U.S. companies with international clients or customers have to comply with far more laws and regulations than companies that only operate domestically. These include laws and regulations enforced by the U.S. Office of Foreign...more
For all of its upheaval, cryptocurrency seems like it is here to stay. This presents virtual currency businesses and institutional bankers with a dilemma: Do they capitalize on the increasingly powerful trend, or do they wait...more
Medical professionals, patients, and others can commit healthcare fraud by deceiving the healthcare system, such as providing medically unnecessary services, in order to get unauthorized benefits or payments. Facing...more
A civil investigative demand (CID) is a powerful law enforcement tool that federal agencies including the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) use during the early stages of civil investigations into potential violations of the...more
Federal criminal cases can broadly be divided into four phases: (i) the government’s investigation, (ii) grand jury proceedings, (iii) pretrial practice, and (iv) trial. The empanelment of a grand jury is a critical juncture,...more
8/2/2022
/ Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Defense Strategies ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Grand Juries ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Indictments ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Motions to Quash ,
Self-Incrimination ,
Subpoenas
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it has filed charges against 36 defendants in relation to an alleged health care fraud scheme that resulted in approximately $1.2 billion in fraudulent payments....more
7/21/2022
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FBI ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Kickbacks ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Beneficiaries ,
Physician Medicare Reimbursements ,
Physicians ,
Telehealth ,
Telemarketing ,
Telemedicine
Nearly all healthcare providers will face an audit (if not multiple audits) during their careers. Federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) routinely audit healthcare providers for...more
Civil investigative demands (CIDs) are powerful investigative tools that federal agencies use to gather information in support of a broad range of charges. Identifying the federal agencies that issued a civil investigative...more
7/12/2022
/ Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Civil Investigation Demand ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cooperation ,
Defense Strategies ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Litigation Hold ,
Meet and Confer ,
Motions to Quash ,
Privileged Documents
On June 27, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important decision for doctors who have been convicted of violating the federal Controlled Substances Act in connection with the nation’s opioid crisis. In Ruan v. United...more
7/5/2022
/ Burden of Proof ,
Controlled Substances ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Opioid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescribing Authority ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Ruan v United States ,
SCOTUS
When current or former employees or clients blow the whistle on alleged corporate wrongdoing, it can create the potential for significant legal liability. It can even create the possibility of criminal charges being...more
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and its audit contractors have recently increased their use of Targeted Probe and Educate (TPE) audits to target providers suspected of improperly billing Medicare. While...more
6/21/2022
/ Billing ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Medical Billing Codes ,
Medical Records ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Administrative Contractors (MAC) ,
Medicare Appeals ,
Medicare Fraud ,
Penalties ,
Physicians ,
Targeted Probe and Education (TPE) audit
The Federal False Claims Act (FCA) prohibits knowingly submitting a false or fraudulent claim for compensation to the federal government. Federal enforcement actions under the FCA can be civil or criminal in nature, depending...more
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) audits can uncover violations of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) and other federal food and drug laws and regulations. Those violations can lead to administrative, civil, or...more
The Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division (IRS CI) is targeting tax preparers or the ones who prepare tax returns in 2022. IRS CI is focusing its efforts on tax preparers who underreport their clients’...more
6/1/2022
/ Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Liability ,
Defense Strategies ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Income Taxes ,
Indictments ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Interviews ,
IRS ,
Tax Crimes ,
Tax Fraud ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Preparers ,
Tax Returns
Over recent years, the federal government has shown an increased interest in bringing healthcare fraud prosecutions. In fact, in 2020 alone, the federal government opened 1,148 new criminal healthcare fraud investigations,...more
What is Tokenization?
Tokenization is the process of converting an asset into a token on the blockchain. It operates by dividing—or fractionalizing—the ownership of an asset (whether the asset is a piece of real estate or...more
5/17/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Blockchain ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
FinCEN ,
Income Taxes ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Contract ,
Investors ,
IRS ,
Registration Requirement ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Security Token Offering (STOs) ,
Tax Liability ,
Tokenization ,
Virtual Currency
What is a Digital Security Offering (DSO)?
Conducting digital security offerings (DSOs), or security token offerings (STOs) is time-consuming and can be quite complicated. You will need to consider factors such as whether...more
5/10/2022
/ Blockchain ,
Digital Securities ,
Exemptions ,
Howey ,
Investors ,
Registration Requirement ,
Regulation D ,
Regulation S ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Tokens ,
Security Token Offering (STOs) ,
White Papers
NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are digital assets that are sharply rising in popularity. Every day, individuals are launching new NFT projects with similar or new features compared to prior NFT projects. NFTs are attractive to...more
5/3/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Blockchain ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Contract ,
Money Transmitter ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Popular ,
Securities Violations
Pharmacy benefit managers (PBM) audits are becoming increasingly dangerous for independent pharmacies. While the role of the PBM was initially to reduce costs for all parties involved, abusive PBM practices have led to the...more
When registered brokers, their associates, or other financial advisors receive a FINRA 8210 letter, how they respond can make a big difference in the outcome of FINRA’s investigation. ...more
What is an FDA Warning Letter?
Did you receive an FDA warning letter? If so, then there are critical steps you can take today to prepare and to be able to respond promptly to the warning letter. The FDA will issue a...more
Clinical laboratories have come under increased scrutiny in the past few years, especially those that deal with COVID-19 testing or drug testing.
These federal investigations can be surprising and confusing for lab...more
4/5/2022
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Civil Liability ,
CLIA ,
Clinical Laboratories ,
Criminal Liability ,
Defense Strategies ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
FBI ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Investigations ,
OIG ,
Penalties ,
Physicians ,
Stark Law
STOs and NFTs -
STOs stands for “security token offerings.” They involve an offering of digitalized securities such as stocks, bonds, or other token and coin projects. The difference between an IPO and an STO is that STOs...more
3/31/2022
/ Blockchain ,
Digital Assets ,
Investment Contract ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Popular ,
Registration Requirement ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Security Token Offering (STOs) ,
Utility Tokens
Congress is the law-making body of the federal government. It constantly makes new laws or modifies or repeals old ones in every area of federal law – from finance to foreign affairs. Congress is one of three equal branches...more
U.S. taxpayers have an obligation to both report their cryptocurrency transactions to the IRS and pay taxes on it. Individuals who hold on to their cryptocurrencies as an investment are subject to short- and long-term capital...more