Before the sentence was announced, Alinejad won applause as she addressed the court, saying the mobsters couldn’t break her despite turning her life upside down.

President Donald Trump speaks to business leaders at a dinner event in Tokyo, Japan, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Trump’s lawyers ask New York appeals court to toss out his hush money criminal conviction

October 28, 2025

President Donald Trump’s lawyers want a New York state appeals court to toss out his hush money criminal conviction. The lawyers say federal law preempts state law and there was no intent to commit a crime. The attorneys filed their written arguments with the New York Supreme Court’s Appellate Division, First Department late Monday. In June, the lawyers asked a federal appeals court to move the case to federal court, where the Republican president can challenge the conviction on presidential immunity grounds. Trump was convicted in May 2024 of 34 felony counts alleging that he falsified business records to conceal a hush money payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels.

First lady Melania Trump turns from the podium after speaking in the Grand Foyer of the White House, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Author Michael Wolff sues Melania Trump, saying she threatened $1B suit over Epstein-related claims

October 22, 2025

Author Michael Wolff claims in a lawsuit that First Lady Melania Trump threatened to sue him for over $1 billion in damages if he didn’t retract Jeffrey Epstein-related statements he recently made about her. Wolff sought unspecified damages in the lawsuit filed Tuesday in state Supreme Court in Manhattan. Wolff wrote that her threats were part of a campaign with her husband, President Donald Trump, to create a climate of fear in America to discourage people from speaking out. Wolff’s dozen books include four bestsellers he wrote about Donald Trump. A spokesperson for Melania Trump said she is proud to stand up to those spreading malicious and defamatory falsehoods.

FILE - A photograph of Etan Patz hangs on an angel figurine, as part of a makeshift memorial in the SoHo neighborhood of New York, May 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

Lawyers seek release date for man after conviction overturned in Etan Patz disappearance case

October 14, 2025

Lawyers for a man whose conviction in the 1979 disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz was recently overturned asked a judge on Tuesday to set a date for his release from prison if prosecutors don’t decide soon to hold a new trial. Pedro Hernandez’s conviction was overturned in July by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A federal judge expressed doubt that the U.S. Supreme Court will consider the appeals court decision. A prosecutor, Matthew Colangelo, said prosecutors won’t know for three months whether they’ll seek a new trial and if the high court will hear an appeal.

FILE - New Jersey businessman Jose Uribe leaves Federal Court, in New York, June 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Larry Newmeister, file)

New Jersey businessman who testified against ex-Sen. Bob Menendez won’t go to prison

October 9, 2025

A New Jersey businessman who testified against former Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife at separate bribery trials won’t go to prison, after a judge credited him at his sentencing for his honesty. Jose Uribe was sentenced Thursday in Manhattan federal court. Judge Sidney H. Stein said Uribe’s crimes were serious as he participated in a bribery scheme from 2018 to 2023, but he credited him with playing a key role in convicting participants in a major conspiracy involving other countries. Uribe apologized for his crimes, saying he was sorry and embarrassed.

Prosecutors seek over 11 years in prison for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

September 29, 2025

Prosecutors are urging a New York federal judge to send music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs to prison for over 11 years. They filed their sentencing recommendation early Tuesday, along with letters from some of his accusers describing how his violence and demands had impacted their lives. The 55-year-old Combs has remained jailed since his July conviction on prostitution-related charges for arranging male sex workers to travel to hotels or residences where he directed them to have sex with his girlfriends. The elaborate dayslong, drug-fueled sexual events were often filmed by Combs. Defense attorneys have asked that he be sentenced to no more than 14 months. Sentencing is set for Friday.

Charlie Javice, center, exits Manhattan federal court, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Charlie Javice sentenced to 7 years in prison for fraudulent $175M sale of financial aid startup

September 29, 2025

The 33-year-old founder of the startup student financial aid company Frank has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison. Charlie Javice was sentenced Monday in Manhattan federal court after her March conviction by a jury on fraud charges. Prosecutors say Javice duped JPMorgan Chase into buying her fledgling company for $175 million by submitting false records that made it seem that Frank had 4 million customers. It actually only served as few as 300,000 students. The jury rejected her defense that JPMorgan made up the fraud allegations because it had buyer’s remorse.

Financier accused of abusing women in soundproofed ‘dungeon’ in NYC penthouse

September 26, 2025

A retired Wall Street financier has been arrested on charges that he lured dozens of women including former Playboy models to be sexually and physically assaulted during encounters in his Central Park penthouse. Authorities say Howard Rubin was arrested Friday at a residence in Fairfield, Connecticut. He pleaded not guilty later in the day at a federal court in Brooklyn, New York. His former personal assistant was arrested in Texas and also faces charges. Prosecutors say Rubin abused the women after recruiting them to fly to New York to engage in sex acts for money. Messages for comment were sent to multiple lawyers for both Rubin and Powers.

FILE - Blake Lively is seen in New York on Feb. 16, 2025, left, and Justin Baldoni attends a screening in New York on Dec. 13, 2023. (Photos by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Taylor Swift can be deposed, but has no role in Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni litigation, lawyer says

September 12, 2025

A lawyer for Taylor Swift says the singer can answer questions in October — if she is forced — from attorneys involved in the litigation between actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni stemming from their roles in the movie “It Ends With Us.” But attorney J. Douglas Baldridge noted in a letter to the New York federal judge presiding over the dispute on Friday that Swift has “no material role in this action.” Lively sued Baldoni in late December, alleging sexual harassment. Baldoni then sued Lively and her husband, “Deadpool” actor Ryan Reynolds, accusing them of defamation and extortion. A judge dismissed Baldoni’s claims in June.

FILE - Naason Joaquin Garcia, the leader of a Mexico-based evangelical church with a worldwide membership, attends a bail review hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court on July 15, 2019. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool, File)

Longtime head of Mexican megachurch is indicted in New York on federal sex trafficking charges

September 10, 2025

A New York federal indictment has charged the longtime head of a Mexican megachurch with racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. Authorities announced Wednesday that Naasón Joaquín García and five others were charged in the newly unsealed indictment. García is already serving more than 16 years in a California prison for sexually abusing young followers. The indictment alleges that García victimized members of the church for decades. It said that he and his father, who died in 2014, carried out the abuse of children and women. Attorney Alan Jackson, representing García, called the indictment “recycled claims dressed up in inflammatory language.”

FILE - Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores stands on the field during an NFL football workout in Eagan, Minn., Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr, File)

Appeals court agrees NFL can be put on trial over claims Black coaches face discrimination

August 14, 2025

A federal appeals court says the NFL can be put on trial over claims that Brian Flores and other Black coaches face discrimination. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. It upheld Manhattan federal Judge Valerie Caproni’s 2023 ruling that Flores can proceed with claims against the league and three teams: the Denver Broncos, the New York Giants and the Houston Texans. In February 2022, Flores sued the league and several teams, saying the league was “rife with racism,” particularly in its hiring and promotion of Black coaches. NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy said the league disagrees with the ruling and will seek further review.

FILE - Montenegrin police officers escort South Korean citizen, Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon in Montenegro's capital Podgorica, March 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic, File)

Crypto mogul Do Kwon, known as ‘the cryptocurrency king,’ pleads guilty to fraud charges

August 12, 2025

South Korean cryptocurrency mogul Do Kwon has pleaded guilty to two fraud charges arising from a $40 billion cryptocurrency collapse. The man some dubbed ‘the cryptocurrency king’ entered his plea Tuesday in Manhattan federal court. Authorities said investors worldwide lost money in Singapore firm Terraform Labs’ cryptocurrency crash. The May 2022 collapse came after the company claimed that TerraUSD was a reliable ‘stablecoin.’ Under a plea agreement, the federal government said it won’t seek a prison term of more than 12 years as long as Kwon complies with the terms of the deal, even though federal sentencing guidelines would recommend a 25-year prison term. Sentencing is set for Dec. 11.

Prosecutors seek substantial prison term for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs as they oppose bail

August 1, 2025

Prosecutors say they will seek a prison sentence for music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs that is substantially higher than the four to five years they initially expected he might face under federal sentencing guidelines. And they say they oppose the defense’s renewed request for bail because nothing has changed since his conviction last month on prostitution-related charges. He was acquitted of more serious sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges. The written submission to a Manhattan federal court judge was filed late Thursday. Earlier in the week, a defense lawyer made a renewed $50 million bail request for Combs, pending his Oct. 3 sentencing.

Gun makers lose appeal of New York law that could make them liable for shootings

July 10, 2025

A federal appeals court has upheld a New York law holding gun manufacturers potentially liable when their weapons are used in deadly shootings. The ruling Thursday by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan affirmed a 2022 decision by an Albany judge. The three-judge appeals panel said the 2021 New York state law was not unconstitutional or too vague to implement. A trade association of firearms manufacturers that ship or transport firearms and ammunition into New York had sued to try to stop the law.

Larry Neumeister.