24
votes
Accepted
Why is PayPal blocking my account according to U.S. tax law, if I've a UK account only?
The reason that you are being asked to comply with a US law is because PayPal, a US company, is required to comply with US laws. If you do not comply, it is likely that they will be non-compliant and ...
- 12.1k
19
votes
Accepted
What can happen if the US President has violated campaign finance laws?
Let's start with the most important point first:
A campaign finance violation is not a ground to remove an elected official from office, no matter how egregious, on its own, even if one could prove ...
- 195k
19
votes
Accepted
Do Donald Trump's actions constitute embezzlement?
Embezzlement is criminally prohibited by 18 USC 666, and this DoJ manual page on what is embezzlement cites the answer in Moore v. United States, 160 U.S. 268 that
Embezzlement is the fraudulent ...
- 210k
18
votes
Is it against the law to sell Bitcoin at a flea market?
Since sales are in dollar and the OP does not specify a jurisdiction, I will assume Washington state US. You may need a business license, depending on the municipality. There are various permits ...
- 210k
14
votes
Accepted
Student Loan from years ago pops up and is taking my salary
Defaulting on student loans is—along with back taxes and child support—one of the three cases where a court order is not required for wage garnishment.
This article spells out remedies against such ...
- 210k
11
votes
Accepted
Can Trump legally sell stocks on Friday, tweet about imposing tariffs on Sunday and then buy more of the stocks back on Monday?
There is no statutory definition of insider trading, and the question of who is included is answered by the SEC. It includes "Government employees who traded based on confidential information they ...
- 210k
11
votes
Accepted
Is transfer pricing legal in the United States?
Transfer pricing is something that is required when related parties provide good or services to each other, in order to determine what part of the profit from the eventual sale of the goods or ...
- 195k
10
votes
Is it legal for a bank to discriminate against someone by the services they offer based upon their marital status?
Your bank is not discriminating against you.
Your reasons for not having the required amount of funds pass thru your account has nothing to do with your marital status.
In general, it's problematic ...
- 9,818
10
votes
Accepted
Executive order by Trump on 2020-11-12 barring investment in publicly traded companies that the US says are owned/controlled by the Chinese military
The order itself is here. It applies to "any United States person", which includes citizens, LPRs, entities with a US basis, and any other person in the US including tourists. It applies to ...
- 210k
10
votes
Do Donald Trump's actions constitute embezzlement?
Embezzlement is the action of an employee who, having access to or control over funds or things of value as a part of employment, improperly takes or gains possession of them, or converts them to ...
- 113k
9
votes
Why don't US prosecutors press for imprisonment for crime in the banking industry?
Q: Why don't US prosecutors press for imprisonment for crime in the
banking industry?
Q. Why aren't US prosecutors (and UK prosecutors for that matter) not
pressing for imprisonment in such ...
- 195k
9
votes
Accepted
Why is a company allowed to change the number of shares it’s divided into after its IPO?
There are two different kinds of transactions that are implicated by your question.
The first is a stock stock split. This simply turns 1 share into X shares and trades out existing shares for new ...
- 195k
9
votes
Accepted
Legal basis for "discretionary spending" vs. "mandatory spending" in the USA
"Mandatory" spending means spending that takes place without passage of a new appropriation bill, but it may still be modified by Congress. The only truly mandatory spending categories that ...
- 195k
9
votes
Accepted
Can you initiate a lawsuit against Russia in the United States to recover seized assets?
Is it possible for an average person who happens to possess Russian
dividend-paying shares, such as those of Gazprom, to initiate a
lawsuit against the Russian government in U.S. courts to assert ...
- 195k
8
votes
Accepted
Insider trading due to mis-sent email?
First of all, this is not insider trading: insider trading is using non-public information to trade a publicly tradable security.
What this could be is misuse of confidential information - a civil ...
- 198k
8
votes
What was wrong with the 2010 Flash Crash?
The criminal complaint against Sarao can be found on the US Department of Justice's website. He was charged under four different sections of US Code:
18 USC 1343, which prohibits the use of inter-...
- 6,549
8
votes
Accepted
If I discover information about a company through personal investigation can I act on it without being guilty of insider trading?
This is not insider trading
To be an insider in the USA you must be a company officer, director or a beneficial owner of more than 10% of a class of the company's equity securities. You aren’t any of ...
- 198k
7
votes
Accepted
Someone withdrew money from my bank account - what are my rights?
I reported this to my bank as soon as I found out, and Chase said that the money would be reimbursed once they completed their investigation (within 10 business days).
Chase was likely indicating ...
- 11.2k
7
votes
How are MMOs with real money economies allowed to operate?
I can see at least two defenses.
Game of Skill Defense. Already mentioned in the comments.
Entertainment Defense. One could claim the game itself is a form of entertainment and, therefore, all funds ...
- 9,818
7
votes
Are universities legally allowed to adjust, or deny private loans?
Student loans work very differently than any other ordinary loan you could take out. They have explicit restrictions that limit what kinds of things you can use them for, including your tuition, books ...
- 4,285
7
votes
What was wrong with the 2010 Flash Crash?
I imagine it's not a crime to change your mind before the order goes through, but that's not really what this guy did. The allegation is instead that he never intended to follow through on those ...
- 57.2k
7
votes
Accepted
What is the legality of two (or more) trade partners trading (i.e. billing) each other in a mutually agreed units of exchange
Assuming a bunch of economic actors across the world decide to conduct
business in a basket of commodities (say Gold and silver) - and call
each Unit of this basket "FooBar", what are the ...
- 195k
7
votes
Is it legal for an American citizen to obtain BRICS currency and then exchange those bills for U.S. dollars sometime in the future?
Is it legal for an American citizen to obtain [foreign] currency and then
exchange those bills for U.S. dollars sometime in the future?
This answer only considers the U.S. law implications, not the ...
- 195k
6
votes
Accepted
Is it illegal for Donald Trump to lie on his Financial Disclosures?
Page 1 of OGE form 278e says
WARNINGS
Knowing and willful falsification of information, or failure to file
or report information required to be reported by section 102 of the
Ethics in ...
- 210k
6
votes
Could Trump bet on winning the presidential election?
It depends on the rules of the particular betting market and the laws under which it operates.
Assuming that the bet itself is legal, it is not uncommon that participants in the contest are not ...
- 198k
6
votes
What can happen if the US President has violated campaign finance laws?
Technical violations can result in fine imposed by the Federal Election Commission. They provide this booklet, and these regulations are applicable. This regulation spells out how the fine is computed....
- 210k
6
votes
Accepted
Is it illegal to purchase stocks with money that came from a Brinks truck?
This is a rather elaborate version of receiving stolen property. It is a crime because you know that the property is not yours and you know who it belongs to. The fact that funds were returned ...
- 195k
6
votes
Bank is not depositing my promotion bonus
It is unlikely that you could successfully sue the bank for breach of contract, but of course the first thing you should do is carefully read the agreement and see exactly what they promised. It is ...
- 210k
6
votes
Accepted
Do you owe money to a company who is trying to charge a disabled/expired credit card?
You owe money if there is a contract obliging you to pay. Whether you receive what you pay for (e.g. services) only affects your stance when suing for non-performance/damages; your obligation to pay ...
- 25.6k
6
votes
Can a couple be charged for spending $120,000 deposited to their bank account in error?
Broadly speaking, theft offences in common law jurisdictions are defined as the dishonest appropriation of property that belongs to another with intent to deprive the rightful owner of it, without ...
- 14.7k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible