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Law Enforcement in the Digital Assets Space: Department of Justice Issues Report Pursuant to White House Executive Order

By Richard Gibbon, Rebecca Worthington, Adam Klauder and Chase Goldstein on Posted in Cryptocurrency, Department of Justice, United States, US Department of Justice, US Treasury
On September 16, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DoJ”) issued a report on The Role of Law Enforcement in Detecting, Investigating, and Prosecuting Criminal Activity Related to Digital Assets (the “Report”), which will have a significant and wide-ranging impact on the U.S. government’s ability to investigate, prosecute, and disrupt crimes involving digital assets.  The … Continue Reading

DOJ Announces New Corporate Enforcement Strategy

By Colin Jennings, Vipal Patel and Nic Gunton on Posted in Compliance Program, corporate compliance, Department of Justice, Sentencing, United States, US Department of Justice
On September 15, 2022, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced updated guidelines for the U.S. Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) corporate criminal enforcement in a speech at New York University Law School. Monaco previously announced in October 2021 that DOJ would take a tougher stance on white collar crime. Shortly thereafter, Monaco formed an advisory group … Continue Reading

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

Series: Economic Espionage and Theft of Trade Secrets

By Benjamin Glassman, Matthew Wagner and Colin Jennings on Posted in China, corruption, Department of Justice, Government Investigation, Russia, United States, US Department of Justice
In 1996, President Clinton signed the Economic Espionage Act (the “Act”). At the time, the principal proponents of the law included business leaders from the then burgeoning Silicon Valley as well as from the aerospace industry. Proponents of the Act claimed foreign entities were actively attempting to steal trade secrets and that the existing laws … 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

New DOJ Expectations: Does Your Corporate Compliance Measure Up?

By Colin Jennings on Posted in Compliance Program, corporate compliance, US Department of Justice
On June 1, 2020, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Criminal Division released an update to its “Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs” guidance for federal prosecutors, its first change since April 2019. Although the update did not fundamentally alter the structure of the guidance, the revisions directly impact how companies should assess and monitor their compliance … Continue Reading

Provider Tips For Telehealth Compliance

By Squire Patton Boggs on Posted in COVID-19, Healthcare, US Department of Justice
Although the rapid shift to telehealth is a boon to providers and patients, the federal government has issued specific guidance that providers need to follow.  See tips for compliance provided by David Maria, a former federal prosecutor and member of the Department of Justice Medicare Fraud Strike Force, and Trevor Garmey, a Senior Associate with … Continue Reading

DOJ and SEC – Aggressive Measures on Coronavirus Fraud

By Colin Jennings and Ayako Russell on Posted in COVID-19, Fraud, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, US Department of Justice
The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have taken legal actions to combat fraud arising out of the COVID-19 health emergency. DOJ Restraining Order On March 23, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Western Division of Texas issued a temporary restraining order to halt a predatory wire fraud scheme … Continue Reading

Special Appearance Denied In Sanctions Criminal Case

By Kevin McCart on Posted in Department of Justice, OFAC, US Department of Justice
A New York federal judge recently held that a foreign bank could not challenge U.S. federal criminal jurisdiction prior to arraignment. US Allegation Halkbank is a Turkish majority state-owned bank. The United States alleged that Halkbank developed an illicit scheme comprised “of fraudulent transactions intended to deceive U.S. regulators and foreign banks” through which the … Continue Reading

DOJ Civil Division Highlights False Claims Act Priorities for 2020

By Squire Patton Boggs on Posted in Department of Justice, False Claims Act (FCA), US Department of Justice
Joseph “Jody” Hunt, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division, provided a glimpse of current civil enforcement priorities of the Department of Justice (DOJ).  Speaking at the Federal Bar Association’s annual Qui Tam Conference on February 27, 2020, Hunt pledged that DOJ would pursue qui tam cases involving nursing homes, Medicare Advantage plans, and electronic … Continue Reading

Judge Tosses FCPA Jury Verdict

By Chase Goldstein on Posted in Anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, bribery, Department of Justice, FCPA Jurisdiction, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), US Department of Justice
On February 26, 2020, Judge Janet Bond Arterton, a federal judge for the District of Connecticut, overturned a former Alstom SA executive’s conviction under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) relating to a project to build power plants in Indonesia. Judge Arterton found that, despite a jury verdict to the contrary, prosecutors failed to prove … Continue Reading

Government Presses Extraterritoriality of Wire Fraud Statute

By Ayako Russell on Posted in Department of Justice, Fraud, US Department of Justice
In a recent brief to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the government argues that the federal wire fraud statute applies extraterritorially. This is yet another avenue through which federal authorities seek to acquire jurisdiction over conduct occurring outside the United States, particularly where the victims are US nationals, including corporations, or are located in … Continue Reading

False Claims Act Recoveries Back On The Rise

By Chase Goldstein on Posted in Anti-corruption, Department of Justice, False Claims Act (FCA), Fraud, US Department of Justice
After a dip in the 2018 fiscal year, False Claims Act (FCA) settlements and judgments are back and climbing. The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced that it had obtained more than $3.05 billion from FCA settlements and judgments for the 2019 fiscal year. 2018 may have just been an aberration after the 2010s saw … Continue Reading

SEC Expands Jurisdiction to Sanctions Violations

By Kevin McCart and Ben Wood on Posted in Compliance Program, corporate compliance, OFAC, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, US Department of Justice
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) recently penalized a public company for violating U.S. economic sanctions. The violation cited the “books and records” and “internal controls” provisions of Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”). With this unprecedented action, the SEC has put companies on notice that the Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) and … Continue Reading

New Antitrust Strike Force Focuses on Government Contracts

By Squire Patton Boggs on Posted in Department of Justice, Fraud, US Department of Justice
A new strike force of federal and state investigators is targeting antitrust violations in government procurement. The strike force consists of investigators from a variety of agencies who will receive special training in detecting and prosecuting antitrust agreements. The strike force seeks to increase both criminal and civil enforcement actions.… Continue Reading

Company May Characterize Employee as a Compliance Risk

By Rebecca Worthington on Posted in Anti-corruption, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, US Department of Justice
In certain circumstances, a company’s statement that one of its employees poses a significant and unacceptable compliance risk is not defamatory. According to a recent federal appellate decision, such a statement (made by a company while complying with a deferred prosecution agreement relating to Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations) had no “provably false factual … Continue Reading

Australia Plans to Join U.S. and U.K. in the CLOUD Act

By Squire Patton Boggs on Posted in Australia, cybersecurity, Data Protection & Privacy, Data provider, Department of Justice, United Kingdom, US Department of Justice
Following its agreement with the United Kingdom, the United States announces formal negotiations are underway with Australia about joining the CLOUD Act. Although also a bi-lateral negotiation, the U.S. talks with Australia strike a more practical tone than those with the U.K.… Continue Reading

U.S. and U.K. Ease Data Collection Across Borders

By Squire Patton Boggs on Posted in cybersecurity, Data Protection & Privacy, Data provider, Department of Justice, Telecommunications, U.S. Congress, United Kingdom, US Department of Justice
Saying it will accelerate complex investigations, the United States and the United Kingdom proposed an historic data exchange agreement. In future, each government will be able to obtain electronic data directly from technology companies in the other country. The governments also say this first of its kind agreement will protect privacy and enhance civil liberties.… Continue Reading

Antitrust Division Acts to Reward Corporate Compliance

By Squire Patton Boggs on Posted in Compliance Program, corporate compliance, Government Investigation, US Department of Justice
The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (“Division”) now considers a company’s compliance program at the charging and sentencing stages in a criminal antitrust investigation.  The Division incorporated these changes into the Justice Manual. The Division also published a guide for evaluating compliance programs under this new approach.… Continue Reading

When it comes to Opioids, DOJ’s Gloves are Off

By Squire Patton Boggs on Posted in Anti-corruption, Compliance Program, corruption, Department of Justice, US Department of Justice
In a growing trend, the Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted two corporate executives and two licensed pharmacists for drug distribution. This is the second time in 2019 that DOJ acted to hold opioid distributors and manufacturers criminally liable for contributing to the drug crisis.… Continue Reading
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