False Claims Act: Implied Certification Theory
On August 1, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced its new “Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program” (“DOJ Program”), a three-year initiative managed by DOJ’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section....more
You have to wonder how OFAC has the time to investigate and settle cases given its significant work implementing the Russia Sanctions Program. But OFAC continues to demonstrate its commitment to aggressive enforcement. ...more
The SEC announced its first FCPA enforcement action in 2022. South Korean telecommunications company, KT Corporation, agreed to pay $6.3 million to settle FCPA violations. As part of the settlement, KT Corp. agreed to pay...more
Organizations are comprised of human actors and in the end are defined by human values. In other words, human make mistakes and so do companies. Where things get sticky is when we face challenges and companies, like human,...more
The Justice Department’s criminal investigation of the chicken producing industry continues to gain momentum. Pilgrim’s Pride is the first company to plead guilty and cooperate in the ongoing criminal investigation of the...more
Deutsche Bank’s ethics and compliance function faces numerous challenges. Deutsche Bank has a storied record of scandals, government enforcement actions and failures to abide by prior deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs)....more
When you are hot, you are hot. (And when you are not, you are not; Thank you Jerry Reed, Country Singer). OFAC is hot and resumed its enforcement streak, settling three enforcement actions in three weeks....more
The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division announced a major guilty plea with Sandoz, Inc., in its expanding criminal investigation of the generic pharmaceutical industry....more
OFAC continues to aggressively enforce its sanctions programs. In its latest enforcement action, OFAC agreed with Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques SCRL (“SITA”), a Swiss telecom company, to an...more
The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) recently announced that it is launching an investigation into the foreign gifts reporting practices of two higher education institutions. ...more
OFAC had a big year in 2019 and 2020 looks like a continuation. In the last week, OFAC issued two enforcement actions — Eagle Shipping and Park Strategies....more
In an interesting end of year decision, issued on December 31, 2019, a District Court in Dallas issued a rejected OFAC’s enforcement action against Exxon Corporation imposing a $2 million penalty for violation of the Russia...more
On December 6, 2019, Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (Ericsson or the Company), resolved long-running investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into the...more
Goldman Sachs is reportedly in negotiations with federal prosecutors to resolve claims about its role in the Malaysian 1MDB scandal for upwards of $2 billion. A settlement—which “could include a guilty plea from Goldman’s...more
I thought Frosty was a good analogy to consider the disgraced Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s former partner Tim Leissner, as he is certainly back again. Yesterday, I begin a two-part blog post series on Leissner’s settlement with...more
Boston Heart Diagnostics, a Massachusetts company, agree to pay $26.7 million to settle a False Claims Act case involving allegations of paying illegal kickbacks to physicians....more
On November 12, 2019, FinCEN issued its latest Advisory on the Financial Action Task Force-Identified Jurisdictions with Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism Deficiencies and Relevant Actions by the...more
Last week, DOJ announced the indictment of two former Herbalife executives in China for participating in a bribery scheme over a ten-year period. Herbalife, a multi-level marketing company, was not charged and its...more
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is not known for its aggressive enforcement record. But that may be changing. FINRA recently fined BNP Paribas for $15 million for anti-money laundering deficiencies in the...more
Two charitable foundations that helped patients pay for drug co-payments settled anti-kickback charges for $6 million. The Patient Access Network Foundation (PANF) agreed to pay $4 million and Good Days agreed to pay $2...more
Nine years ago today, on November 4, 2010, was Panalpina Settlement Day which made history for the single largest number of companies to simultaneously settle Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)-related violations. It was...more
As reported by Byron Tau and Aruna Viswanatha in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), “Jho Low, the businessman-turned-fugitive accused of masterminding a multibillion-dollar fraud involving Malaysia’s sovereign-wealth fund, agreed...more
OFAC’s aggressive enforcement program continues to bear fruit. The latest settlement involved GE and three of its subsidiaries, which agreed to pay $2.7 million for 289 alleged violations of the Cuba Sanctions Program. So...more
This week I will be considering the recent spate of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement actions brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) at the close of its fiscal year. Last week saw several...more
Last week Juniper Networks, Inc. (JNPR) resolved their long-standing Foreign Corruption Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement action by settling with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) via a Cease and Desist Order...more