On June 27, the CFPB published a policy statement in the Federal Register outlining its plan to address criminally liable regulatory offenses. The statement came in response to Executive Order 14294, which the President issued on May 9 to combat overcriminalization in federal regulations.
The policy statement explains that the CFPB may refer alleged violations of criminal regulatory offenses — defined as federal regulations enforceable by a criminal penalty — to the DOJ when appropriate. Consistent with the executive order, the CFPB will submit a report to the OMB within 365 days, listing all criminal regulatory offenses enforceable by the CFPB detailing the potential penalties and applicable mens rea standards. The CFPB will also (1) consider whether an offense included in this report before making criminal referrals to the DOJ or the CFPB’s Inspector General, (2) examine its statutory authority to determine if a background mens rea standard can be adopted for criminal regulatory offenses, and (3) in future rulemaking proceedings, identify criminal regulatory offenses and their authorizing statutes, including a clear mens rea requirement for each element of such offenses.
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