Florida
Dodgers owner Mark Walter sued over alleged failure to disclose federal probe to policyholders
MIAMI (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter and multiple insurance companies he owns have been sued, alleging they failed to disclose an ongoing federal probe to customers while directing policyholders’ money into Walter’s other companies.
The lawsuit lists Walter, Delaware Life Insurance Co., Clear Spring Life and Annuity, TWG Global Holdings and Walter’s Guggenheim Partners investment firm as defendants.
Ira Rosner, a 67-year-old Florida man, brought the class-action lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Miami on Wednesday. He purchased a policy from Delaware Life in April and he had until late May to withdraw his money without penalty. However, the company did not disclose the investigation to him until June,
Rosner is seeking a jury trial in the lawsuit that seeks damages for negligent misrepresentation, breach of contract and aiding and abetting fraud.
TWG Global didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
Walter has been under investigation since last year by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan and the Securities and Exchange Commission following a whistleblower complaint regarding alleged misrepresented loans made between companies within his business portfolio.
TWG Global Holdings is the holding company through which Walter controls Delaware Life, Clear Spring Life and Annuity Co. and his stake in Guggenheim Partners. TWG Global denied any wrongdoing involving the probe in a statement last month.
Walter and co-owner Todd Boehly sold their stakes in English Premier League club Chelsea this week. Last month, Walter agreed to sell the Los Angeles Lakers in a surprise move less than a year after buying the NBA franchise from the Buss family. The deal is under review by the league.
The Dodgers have been adamant that Walter has no plans to sell the baseball team.
Australia
Rebel Wilson appears in Sydney court over ‘The Deb’ producers’ sabotage allegations
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Australian actor Rebel Wilson returned to a court in Sydney on Monday over her directorial debut, “The Deb,” with producers accusing her of sabotaging the 2024 musical comedy.
AI Film Production Limited is suing Wilson in the New South Wales state Supreme Court alleging she undermined and blocked the release of the film, causing the Britain-based production company financial and reputational damage.
The film’s release was shelved in 2024, after Wilson fell out with co-producers Amanda Ghost, her husband Greg Cameron and Vince Holden. It was eventually released in April this year.
The star of the “Pitch Perfect” films and “Bridesmaids” won a defamation suit in the Federal Court in Sydney in July. That suit had been brought by the star of the “The Deb,” Australian actor Charlotte MacInnes.
Wilson’s social media posts in July 2024 are at the center of both suits.
The three AI Film co-producers alleged Wilson accused them of inappropriate behavior conduct toward MacInnes, embezzling money and trying to block the film’s release.
They said that Wilson and her company Camp Sugar Productions breached consumer law concerning misleading conduct and breached various contracts by making allegedly defamatory statements about them to her 11 million Instagram followers.
Wilson was accused of preventing the film’s release by undermining negotiations with potential distributors and threatening an injunction against showing the film in Australia.
AI Film is seeking unspecified damages as well as an apology from Wilson for misleading and deceptive conduct. AI Film is also seeking corrective advertising.
In a cross-claim, Wilson and Camp Sugar alleged the three co-producers’ involvement in the film was marked by “a troubling pattern of illicit egregious behaviors, including theft, bullying and sexual misconduct.”
Wilson said that Ghost broke verbal agreements over writing credits and a soundtrack album deal. Wilson also alleged Cameron and Holden embezzled 900,000 Australian dollars ($642,000) from a joint venture company set up to make the movie.
Wilson sat at the back of the courtroom on Monday and frequently typed on her phone as her lawyer Dauid Sibtain questioned the first witness, Holden.
The hearing was adjourned until Tuesday.
In the previous federal court case, MacInnes had alleged Wilson defamed her or breached her confidence in four social media posts from September 2024 to July 2025, by falsely suggesting she had withdrawn a sexual harassment complaint against Ghost to advance her career.
MacInnes denied ever making such a complaint, but a judge ruled that none of Wilson’s posts were defamatory.
Hong Kong
Former husband and in-laws of socialite Abby Choi stand trial in her killing
HONG KONG (AP) — A murder trial began Monday for the former husband and in-laws of Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi more than three years after the discovery of parts of her dismembered body at a house shocked the city where violent crime is rare.
Choi’s ex-husband Alex Kwong, his father Kwong Kau and his brother Anthony Kwong were accused of killing Choi in February 2023. They face life imprisonment if convicted of murder. They were also charged with preventing the lawful burial of a body.
Choi was a 28-year-old socialite who shared her glamorous life of photo shoots and fashion shows on Instagram. Days before her death, she posted about attending a Dior show at Paris Fashion Week.
Choi’s killing transfixed many in the Asian financial hub that has a very low level of violent crime. Dozens of people waited outside the courtroom for the hearing to start, and a live broadcast was arranged for people to watch outside it.
All three defendants wore masks and appeared calm in court. Kwong Kau was in a white T-shirt, while his sons wore suits.
Police in 2023 said they found some body parts inside the unit at a village in Tai Po, a suburban district in Hong Kong. Officers later searched a landfill for evidence.
Choi had two children with Alex Kwong. She remarried after their divorce and had two younger children with her second husband.
The prosecution is expected to open its case at a later date. The jury trial is expected to last 45 days.
Louisiana
Jury convicts woman of negligent homicide in reporter’s death
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Louisiana jury convicted a woman of negligent homicide on Thursday in the death of a Telemundo television reporter who had been visiting New Orleans to cover the Super Bowl, according to the Jefferson Parish district attorney’s office.
Danette Colbert, 49, was also convicted of racketeering, as was her accomplice, 35-year-old Rickey White, according to Paul Purpura, a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office. Racketeering carries up to a 50-year sentence in Louisiana.
The two had spent years carrying out a criminal enterprise that drew in victims in the city’s historic French Quarter with the promise of sex, then used drugs to knock them out and drain their bank accounts using stolen cards and phones, according to prosecutors.
Colbert was the last person seen leaving the room of Adan Manzano, a 27-year-old reporter and anchor for Telemundo based in Kansas City, Missouri, who was found dead in his hotel room Feb. 5 in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner days before the Super Bowl last year.
An autopsy revealed that Manzano died lying face down on a pillow, unable to breathe after ingesting a combination of alcohol and the depressant Xanax.
Prosecutors had sought to convict both Colbert and White on the charge of manslaughter, which carries up to a 40-year sentence. White was found not guilty.
Colbert’s negligent homicide conviction carries a maximum sentence of 10 years, Jefferson Parish Assistant District Attorney Jenny Voss told reporters. She said the jury had carefully weighed all the evidence and she respected its decision.
“We are pleased with the verdict — we knew this was a difficult case going in,” she told reporters. “Justice was served.”
Manzano’s family was unable to attend the trial, Voss added. Steve Downing, the general manager of Telemundo Kansas City where Manzano had worked, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Stavros Panagoulopoulos, Colbert’s attorney, and Leo Caillier III, White’s attorney, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Colbert, whose arrest record included allegations of drugging men and theft, later used Manzano’s credit card at a New Orleans gas station and other stores in the area.
In court documents, prosecutors described Colbert as acting under the guise of a “prostitute or ‘party girl’” while White served as her “pimp,” who provided security and helped find and rob victims.
Another man who assisted Colbert and White with their criminal ring, Christian Anderson, 35, testified against them in exchange for reducing his charges to simple robbery and access device fraud, according to Purpura. Court records show he pleaded guilty to both charges and received a six-year prison sentence.
Anderson “is relieved to be able to put this behind him,” said his attorney, Bradley Phillips. Anderson has been cooperating with law enforcement since his arrest and “has clearly demonstrated remorse for his past behavior.”
In court documents, prosecutors revealed extensive text messages dating back years among Colbert, White and Anderson, discussing using drugs to incapacitate and rob victims.
Colbert and White are scheduled to be sentenced in late September, according to the Jefferson Parish district attorney’s office.
Manzano’s death came a year after his wife died in a car accident. The couple left behind a toddler daughter.
Dodgers owner Mark Walter sued over alleged failure to disclose federal probe to policyholders
MIAMI (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter and multiple insurance companies he owns have been sued, alleging they failed to disclose an ongoing federal probe to customers while directing policyholders’ money into Walter’s other companies.
The lawsuit lists Walter, Delaware Life Insurance Co., Clear Spring Life and Annuity, TWG Global Holdings and Walter’s Guggenheim Partners investment firm as defendants.
Ira Rosner, a 67-year-old Florida man, brought the class-action lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Miami on Wednesday. He purchased a policy from Delaware Life in April and he had until late May to withdraw his money without penalty. However, the company did not disclose the investigation to him until June,
Rosner is seeking a jury trial in the lawsuit that seeks damages for negligent misrepresentation, breach of contract and aiding and abetting fraud.
TWG Global didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
Walter has been under investigation since last year by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan and the Securities and Exchange Commission following a whistleblower complaint regarding alleged misrepresented loans made between companies within his business portfolio.
TWG Global Holdings is the holding company through which Walter controls Delaware Life, Clear Spring Life and Annuity Co. and his stake in Guggenheim Partners. TWG Global denied any wrongdoing involving the probe in a statement last month.
Walter and co-owner Todd Boehly sold their stakes in English Premier League club Chelsea this week. Last month, Walter agreed to sell the Los Angeles Lakers in a surprise move less than a year after buying the NBA franchise from the Buss family. The deal is under review by the league.
The Dodgers have been adamant that Walter has no plans to sell the baseball team.
Australia
Rebel Wilson appears in Sydney court over ‘The Deb’ producers’ sabotage allegations
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Australian actor Rebel Wilson returned to a court in Sydney on Monday over her directorial debut, “The Deb,” with producers accusing her of sabotaging the 2024 musical comedy.
AI Film Production Limited is suing Wilson in the New South Wales state Supreme Court alleging she undermined and blocked the release of the film, causing the Britain-based production company financial and reputational damage.
The film’s release was shelved in 2024, after Wilson fell out with co-producers Amanda Ghost, her husband Greg Cameron and Vince Holden. It was eventually released in April this year.
The star of the “Pitch Perfect” films and “Bridesmaids” won a defamation suit in the Federal Court in Sydney in July. That suit had been brought by the star of the “The Deb,” Australian actor Charlotte MacInnes.
Wilson’s social media posts in July 2024 are at the center of both suits.
The three AI Film co-producers alleged Wilson accused them of inappropriate behavior conduct toward MacInnes, embezzling money and trying to block the film’s release.
They said that Wilson and her company Camp Sugar Productions breached consumer law concerning misleading conduct and breached various contracts by making allegedly defamatory statements about them to her 11 million Instagram followers.
Wilson was accused of preventing the film’s release by undermining negotiations with potential distributors and threatening an injunction against showing the film in Australia.
AI Film is seeking unspecified damages as well as an apology from Wilson for misleading and deceptive conduct. AI Film is also seeking corrective advertising.
In a cross-claim, Wilson and Camp Sugar alleged the three co-producers’ involvement in the film was marked by “a troubling pattern of illicit egregious behaviors, including theft, bullying and sexual misconduct.”
Wilson said that Ghost broke verbal agreements over writing credits and a soundtrack album deal. Wilson also alleged Cameron and Holden embezzled 900,000 Australian dollars ($642,000) from a joint venture company set up to make the movie.
Wilson sat at the back of the courtroom on Monday and frequently typed on her phone as her lawyer Dauid Sibtain questioned the first witness, Holden.
The hearing was adjourned until Tuesday.
In the previous federal court case, MacInnes had alleged Wilson defamed her or breached her confidence in four social media posts from September 2024 to July 2025, by falsely suggesting she had withdrawn a sexual harassment complaint against Ghost to advance her career.
MacInnes denied ever making such a complaint, but a judge ruled that none of Wilson’s posts were defamatory.
Hong Kong
Former husband and in-laws of socialite Abby Choi stand trial in her killing
HONG KONG (AP) — A murder trial began Monday for the former husband and in-laws of Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi more than three years after the discovery of parts of her dismembered body at a house shocked the city where violent crime is rare.
Choi’s ex-husband Alex Kwong, his father Kwong Kau and his brother Anthony Kwong were accused of killing Choi in February 2023. They face life imprisonment if convicted of murder. They were also charged with preventing the lawful burial of a body.
Choi was a 28-year-old socialite who shared her glamorous life of photo shoots and fashion shows on Instagram. Days before her death, she posted about attending a Dior show at Paris Fashion Week.
Choi’s killing transfixed many in the Asian financial hub that has a very low level of violent crime. Dozens of people waited outside the courtroom for the hearing to start, and a live broadcast was arranged for people to watch outside it.
All three defendants wore masks and appeared calm in court. Kwong Kau was in a white T-shirt, while his sons wore suits.
Police in 2023 said they found some body parts inside the unit at a village in Tai Po, a suburban district in Hong Kong. Officers later searched a landfill for evidence.
Choi had two children with Alex Kwong. She remarried after their divorce and had two younger children with her second husband.
The prosecution is expected to open its case at a later date. The jury trial is expected to last 45 days.
Louisiana
Jury convicts woman of negligent homicide in reporter’s death
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Louisiana jury convicted a woman of negligent homicide on Thursday in the death of a Telemundo television reporter who had been visiting New Orleans to cover the Super Bowl, according to the Jefferson Parish district attorney’s office.
Danette Colbert, 49, was also convicted of racketeering, as was her accomplice, 35-year-old Rickey White, according to Paul Purpura, a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office. Racketeering carries up to a 50-year sentence in Louisiana.
The two had spent years carrying out a criminal enterprise that drew in victims in the city’s historic French Quarter with the promise of sex, then used drugs to knock them out and drain their bank accounts using stolen cards and phones, according to prosecutors.
Colbert was the last person seen leaving the room of Adan Manzano, a 27-year-old reporter and anchor for Telemundo based in Kansas City, Missouri, who was found dead in his hotel room Feb. 5 in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner days before the Super Bowl last year.
An autopsy revealed that Manzano died lying face down on a pillow, unable to breathe after ingesting a combination of alcohol and the depressant Xanax.
Prosecutors had sought to convict both Colbert and White on the charge of manslaughter, which carries up to a 40-year sentence. White was found not guilty.
Colbert’s negligent homicide conviction carries a maximum sentence of 10 years, Jefferson Parish Assistant District Attorney Jenny Voss told reporters. She said the jury had carefully weighed all the evidence and she respected its decision.
“We are pleased with the verdict — we knew this was a difficult case going in,” she told reporters. “Justice was served.”
Manzano’s family was unable to attend the trial, Voss added. Steve Downing, the general manager of Telemundo Kansas City where Manzano had worked, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Stavros Panagoulopoulos, Colbert’s attorney, and Leo Caillier III, White’s attorney, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Colbert, whose arrest record included allegations of drugging men and theft, later used Manzano’s credit card at a New Orleans gas station and other stores in the area.
In court documents, prosecutors described Colbert as acting under the guise of a “prostitute or ‘party girl’” while White served as her “pimp,” who provided security and helped find and rob victims.
Another man who assisted Colbert and White with their criminal ring, Christian Anderson, 35, testified against them in exchange for reducing his charges to simple robbery and access device fraud, according to Purpura. Court records show he pleaded guilty to both charges and received a six-year prison sentence.
Anderson “is relieved to be able to put this behind him,” said his attorney, Bradley Phillips. Anderson has been cooperating with law enforcement since his arrest and “has clearly demonstrated remorse for his past behavior.”
In court documents, prosecutors revealed extensive text messages dating back years among Colbert, White and Anderson, discussing using drugs to incapacitate and rob victims.
Colbert and White are scheduled to be sentenced in late September, according to the Jefferson Parish district attorney’s office.
Manzano’s death came a year after his wife died in a car accident. The couple left behind a toddler daughter.
