Sacramento-Based Propel Fuels Sues Phillips 66 over Alleged Trade-Secrets Heist
According to the complaint, Phillips 66 had never sold a drop of low-carbon fuel to consumers in California at the time of the acquisition offer, meaning it was faced with the escalating costs of compliance by purchasing carbon credits, with no meaningful source of generating credits to offset them.
Enter Propel. Founded in Seattle, Wash., and recruited to California by state agencies seeking to expand low carbon fuel availability, Propel pioneered an “on-ramp” for consumers to access California’s low-carbon economy. Propel did that by connecting people to affordable, low carbon fuels at convenient locations throughout California – in places like Oakland, Fresno, Riverside and nearby locales considered “Disadvantaged Communities” by the California Environmental Protection Agency.
There Should Be No Secret about Scope of Trade Secret Injunction
Topcon Medical filed an interlocutory appeal, seeking vacatur of a preliminary injunction granted by a district court in the Northern District of California. Topcon asserted that the injunction failed to satisfy Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(d) because it did not provide an adequate description of what specific acts are prohibited. Topcon argued that the injunction is ambiguous as to whether it applies to all of its platform or only to a certain module. Topcon further argued that the ambiguities are exacerbated by the district court’s misunderstanding of evidence presented from a declaration and deposition in the case and the court’s use of that evidence to draw conclusions about the misappropriation of trade secrets.
Massachusetts Man Convicted of Possessing Stolen Aerospace and Defense Application Secrets
From 2014 to 2017, Yu worked at ADI, where he designed microchips used by the communications, defense and aerospace industries. As a result of his work, Yu had access to ADI’s present and future microchip designs, including their schematic files, design layout files and manufacturing files.While he was an ADI employee, Yu started his own microchip design firm, Tricon MMIC, LLC, and used the stolen HMC1022A design to manufacture a knock-off version of ADI’s chip. Yu began selling his version of HMC1022A prior to ADI’s release of its chip. ADI cooperated fully in the government’s investigation.
Bookkeeper Pleads Guilty to $3.1 Million Embezzlement Scheme
The Office said an audit found that from 2012 to 2017, Martin embezzled about $3.1 million by obtaining money from her employers’ banks fraudulently. She used the funds to pay for personal expenses, travel and investments, then she made false accounting entries to disguise the embezzlement as payments or transfer funds between entities.
Between 2013 and 2016, court records indicate Martin either filed tax returns or caused tax returns to be filed to the Internal Revenue Service which omitted the income and caused a tax loss to the IRS of about $670,000.
Couple Sentenced in Cattle Baron Embezzlement
Prosecutors say that between 2012 and 2016 the couple diverted more than $1 million from the Cattle Baron’s payroll accounts and placed the money in their own personal accounts.
Court records state that Brian, an office manager and comptroller at Cattle Baron at the time, had “…transmitted $1,110,832.81 in electronic direct deposits from Cattle Baron’s WFB (Wells Fargo Bank) business payroll account into bank accounts owned by Mr. and/or Mrs. Casaus at multiple financial institutions without authorization from Cattle Baron’s owners.”
Man charged in one of Fairfax Co.’s largest-ever embezzlement cases
A Fairfax County, Virginia, man suspected of stealing millions of dollars from the rental company where he worked has been indicted by a grand jury in what authorities call one of the largest embezzlement cases in the history of Fairfax County.
Carlos Camacho was indicted on 15 counts of embezzlement and four counts of forgery, according to a statement from the office of Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano.