Tag Archives: Department of Justice

Cybersecurity Compliance on U.S. Government Contracts and Subcontracts

By Karen Harbaugh and Richard Gibbon on Posted in cybersecurity, Department of Justice, False Claims Act (FCA), Fraud, ransomware, United States, US Department of Justice, Whistleblowing
The U.S. Department of Justice announced late last year that it would utilize the False Claims Act, the U.S. government’s primary civil tool to redress false claims for federal funds and property, to bring actions against U.S. government contractors and subcontractors who do not meet the cybersecurity requirements of a particular contract or grant. The … Continue Reading

DOJ Prioritizes Health Care Fraud in the Pandemic

By Chase Goldstein on Posted in bribery, Compliance Program, corruption, COVID-19, Department of Justice, False Claims Act (FCA), Fraud, Healthcare, Industry Investigations, telemedicine
The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) recently announced its largest ever health care fraud and opioid enforcement action.  In a coordinated effort, DOJ charged 345 defendants with more than $6 billion in fraud losses for submitting false and fraudulent claims to federal health care programs and private insurers.… Continue Reading

Cryptocurrency Exchange and its Executives Face Allegations of Failing to Maintain an Adequate AML Program

By Kevin McCart and Rebecca Worthington on Posted in anti-money laundering, Bank Secrecy Act, Commodities Futures Trading Commission, Compliance Program, Cryptocurrency, Department of Justice, FinCEN, Fraud, Government Investigation, OFAC
Two U.S. authorities recently announced actions against four individuals and numerous entities associated with BitMEX, an online trading platform for futures contracts and other derivative products tied to the value of cryptocurrencies.  Both actions allege that BitMEX failed to put in place required anti-money laundering programs and procedures, and serve as a reminder that institutions … Continue Reading

Executive Responsibilities and Consequences: A Case Study of Uber’s Data Breaches

By Colin Jennings and Ericka Johnson on Posted in Anti-corruption, cyberattack, cybersecurity, Data Protection & Privacy, Department of Justice
Every organization is at risk of a data breach, and can learn something from Uber’s data privacy missteps. In an article for Corporate Compliance Insights, Squire Patton Boggs lawyers Colin Jennings, Ericka Johnson, and Dylan Yépez offer key takeaways from the company’s high-profile data breaches and the criminal charges that followed.      … Continue Reading

DOJ and SEC Release Second Edition to FCPA Resource Guide

By Colin Jennings and Ayako Russell on Posted in Anti-corruption, FCPA Jurisdiction, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), Securities Litigation and Enforcement, US Department of Justice
The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) quietly released updated guidance on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) before the Fourth of July holiday weekend.  Entitled A Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Second Edition[1] (“Guide”), the Guide is the first update to the original document published … Continue Reading

2019 Year-end White Collar Updates

By Colin Jennings, Ayako Russell, Rebecca Worthington and Chase Goldstein on Posted in Anti-corruption, corporate compliance, Department of Justice
In 2019, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and other federal regulators continued to emphasize the importance of effective compliance programs, self-disclosure of violations of the law and cooperation with regulators during investigations. In a new client alert out this week, we shed light on some of the updated guidance from various government agencies released last year, landmark state and … Continue Reading

DOJ Updates Guidance for Corporate Compliance Programs

By Ayako Russell and Colin Jennings on Posted in Compliance Program, corporate compliance, Department of Justice
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced an update to its earlier guidance on how the DOJ will evaluate the effectiveness of a company’s corporate compliance program. The updated compliance guideline (“Updated Guidance”) is twice the length of the original, and utilizes a more instructive approach, serving as a roadmap to prosecutors, and prudent companies. Although … Continue Reading

Hoskins May Limit Extraterritorial Enforcement of U.S. Sanctions

By Kevin McCart on Posted in Anti-corruption
The Second Circuit’s recent decision in United States v. Hoskins may impact enforcement of U.S. economic sanctions programs. The Hoskins decision precludes the government from charging a foreign national acting abroad with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) through theories of conspiracy and accomplice liability. This holding is equally applicable to U.S. sanctions law.… Continue Reading

Compliance Prevents Corporate Casualties in Trade Wars

By Squire Patton Boggs on Posted in Anti-corruption
Tariffs are not the only weapon of retaliation countries may wield in a trade war.  Governments can pressure trade adversaries at the bargaining table by opening other fronts, such as limiting foreign investment, halting drug enforcement cooperation, or, of particular concern to the corporate world, scrutinizing companies doing business within their jurisdictions.  What does this mean?… Continue Reading

DOJ Recovers $32.3 Million For Drug Pricing Despite Limited Role in FCA Case

By Rebecca Worthington on Posted in False Claims Act (FCA)
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced a False Claims Act (FCA) settlement with Kmart Corporation for $32.3 million.  The settlement is part of a global $59 million settlement; the relator will receive $9.3 million. Former Kmart Employee Filed the Qui Tam James Garbe, the relator, was employed by Kmart as a pharmacist from 2007 until … Continue Reading

Corporate “C” Plea Not Good Enough

By Rebecca Worthington on Posted in Sentencing
A recent decision discusses a corporate “C” plea not being good enough for a federal judge. The case involves a pharmaceutical company trying to negotiate a specific sentence with prosecutors. The judge’s analysis follows below after a short background about a C plea. Types of Guilty Pleas Federal Criminal Rule 11(c)(1) governs plea agreement procedure. It includes a limitation: “The court must not participate … Continue Reading

Summary of U.S. Department of Justice’s Guidance, “Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs”

By Ayako Russell and Colin Jennings on Posted in Compliance Program, corporate compliance, US Department of Justice
Summary of Compliance Guideline The Criminal Division’s Fraud Section of the U.S. Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) has released guidance on how the DOJ will determine the effectiveness of a company’s corporate compliance program.  The guidance, entitled Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs[1] (the “Compliance Guideline”), provides examples of topics and sample questions that are frequently … Continue Reading

DOJ’s Criminal Division Launches new FCPA Pilot Program

By Squire Patton Boggs on Posted in Commercial Bribery, Compliance Program, FCPA Jurisdiction, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), Industry Investigations
In an effort to enhance its ability to investigate and prosecute Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) cases, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Criminal Division has launched a new one-year FCPA pilot program effective April 5, 2016. The program has three main goals: Motivate companies to voluntarily self-disclose FCPA-related misconduct Motivate companies to fully cooperate with … Continue Reading
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