In a recent settled administrative proceeding, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or the Commission) imposed a $20 million fine and a cease-and-desist order on Andeavor LLC, a Texas energy company, in connection with...more
On July 3, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released the Second Edition of their joint Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (Resource Guide or Guide). ...more
Three years ago, in a footnote to its unanimous opinion in Kokesh v. S.E.C., the Supreme Court left open two questions: “whether courts possess authority to order disgorgement in SEC enforcement proceedings” and “whether...more
On May 7, 2020, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned the convictions of two public officials charged in the “Bridgegate” political corruption scandal. ...more
5/13/2020
/ Appeals ,
Bridgegate ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Federal-Program Fraud ,
Governor Christie ,
Intent to Obtain Money or Property ,
Kelly v United States ,
Political Scandals ,
Public Officials ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Wire Fraud
When Law No. 2016-1691 (Sapin II Law) created the convention judicaire d’intérêt public (CJIP), modeled after the American deferred prosecution agreement (DPA), it was feared that the existence of potentially dueling French...more
8/21/2019
/ AFA ,
Anti-Corruption ,
CJIP ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
France ,
Internal Investigations ,
Sapin II ,
Self-Reporting ,
White Collar Crimes
On April 30, 2019, Brian A. Benczkowski, the assistant attorney general for the Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice, announced the release of an updated version of the Criminal Division’s guidance for...more
In a speech delivered on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein described important changes to DOJ policies for awarding cooperation credit in corporate investigations. These changes have been...more
12/4/2018
/ Cooperation Agreement ,
Corporate Investigations ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Government Investigations ,
Individual Accountability ,
Policy Statement ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Willful Misconduct ,
Yates Memorandum
In its June 22, 2018, decision in Carpenter v. United States, a 5-4 majority of the Supreme Court held that a criminal defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights were violated when the government obtained a court order requiring his...more
6/29/2018
/ Carpenter v US ,
Cell Phones ,
Cell Site Location Information (CSLI) ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Electronic Records ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Exigent Circumstances ,
Fourth Amendment ,
Geolocation ,
Location Data ,
Probable Cause ,
Reasonable Expectation of Privacy ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Third-Party ,
Warrantless Searches
In People v. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, New York’s highest court considered the applicable statute of limitations for Martin Act claims, holding in a June 12 opinion that such claims are governed by a three-year...more
In Lagos v. United States, decided on May 29, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that restitution orders under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act (MVRA) are limited to fees and expenses incurred during...more
6/6/2018
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Crime Victims ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Government Investigations ,
Internal Investigations ,
Lagos v United States ,
Litigation Fees & Costs ,
Mandatory Victim's Restitution Act ,
Restitution ,
SCOTUS ,
Wire Fraud
On Nov. 14, 2017, six months after the so-called Sapin II law1 entered into force in France, the president of the Paris Tribunal de grande instance approved the first French deferred prosecution agreement (DPA or CJIP...more
On June 26, 2017, the D.C. Circuit, en banc, split 5-to-5 on whether to grant a petition seeking to overturn an August 2016 ruling by a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit that determined that SEC administrative law judges...more
In a pair of decisions issued on June 5, the Supreme Court sharply curtailed the scope of financial sanctions available in civil securities enforcement and criminal drug trafficking cases. In addition to the results, which...more
6/9/2017
/ Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Forfeiture ,
Forfeiture Statutes ,
Honeycutt v. United States ,
Investment Management ,
Joint and Several Liability ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Misappropriation ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Statute of Limitations ,
White Collar Crimes