Trump Town owner found not guilty of assault, indecent exposure
A judge Monday found Donald “Whitey” Taylor, owner of Boones Mill’s Trump Town retail store, not guilty of misdemeanor charges of indecent exposure and assaulting three store employees. “It was very rewarding,” Taylor said of the verdict. “These ladies were just looking for money.” Requests for comment from the Franklin County’s Commonwealth’s Attorney and to [&hellip[...]
Woman accused of running high-end brothels in Northern Virginia and near Boston set to be sentenced
BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts woman accused of operating a high-end brothel network with wealthy and prominent clients in that state and the Washington, D.C., suburbs of Northern Virginia is set to be sentenced. Han Lee and two others were indicted last year on one count of conspiracy to persuade, entice and coerce one or […]
Ben & Jerry’s alleges parent company Unilever removed its CEO over social activism
Ben & Jerry’s says its CEO was unlawfully removed by its parent company, Unilever, in retaliation for the ice cream maker’s social and political activism. In a federal court filing late Tuesday, Ben & Jerry’s said Unilever informed its board on March 3 that it was removing and replacing Ben & Jerry’s CEO David Stever. Ben […]
Judge orders Trump to reinstate probationary workers let go in mass firings across multiple agencies
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge in San Francisco ordered President Donald Trump‘s administration to rehire thousands, if not tens of thousands, of probationary workers let go in mass firings across multiple agencies, blasting their tactics Thursday as he slowed the new president’s dramatic downsizing of the federal government. U.S. District Judge William Alsup said that [&hell[...]
Whistleblowers in Sentara insurance investigation revealed
UPDATED MARCH 18 The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia has unsealed a whistleblower complaint against Sentara Health that accused the Hampton Roads health care system of improperly inflating local insurance rates in 2018 and 2019. On Feb. 14, the court revealed the plaintiffs are Sara Stovall, Ian Dixon and Karl Quist […]
Martinsville doctor found guilty of 460+ counts of opioids distribution
A federal court jury in Abingdon found Dr. Joel Smithers, who previously practiced in Martinsville, guilty of 466 federal counts of illegally prescribing Schedule II controlled substances, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Western Virginia announced Dec. 31, 2024. He was also found guilty of one count of maintaining a place for the purpose of illegally […]
Ex-Richmond Fed examiner pleads guilty to insider trading
A former Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond examiner on Tuesday pleaded guilty to committing insider trading and making false statements about his trading to the Richmond Fed. Robert Brian Thompson, 43, of Chesterfield County’s Moseley area, was an examiner and senior manager with supervisory duties for the Richmond Fed, where he worked from 2004 through about […]
Trump Town owner calls assault, indecent exposure charges ‘fake news’
Donald “Whitey” Taylor, owner of Trump Town, a Boones Mill store dedicated to merchandise celebrating the 45th president, and a candidate for mayor in that same small town, was arrested Tuesday on charges of indecent exposure and assaulting store employees. Taylor, 74, sent a text to Virginia Business, describing the criminal charges against him as […]
All eyes on noncompetes
EDITOR’S NOTE: On Aug. 20, a federal judge in Texas ruled against the Federal Trade Commission’s ban on noncompete agreements, which was scheduled to go into effect Sept. 4. In striking down the FTC’s pending rule, U.S. District Judge Ada Brown called it “arbitrary and capricious” and an “unlawful agency action.” An FTC spokesperson said […]
Appeals court reverses $2B judgment for Appian
The corporate espionage civil case between rivals Appian and Pegasystems is heading back to court, the Virginia Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday. The three-judge panel ordered a new trial, saying that Appian was improperly relieved of the burden of proving that Pega financially benefited from misappropriating Appian’s trade secrets. In May 2022, McLean cloud computing […]
Carter Bank vs. Justice family saga continues
Martinsville’s Carter Bank & Trust says a Feb. 12 federal lawsuit filed against it by GLAS Trust Co. contains “false and misleading” allegations as part of a complex financial dispute over debt repayments from loans to West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, his family and their businesses. GLAS filed suit in the U.S. District Court for […]
Conservative groups sue to stop Dominion wind farm
A nonprofit conservative watchdog group based in Falls Church filed a lawsuit Monday against Dominion Energy, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the U.S. Department of the Interior and other government bodies, aiming to stop construction of Dominion’s offshore wind farm expected to begin this spring 27 miles off the Virginia Beach coast. The […]