U.S. prosecutors allege a man with multiple aliases used the name of the famed Astor family to scam a Mexican billionaire out of $450 million. According to a New York federal grand jury indictment unsealed Monday, Vladimir Sklarov set up a fake company called Astor Asset Group and claimed it was linked to the wealthy New York Astor family to gain credibility. Sklarov was arrested in Chicago on Saturday. The alleged victim, Ricardo Salinas Pliego, confirmed he was a victim in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. The indictment alleges Sklarov illegally sold $450 million worth of corporate shares that Salinas had put up as collateral for a loan. A lawyer for Sklarov did not immediately return messages.

Former Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs was found not guilty of assaulting his private chef in a pay dispute. The four-time Pro Bowl wideout was facing strangulation charge and a misdemeanor assault and battery charge stemming from the alleged dispute. According to court records, the chef told officers she and Diggs argued about money he owed her for work. During the Dec. 2 encounter at his home in Dedham, she said, he “smacked her across the face” and then “tried to choke her using the crook of his elbow around her neck,” leaving her feeling short of breath. Diggs, whose attorney said he denied the charges, was released by the Patriots in March.

A former FedEx driver has been sentenced to death after he pleaded guilty to killing a 7-year-old girl he took from her Texas home while delivering a Christmas gift. Jurors decided Tuesday on the sentence for 34-year-old Tanner Horner. He had pleaded guilty to capital murder just as his trial began in Fort Worth in the 2022 killing of Athena Strand. Her body was found two days after she was reported missing in the rural town of Paradise, near Fort Worth. Horner's attorney had asked jurors to sentence Horner to life in prison and said Horner suffered from "various mental illnesses."

New Mexico state prosecutors are seeking fundamental changes to Meta’s social media apps and algorithms to safeguard children in the second phase of a landmark trial on allegations that platforms such as Instagram have created a public safety hazard. Opening statements are scheduled Monday in the three-week bench trial. Meta has warned that it could eliminate service in the state if forced to comply with impractical mandates. Recent jury verdicts have validated long-standing concerns about the dangers of social media for young people. New Mexico prosecutors say Meta's platforms pose a public nuisance under state law and want improvements aimed at curbing child sexual exploitation.

A former Miami congressman and close friend of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was convicted Friday in connection with a secret $50 million lobbying campaign on behalf of Venezuela’s socialist government during the first Trump administration. Jurors found Republican David Rivera and an associate guilty on all counts, including failing to register as a foreign agent with the Justice Department and conspiracy to commit money laundering as part of its work for former President Nicolás Maduro’s government. The seven-week trial offered a rare glimpse into Miami’s role as a crossroads for foreign influence campaigns aimed at shaping U.S. policy toward Latin America.

The woman at the center of Harvey Weinstein’s repeatedly retried rape case has told jurors for the third time that the former Hollywood honcho trapped her in a New York hotel room and assaulted her in 2013. Jessica Mann testified through sobs Tuesday that she repeatedly said no, and she tried to leave the room, but in her words, “he just treated me like he owned me.” Weinstein looked on steadily in court as she spoke. He denies the allegation. His lawyers haven’t yet had their chance to question Mann at this retrial but have argued that everything that happened between the two was consensual.

Nearly a quarter-century after rap star Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC was shot to death, a man admitted in court Monday to a role in a killing that stymied investigators for decades. Jay Bryant pleaded guilty to a federal murder charge, telling a judge that he helped other people get into a recording studio so they could ambush the DJ, born Jason Mizell. The 52-year-old’s admission brings some closure — but also adds complexity — to a knotty case. Bryant didn’t name the other people with whom he acted. But a jury in 2024 convicted two other men, Karl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington, yet a judge subsequently cleared Jordan. Washington has also challenged his conviction.

A woman who accused Harvey Weinstein of raping her in 2013 is testifying for the third time against the former movie magnate. Jessica Mann took the witness stand Monday at Weinstein's latest retrial. It's happening after his initial, 2020 conviction was overturned, and then a jury failed to decide the rape charge during a retrial last year. Weinstein denies the allegation and has said he never assaulted anyone. The woman has said she's “ready, willing and able” to testify as many times as it takes.