The Wall Street Legal & Regulatory Feed
Securities Industry Commentator by Bill Singer Esq
December 3, 2019
featured in today's Securities Industry Commentator:
GROWING SCANDAL ALERT!!!
as detected by the oenophiles and turophiles at the prestigious
Securities Industry Commentator feed and the BrokeAndBroker.com blog.
as detected by the oenophiles and turophiles at the prestigious
Securities Industry Commentator feed and the BrokeAndBroker.com blog.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/03/full-list-of-proposed-us-tariffs-on-french-goods.html
As a tit-for-tat tax war seems looming between the United States and France, the diligent journalists at CNBC have uncovered a very, very troubling subterfuge. In response to France's new digital-service tax, which targets U.S. technology companies, among which are Alphabet/Google, Facebook, Apple and Amazon.com, the Trump administration has threatened to impose up to 100% duties on $2.4 billion of French imports. Frankly, it seems a fair response to a thinly-disguised tax that largely targets U.S. businesses.
Bad enough that the US is proposing to tax French wines. Adieu vins rouges et vins blancs.
Bad enough that the venerable Roquefort cheese may soon be rotting on American shelves for lack of affordability. Sacre fromage bleu!
Okay, so, sure, I'll switch to California wine (no Merlot). I'll opt for Wisconsin and New York cheddar -- and an occasional Monterey Jack. After all, a hungry and thirsty guy has to do what he has to do.
And now for the ominous part of today's breaking news:
As I reviewed the "full list" of "French goods" threatened with tariffs in the CNBC article, I came across these items:
- Romano, Reggiano, Parmesan, Provolone, and Provoletti cheese, nesoi, from cow's milk, subject to add. US note 21 to Ch. 4
- Romano, Reggiano, Parmesan, Provolone, and Provoletti cheese, nesoi, from cow's milk, not subj to GN 15 or Ch4 US note 21
. . .
- Pecorino cheese, from sheep's milk, in original loaves, not suitable for grating
Oh no!!! The French have been making Romano, Reggiano, Parmesan, Provolone, Provoletti, and Pecorino cheese all these years? And here I thought that the formaggi were Italian in origin. Wow, talk about consumer fraud. What's next -- French Chianti? This outrage must stop. I'm calling for a total boycott of all Italian-named cheeses made in France. Perhaps it's time to return to Freedom Fries?
https://www.justice.gov/usao-az/pr/elder-home-caregiver-sentenced-prison-defrauding-92-year-old-homebound-victim
-and-
Elder Caregiver Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Defrauding a 92-Year-Old Homebound Victim (DOJ Release)
https://www.justice.gov/usao-az/pr/elder-caregiver-sentenced-30-months-prison-defrauding-92-year-old-homebound-victim
https://www.justice.gov/usao-az/pr/elder-caregiver-sentenced-30-months-prison-defrauding-92-year-old-homebound-victim
After pleading guilty to wire fraud in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, Mona Rodriguez, 37, and her mother/Co-Defendant Margaret Gastelum, 60, were each sentenced 30 months in prison, and Rodriguez was ordered to pay $171,631 in restitution, and Gastelum ordered to pay $184,648. As alleged in part in the DOJ Release, the Defendants:
provided home care assistance for the 92-year-old homebound victim. In her plea agreement, Ms. Rodriguez admitted that she and Ms. Gastelum gained access to the victim's banking information and fraudulently used funds from the victim's bank accounts. Ms. Rodriguez and Ms. Gastelum also fraudulently used the victims' credit cards and Ms. Rodriguez obtained a credit card in the victim's name without the victim's consent.