Digging Deeper Episode 10: Misguided or Misconduct? Understanding Bad Behavior in the Corporate World
In its never-ending war on corporate fraud, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has just commissioned a private army to fight as never before. On August 1, the DOJ launched a three-year program to provide financial rewards to...more
Tackling the tricky issue of how a plaintiff proves an employer's “intent,” in an opinion issued today, the United States Supreme Court unanimously held that under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, corporate whistleblowers have...more
PreGel America makes and distributes products used in the gelato, ice cream and pastry business. But it alleges a far less than sweet experience with its former CEO, who the company says approved unauthorized personal salary...more
The new Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (the Act) is the latest step in the UK Government’s attempts to address economic crime and improve transparency over corporate entities. Whilst most of the key...more
Fraud is a pervasive issue that affects businesses, organizations, and individuals across various industries. Often, an organization is surprised to find itself a victim of fraud, especially when the perpetrator is a trusted...more
Nearly two decades after the enactment of SOX, which was precipitated by several high-profile corporate and accounting scandals in the US during the late 1990s and early 2000s, UK and European regulators are grappling with a...more
What is happening? The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (the “Bill”) is currently going through the UK Parliament. On 11 April 2023, the Government introduced a draft amendment that will create a new...more
This week the DOJ published revisions to its Corporate Enforcement Policy designed to even further encourage companies to make voluntary self-disclosures of wrongdoing within their ranks, cooperate with investigations, and...more
Typically, pursuing fraudsters is an exercise in detective work, forensic analysis and a lot of circumstantial evidence. Rarely does a fraud come with a smoking gun or confession. Parties must cobble together evidence...more
Multi-national organizations battle fraud and corruption risks daily given the size, scale, and complexities of their businesses, increased regulation and enforcement, and challenges preparing for a post-pandemic fraud...more
The corporate attribution doctrine concerns the attribution of the actions of a corporation’s directing mind to the corporation itself. On March 10, 2022, in Ernst & Young Inc. v. Aquino [Aquino], the Court of Appeal...more
The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners recently released its 2022 benchmarking report on anti-fraud technologies, and the compliance community may want to look at the findings. According to this report, a majority of...more
Ever since the establishment of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) whistleblower rewards program, there has been a steady increase in the number of foreign whistleblowers coming to the U.S. government to...more
Why do good people do bad things? Why would someone put an otherwise stellar reputation on the line for a few moments of gain? Bob Brenner dives in to decode this behavior with Richard Girgenti, a leading authority on ethics...more
In this episode, Investigations, Enforcement and White Collar partners Bobby Higdon and David Rybicki reflect on their recent posts in the Department of Justice and what to expect in the world of corporate enforcement under...more
“Pleading the Fifth” is one of the most commonly known phrases in our legal system, and the right against self-incrimination is one of the Constitution’s most meaningful protections. That said, in the corporate fraud context,...more
It is tax season once again. While the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has extended this year’s filing deadline to May 17, 2021 for individuals, businesses must still file by April 15, and all U.S. taxpayers must ensure that...more
Eight years ago, the California legislature established a fund to compensate victims of corporate fraud. Cal. Stats. 2012, Ch. 564. The Secretary of State administers the fund, but has no authority to investigate or bring...more
Soon after Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) in March 2020, the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) moved quickly to address potential COVID-19 related...more
It is one thing to wake up and find yourself as the lead story on a Sunday morning when the New York Times (NYT) runs a corruption story about your organization above the fold. It is quite another when the world’s top...more
Corporate directors should monitor management's establishment and maintenance of safeguards against fraud. The board of directors, particularly the board's audit committee, and management can reduce the exposure of the...more
Here’s a closer look at some information underlying the national statistics from the 2018 Sourcebook of Federal Sentencing Statistics... As noted in the main article, there were 69,425 federal offenders who were sentenced...more
The United States Sentencing Commission has issued its 2018 Sourcebook of Federal Sentencing Statistics. The Sourcebook is an annual collection of data related to the federal criminal cases that resulted in an offender being...more
David Anderson, the recently appointed United States Attorney for the Northern District of California, has announced a corporate fraud “strike force” designed to pursue the “investigation and prosecution of corporate fraud...more
In recent remarks, AAG Brian A. Benczkowski emphasized that the US Department of Justice remains serious about fighting corporate fraud and corruption, and noted that transparency in its criteria for prosecution is a key tool...more