Articles by Andrew Zajac and Christie Smythe

Ex-Treasurer Paulson Defends AIG’s Harsh Loan Terms

American International Group Inc. received harsher terms than other financial institutions in the 2008 financial crisis because regulators needed to send a message to markets that government help would cost them, Henry Paulson, the former treasury secretary, said in court. …

Report: Data Breaches Cost N.Y. Businesses $1.37B Last Year

Security breaches exposing consumers’ personal information are becoming larger and more frequent in New York, costing businesses more than $1.37 billion last year, the state attorney general’s office said. Data breaches in the state more than tripled from 2006 to …

Ridesharing Firms Uber, Lyft Accused of Racketeering in Conn. Cab Lawsuit

Ride-sharing services Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. were accused of racketeering in a lawsuit by Connecticut taxi and livery firms, which said the companies “prey parasitically” on established services. The services, operating without proper licenses, “cut corners illegally” and …

Judge Strikes Down N.Y. Attorney General’s Subpoena for Airbnb User Data

New York’s investigation into whether Airbnb Inc. allows users to run illegal hotels hit a setback when a judge ruled that a request for information about the service’s rental home providers was too broad. Acting Supreme Court Justice Gerald W. …

Bank of America Settles Forced-Place Insurance Claims for $228M

Bank of America Corp. agreed to pay $228 million to settle claims the bank overcharged for insurance homeowners were forced to accept when their regular policies lapsed. The amount was disclosed in a document requesting approval for the accord filed …

Judge Cuts Billionaire Koch’s $12M Award in Fake Wine Case to $1M

Billionaire William Koch’s $12 million damages award in a lawsuit accusing a fellow wine collector of selling counterfeit Bordeaux was reduced by a U.S. judge to a little less than $1 million. The punitive damages a jury awarded Koch against …

Top Executives of Failed Dewey Law Firm Facing Fraud Charges

Three former executives at Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, once the No. 3 legal adviser to banks handling merger deals, were charged with a “blatant” $200 million fraud that spurred the largest law firm bankruptcy in history. The three, including the …

NYPD, FDNY Retirees Among Dozens Charged With Disability Fraud

More than 100 retirees, most of whom worked for the New York City police and fire departments, were charged with stealing benefits from a federal disability program by lying about psychiatric conditions. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said Tuesday …

New York Catholic Groups Win Challenge to Obamacare Birth Control Mandate

A group of Catholic health and educational organizations doesn’t have to comply with federal Affordable Care Act requirements to ensure employees receive insurance coverage for contraceptives, a New York federal judge ruled. U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan in Brooklyn, New …

Google Reaches $17M Privacy Settlement with 37 States

Google Inc. has reached a $17 million settlement with 37 U.S. states over its circumvention of privacy settings for some Internet users. The company, based in Mountain View, California, overrode default settings for Apple Inc.’s Safari browser that blocked cookies, …