Featured Articles:

BIS Imposes $500,000 Penalty on Semiconductor Manufacturer for Entity List Violations

On November 1, 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) imposed a $500,000 monetary penalty on GlobalFoundries U.S. 2 LLC and its parent, GlobalFoundries U.S. Inc., for a series of unauthorized exports to SJ Semiconductor (“SJS”), a restricted party contained on BIS’s ubiquitous Entity List. This recent enforcement action reflects BIS’s steadfast commitment to enforcing U.S. export controls, especially in...

LRN’s Code of Conduct Report: Tracking Innovation and Usage

LRN consistently provides high-quality reports and important insights on ethics and compliance trends.  Each year, LRN’s Program Effectiveness Report is anticipated as an important source of cutting-edge ethics and compliance initiatives. LRN’s Code of Conduct Report includes a number of important benchmarks for companies to use as a measure of their compliance programs.  In its most recent report, LRN cites a number of important findings...

Episode 343 — TD Bank Agrees to Pay Over $3 Billion for Systemic Violations of Bank Secrecy Act and Money Laundering Violations

In yet another reminder of the scope of Justice Department enforcement powers, and an important demonstration of the risks of non-compliance, the Justice Department and relevant banking agencies announced a $3 billion settlement with TD Bank companies to resolve systemic and pervasive Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) and money laundering violations. In addition to the financial settlement, TD Bank US Holding Company (TDBUSH) (together with TDBNA,...

Raytheon’s False Claims Act Settlement (Part IV of IV)

The Justice Department’s global settlement included a significant False Claims Act resolution, resulting in  a second deferred prosecution agreement (“DPA”) for a three-year term.  A criminal information was filed in the District of Massachusetts charging Raytheon with two counts of major fraud against the United States..  Raytheon agreed to pay $147 million to resolve the criminal allegations. DOJ’s settlement includes a civil resolution of charges...

Raytheon’s FCPA and ITAR Case (Part III of IV)

Raytheon’s comprehensive settlement included FCPA violations and failures to make required disclosures to the Defense Department concerning fees and commissions.  This portion of the settlement was filed in the Eastern District of New York. Raytheon formed a joint venture with a French company.  Its bribery scheme involved a subsidiary of the joint venture, Integrated Defense Systems (“IDS”), which was controlled by Raytheon. Between approximately 2012...

Raytheon’s Defective Pricing Fraud and Resolution (Part II of IV)

Raytheon’s criminal conduct cut across a variety of topics — it is difficult to imagine but Raytheon’s misconduct occurred in separate parts of the company, involving violations of different laws.  Like most cases, I always question initially: What was Raytheon’s corporate culture? What was the tone set by Raytheon’s leadership? middle management? Raytheon’s weak culture appears to have permeated every aspect of the large conglomerate. ...

Raytheon Reaches Comprehensive Settlement with Justice Department and Pays $950 Million to Resolve False Claims Act, FCPA and ITAR Violations (Part I of IV)

Raytheon Company (Raytheon) — a subsidiary of defense contractor, RTX (formerly known as Raytheon Technologies Corporation) — agreed to pay over $950 million to resolve the Justice Department’s investigations into: (i) a major government fraud scheme involving defective pricing on certain government contracts; (ii) violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA); and (iii) the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and its implementing regulations, the International Traffic...

Episode 342 — How to Conduct an Internal Compliance Visit and Review

Corporate compliance staff often conduct internal site visits and reviews. Since the pandemic and the development of remote technology, compliance officers have reduced the number of site visits. In recent years, compliance staff arre slowly increasing the number of site visits and reviews. These site visits permit compliance staff to review important issues: (1) personnel interviews; (2) transaction testing and vendor reviews; (3) ethics and...

DDTC Fines Precision Castparts Corp. $3 Million for AECA and ITAR Violations

In a significant enforcement action, the U.S. Department of State’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (“DDTC”) has charged Oregon-based Precision Castparts Corp. (“PCC”) with multiple violations of the Arms Export Control Act (“AECA”) and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (“ITAR”). These charges stem from unauthorized exports of sensitive technical data to foreign nationals employed by one of PCC’s subsidiaries, Mold Masters Intl., LLC (“Mold...

Teva Pharmaceuticals Pays $450 Million to Resolve Anti-Kickback and False Claims Act Violations

Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. (Teva USA) and Teva Neuroscience Inc. (“Teva”) agreed to pay $450 million to resolve two matters that allege Teva violated the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and the False Claims Act (FCA). Teva is the largest generic drug manufacturer in the United States. The settlement resolved two alleged kickback schemes: Medicare Cost-Sharing Scheme and Copay Assistance Foundations First, Teva has agreed to resolve...