If the story is well-documented and publicizes an issue that is useful for the community to know. Not long ago it was discouraged to publish stories about abuse, on the grounds of “lashon hara” and, “What will the wife and children do for parnossah?” and so forth. Some courageous people continued anyway, and the problem was eventually recognized and addressed, with countless innocent lives being saved from ruin.
Stories about Yidden breaking the law, if they are well-founded and not just internet-sourced, are also useful because they alert people to the fact that lawbreakers get caught. Cheating the IRS or your local zoning board isn’t a safe project (besides being against halacha), and people may be discouraged from doing it if they know that they could get caught. And those who break civil law sometimes are led by the Yetzer Hara to come to be oiver halachas, like the infamous store in Monsey that sold treif meat as kosher for years.
This is one of those areas where the editors have to do a judgment call, and not everyone will agree with them. Ask yourself: if it were a matter of someone committing kashrus fraud, would you want it publicized? Why not abuse or tax fraud?