After serving 30 years in prison for killing her two sons, Susan Smith appeared Wednesday before a parole board in South Carolina to ask for her freedom. Smith made international news in 1994 when she claimed she was carjacked by a black man who drove away with her two sons in the car. For nine days, Smith and her husband appeared on national television asking for her children to be returned to her. It was later discovered that she was having an affair with the wealthy son of her employer, and that her paramour blamed her children as the reason they could not be together. Smith ultimately confessed to letting her car roll down a boat ramp and into a lake with her two sons secured inside. After hearing from Smith, her ex-husband, his family members, prosecutors, and law enforcement, the parole board denied her request. She is now eligible to appear before the parole board every two years. Read on for more criminal law news.
Sheriffs Compelled to Cooperate with ICE. In September, Governor Cooper vetoed legislation that would order local sheriffs to cooperate with federal immigration authorities and would expand the private school voucher program. On Wednesday, the legislature completed its override of the veto. Cooperation is currently voluntary, but effective December 1, 2024, all local sheriffs will be required to honor detainers issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) (G.S. 162-62). For in-custody individuals charged with certain offenses, if a detainer is issued by ICE it must be served on the individual without unnecessary delay and a state judicial official must order the individual held in custody pursuant to the detainer. Unless their custody remains required by other process, the individual must be released at the expiration of 48 hours, the arrival of ICE to take custody, or the revocation of the detainer, whichever happens first. The private school voucher program expansion provisions of the bill take effect immediately.
Pause Requested in Trump Sentencing. In the hush-money criminal case against Donald Trump, Judge Juan Merchan previously delayed sentencing until November 26. On Tuesday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg asked Judge Merchan to postpone all upcoming proceedings, including sentencing, until after Trump’s second term in office ends. The sentencing would be the first of its kind, requiring the judge to balance Trump’s status as president-elect with the verdict of the jury. The prosecution and defense appear to be jointly asking for the next filings, focusing on whether the case should be dismissed completely, to be due December 9. Trump’s lawyers are asking for the case to be dismissed after he won the presidency, and pursuant to the Supreme Court’s ruling in July that presidents have immunity from official acts in office. Since some of the evidence used in the criminal trial came from Trump’s first term, they argued the convictions are no longer lawful. Prosecutors Tuesday suggested postponing all upcoming proceedings, including sentencing, to after Trump’s second term in office ends.
Western North Carolina Peril. Since Hurricane Helene, the threat of human trafficking has been rising in western North Carolina. Before the storm, the state already ranked #10 in the nation for cases reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. With the devastation depriving much of the population of their basic needs, and the significant disruption to law enforcement, the region is vulnerable to increased labor and sex trafficking. Companies as well as individuals pose a risk – in 2007 a North Carolina district court awarded nearly $1 million to a group of Thai laborers who were held captive and forcibly transported from North Carolina to New Orleans to fill disaster recovery contracts post-Katrina. Local officials are urging caution when accepting help and advising people to rely on trusted, vetted sources such as local and federal government agencies and established nonprofits.
National Artificial Intelligence Company Founder Arrested. Joanna Smith-Griffin, 33, of Raleigh, North Carolina was arrested Tuesday on fraud charges. Smith-Griffin founded ALLHere Education Inc., an artificial intelligence company that created “Ed” the chatbot. The chatbot worked to assist educators in creating learning plans and was being used in major school districts in Los Angeles, Atlanta, and New York City, before the company shut down. Smith-Griffin is accused of making misrepresentations to investors during ALLHere’s creation that allowed her to collect millions of dollars from them dating back to 2020. She is accused of using some of that money to purchase a house in North Carolina and to pay for her wedding. ALLHere Education then collapsed, laid off employees, and entered bankruptcy proceedings, where a trustee has since taken over its finances. Smith-Griffin is also accused of masquerading as a financial consultant after the discrepancies were discovered in an attempt to continue the scheme.
Cooperator in FTX Case Gets No Prison Time. Late last year, FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried was tried and convicted in one of the largest frauds in U.S. history. After being found guilty of misappropriating over $11 billion, Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Gary Wang, an FTX co-founder, participated in the investigation early on and “deciphered basically half the case for us,” cutting out months or years of work, according to prosecutors. Wang assisted with recovering money for victims, shared information that enabled prosecutors to extradite Bankman-Fried in 2022, testified over multiple days at Bankman-Fried’s trial, and has created software that is enabling prosecutors to find unrelated financial frauds. On Wednesday, Wang was sentenced for his involvement and received no time in prison. Wang expressed remorse at his sentencing, apologizing to FTX customers and investors for his actions.
Popularity’s Downside. The second-most sold vehicle in history (behind the Toyota Corolla) is the Ford F-Series truck, introduced in 1948 and sold continuously to today with the F-150. Its latest high-performance trim, the “Raptor,” is proving popular as well, with both purchasers and car thieves; however, it doesn’t appear every heist is going smoothly. Last weekend, thieves were able to leave Ford’s Dearborn, Michigan plant with four Raptors (together worth more than $400,000). They didn’t make it far. All four trucks were abandoned in a nearby ditch, with drivers nowhere to be found. Authorities are still unclear about why or what happened. It’s better news for Ford than before though – this attempt follows almost $1 million worth of Raptors stolen from the plant holding lot in 2022, and around $6 million worth stolen last year from the same lot.
Insurance Clawed. Four people were arrested last week in California on allegations of insurance fraud. The group submitted claims to three different insurance companies totaling over $142,000 for damage to luxury vehicles. The claims were supported by video footage of what was alleged to be a bear breaking into the vehicles and scratching seats and doors. The Department of Insurance, suspicious of the footage, submitted the videos to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife for independent review. A biologist confirmed their suspicions and concluded it was “clearly a human in a bear suit.” Detectives found the bear suit after executing a search warrant on the suspects’ home. All four individuals were charged with conspiracy and insurance fraud.