Los Angeles jeweler pleads guilty in KPMG case

The owner of a Los Angeles jewelry store pleaded guilty Monday for his role in an insider-trading case involving a former senior partner at accounting firm KPMG.
Bryan Shaw, 52, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and was scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 16 when he faces a maximum of five years in prison.
"In this guilty plea, Mr. Shaw continued his path to fully accepting responsibility for his actions and doing the right thing," said Shaw's attorney Nathan Hochman.
Authorities said Shaw made more than $1 million in illicit profits by trading in advance of company announcements on earnings results or mergers for KPMG LLC clients, including Herbalife Lt., Skechers USA Inc. and Uggs maker Deckers Outdoor Corp.
In exchange, Shaw gave former KPMG accountant Scott London bags filled with cash, along with a $12,000 Rolex watch and jewelry for his wife, among other items, prosecutors said. The Securities and Exchange Commission, which filed civil charges in the case, estimates London received at least $50,000.

Court: Iowa must recognize both lesbian parents

An Iowa agency's refusal to list both spouses in a lesbian marriage as parents on their children's birth certificates is a violation of their constitutional rights and must stop, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday.

The court, which made history by legalizing gay marriage in 2009, ordered the Iowa Department of Public Health to start listing the names of both female spouses on the birth certificates of their children. The ruling was backed by all six justices who participated.

Iowa had been the only state in the nation that allowed marriage or civil unions for same-sex couples, but refused to list both spouses on birth certificates of their children, according to Camilla Taylor, an attorney for Lambda Legal, a gay rights group involved in the case.

Justice David Wiggins said the state government "has been unable to identify a constitutionally adequate justification" for treating lesbian parents differently than parents of opposite sex. He said the only explanation for doing so was "stereotype or prejudice" that violated their rights to be treated equally under the Iowa Constitution.