If you ask corporate board members and senior executives to list their number one risk (other than financial operations), the answer in today’s risk environment is clear – cybersecurity and data privacy. The rapid elevation...more
Whenever new technologies emerge or new pots of government funds for assistance are available, you can count on one thing (as the sun rises and sets) – fraudsters will figure out a way to steal money from innocent persons and...more
7/5/2023
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Funding ,
Fraud ,
Healthcare ,
Investors ,
Kickbacks ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
OIG ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Popular ,
Telehealth
Corporate compliance programs in the healthcare industry include many of the same elements that we are all familiar with – risk assessments, code of ethics, written policies and procedures, comprehensive training...more
6/28/2023
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Data Privacy ,
Ethics ,
False Billing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Medical Billing Codes ,
Popular ,
Risk Assessment ,
Stark Law
With the recent release of ChatGPT, we are witnessing the exponential adoption of a new technology, new “large language models” (LLMs) that without question will transform society. It reminds me of the famous computer...more
On June 6, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) officially filed suit against Coinbase, Inc. (“Coinbase”) alleging the company operated as an unregistered securities exchange, broker, and clearing...more
In today’s world of cyber threats, many companies have fallen victim to ransomware attacks. Corporate boards and senior executives face serious issues when their companies are attacked. The payment of ransom is not only...more
6/1/2023
/ Compliance ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Hackers ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Risk Management ,
Russia
The SEC has been racking up several FCPA enforcement actions. DOJ appears to be declining many of these cases. The division of enforcement appeared to follow a pattern – on larger cases with more pervasive violations, DOJ...more
How much is an effective Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”) Compliance Program Worth?
For Toronto-Dominion Bank (“TD”), the answer is at least $225 million––the amount that TD must now pay to First Horizon Bank, after backing...more
5/25/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Compliance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Crimes ,
Internal Controls ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Controls ,
OCC ,
Popular
The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division has suffered setbacks in its precedent-setting criminal prosecution of no-poach agreements in labor markets. The latest and perhaps most surprising defeat occurred when the...more
5/4/2023
/ Aerospace ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
No-Poaching ,
Popular
Not that I am a glutton for punishment, but I always find enforcement actions to supply a number of valuable lessons learned. There are always instructive nuggets of information, opportunities missed, and root causes that...more
4/5/2023
/ Banks ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethics ,
Financial Transactions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Sanction Violations ,
Wachovia ,
Wells Fargo
In our lifetime (however long or short), there is no way any company will ever match Wells Fargo for its record of misconduct, criminal and civil enforcement, and regulatory fines and penalties. No one, no way....more
If there ever is an example of a rotten corporate culture, Wells Fargo sits at the head of the class. Since Wells Fargo’s sales pressure scandal, Wells Fargo has continued to suffer from a string of scandals and misconduct. ...more
3/30/2023
/ Banks ,
Code of Conduct ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethics ,
Fines ,
Government Investigations ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Obstruction of Justice ,
OCC ,
Performance Incentives ,
Popular ,
Tone At The Top ,
Wells Fargo
In its first enforcement action of 2023, the Justice Department charged a Connecticut man and a foreign national with FCPA bribery and money laundering charges stemming from a bribery scheme to secure contracts with Petrobras...more
2/21/2023
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Money Laundering ,
Oil & Gas ,
Petrobras ,
Popular ,
White Collar Crimes
On Wednesday, January 18, 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) unsealed a criminal complaint in the Eastern District of New York charging Russian-national Anatoly Legkodymov, a senior executive at Bitzlato Ltd....more
On top of all the legal trouble for FTX’s founder and CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried (“SBF”), the company has also filed for bankruptcy and SBF has been ousted as CEO. John J. Ray III, an attorney and bankruptcy professional, has...more
12/22/2022
/ Books & Records ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Disbursement Issues ,
Financial Statements ,
Internal Controls ,
Investment ,
Popular ,
Trading Platforms
In conjunction with the DOJ’s criminal indictment, the SEC brought civil charges against SBF. The SEC charged SBF with orchestrating a scheme to defraud equity investors in the FTX exchange (FTX Trading Ltd.). The SEC...more
Cryptocurrency companies are in trouble. Regulators are bearing down on crypto companies with the Eye of Sauron – pulling the crypto companies into their jurisdiction, prosecuting fraud cases, and aggressively prosecuting...more
12/9/2022
/ Corruption ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Sanction Violations ,
Virtual Currency
The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division continues its aggressive pursuit of enforcement and recently succeeded in blocking a controversial acquisition in the book selling market. After a string of losses in the merger...more
11/28/2022
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Books ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Market Power ,
Merger Controls ,
Popular ,
Publishers
Talk about a reminder of the past, Asante Berko, a former Executive Director in Goldman Sachs, recently was arrested in London on criminal FCPA charges arising from his involvement in a bribery scheme in Ghana....more
11/21/2022
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Ghana ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Indictments ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
The Justice Department continues to push an aggressive agenda against businesses. It is committed to demonstrating its resolve to prosecute companies and individuals from the business community. Whether it is antitrust,...more
10/27/2022
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fines ,
Forfeiture ,
ISIS ,
Penalties ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Terrorist Financing Regulations ,
Terrorist Organizations
The Biden Administration warned the healthcare industry that it would aggressively prosecute fraud cases. The Justice Department is executing on that promise and doing so with great success. Week after week, we read about...more
9/15/2022
/ Bayer ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Kickbacks ,
Life Sciences ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular
A basic truism — you do not want to become the subject of a Justice Department investigation. The wheels of justice — prosecutors and law enforcement — can cause real harm to organizations and individuals that violate the...more
8/15/2022
/ Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Popular ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
It is hard to write yet another posting about Wells Fargo’s misconduct. Wells Fargo’s troubles continue unabated. I am not exaggerating — I promise. Every few months, we hear about another problem, another enforcement...more
The Department of Treasury issued additional sanctions against Russia, targeting almost 100 entities and individuals, and prohibited import of Russian gold. The United States’ latest action reflected commitments recently...more
7/11/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Transactions ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
Gold ,
Military Conflict ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Ukraine ,
Vladimir Putin
The Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s aggression in Ukraine have disrupted supply chains and heightened the need for supply chain due diligence to ensure business continuity and sustainability. Coupled with these events are...more
6/21/2022
/ Corporate Liability ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Forced Labor ,
Human Rights ,
Human Trafficking ,
Modern Slavery Act ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Risk Management ,
Supply Chain ,
Transparency in Supply Chains Act ,
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)