By Chuck Gallagher on
5/21/2008 6:46 AM
Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the majority opinion for the Supreme Court in which they upheld the law aimed at preventing child pornography. Scalia called internet child porn a "threat." He's right. As a frequent speaker on teen ethics and computer crimes, it is clear that the internet is becoming a distribution haven for child porn and more importantly it is a playground for child predators.
A federal law, the "Protect" Act enacted in 2003 made it a crime not only to produce and possess child porn, but also to "pander" material, conveying the belief that material contains minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The pandering provision covers anyone who "advertises, promotes, presents, distributes, or solicits" this material.
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By Chuck Gallagher on
5/21/2008 6:44 AM
As a business ethics speaker, it is interesting to observe how many people believe that theft from their company is somehow O.K.! What's even more interesting is the fact that, in most cases, they don't think they'll be caught.
It takes three things to create a fraud: (1) need; (2) opportunity and (3) rationalization. Seems that Ovid Timothy Hughes fell into the trap of theft for which there is always a consequence.
Ovid Timothy Hughes of Madison, Tennessee was sentenced to 12 months and a day in prison for committing m ...
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By Chuck Gallagher on
5/21/2008 6:41 AM
And while I'm on the subject of Social Security Fraud (that was what my last post was about) - thought some might like this strange story of choices and consequences.
 United States Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan announced that Rolf Groer, age 48, a resident of Allegheny County, has been sentenced in federal court in Pittsb ...
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By Chuck Gallagher on
5/21/2008 6:32 AM
So you think you can pull the wool over the eyes of the government? Not so fast. Every choice has a consequence and one of the things that some of us learn the hard way is - what you do in the dark will be brought to the light. In other words, if you do something that is wrong it will be discovered.
You reap what you sow! I know. I sowed bad seeds and reaped the consequences. And now it seems that the same may be true for a young 27 year old.
Shawn R. Johnson, of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on a charge of Social Security Fraud.
The one-count ind ...
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By Chuck Gallagher on
5/21/2008 6:30 AM
Several programs are underway to catch those who victimize children via child porn. In this case, Operation Predator, a nationwide ICE initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders, and child sex traffickers was the vehicle to catch a pediatrician who engaged in child porn.
Operation Predator is a comprehensive initiative designed to protect young people from child pornographers, alien smugglers, human traffickers, and other predatory criminals.
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By Chuck Gallagher on
5/21/2008 6:29 AM
EVERY CHOICE HAS A CONSEQUENCE. You cannot hide - no matter how hard you try - those choices and actions you take that are wrong - morally, ethically or legally.
So imagine, you have an inclination toward Child Porn. You down load it from your computer. You leave your ipod in your car or at a friend's house (forgetting you've got child porn on it). Next thing you know the police are at your door. You're arrested. Your friend - repulsed by child porn - turns you in. YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW!
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By Chuck Gallagher on
5/21/2008 6:27 AM
As a mortgage fraud speaker, I observe what's taking place in the mortgage fraud arena, but I have to say, the legal eagles in Ohio are working the mortgage fraud angles hard...
Two more Columbus-area people indicted as part of a mortgage fraud scheme that secured more than $7 million in mortgage loans pleaded guilty in United States District Court. Aryeh Schottenstein, age 34, of Columbus, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of money laundering, and Shawn A. Griffin, age 38, also of Columbus, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of money laundering.
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By Chuck Gallagher on
5/21/2008 6:26 AM
As time passes it has become clear that many people have come to the wrong conclusion that creativity in financing is somehow legal. It is not! Just today I heard a radio show where they still talked about creative financing through means that others have found themselves on the back end of a conviction. And in this entry we have another Ohio indictment for bank or mortgage fraud.
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By Chuck Gallagher on
5/21/2008 6:24 AM
And who says that every choice has no consequence? Bull! No matter what you do, the choices you make today will have a profound impact on you tomorrow and in the future.
A Lubbock man, Lyndell Simmons,age 46, who pled guilty in January to theft of government money or property, was sentenced to 60 months (five years) in pri ...
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By Chuck Gallagher on
5/21/2008 6:22 AM
Two years after Megan Meier committed suicide Lori Drew, age 49, was indicted for her alleged role in Meier's death.
In an earlier blog I wrote:
In 2006 a Missouri teenager hanged herself after being rejected by a 16 year old boy she met on MySpace. Well, at least that’s what she thought. The reality was the “16 year old boy” was really the mother of one of the girls former friends.
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