Compliance is a profession that requires multi-tasking – another profound grasp of the obvious. But in the multi-tasking world, some principles and strategies are more important than others. My colleague and compliance guru Tom Fox has coined the mantra: “document, document and then make sure you document.” My contribution to this same mantra is along the same lines: “If you do not document, then in...

I am proud to introduce Patrick Henz, a well-known compliance professional, as a guest contributor today.  Patrick discusses measurements of corruption and appropriate compliance responses. Patrick can be reached at [email protected].   Most compliance presentations and documents mention at some point the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index (CPI), as it is by far the best known corruption index. Of course, unlike weight, temperature or time,...

Jacqui Merrill, an Associate at The Volkov Law Group, rejoins us for a posting on DOJ’s largest healthcare fraud takedown.  Jacqui’s profile is here and she can be reached at [email protected]. On Wednesday, June 22, 2016, the DOJ announced the largest nationwide heath care fraud takedown in history, which resulted in criminal and civil charges against 301 individuals for alleged participation in health care fraud...

What does it take (or not take) to be a con artist and/or a white collar criminal? Do not kid yourself — white collar criminals can be “dangerous,” in that they usually suffer from significant personality disorders. Many are narcissists and sociopaths and are constantly engaging in manipulation, financial schemes, and inflicting harm to victims. We all the know the legendary white collar scandals –...

In another setback last week, after a contentious criminal prosecution, the government dismissed its criminal charges against Federal Express. DOJ indicted Federal Express for drug trafficking relating to shipping of illegal online pharmacy drugs and related money laundering counts. Federal Express, unlike many corporations, decided to fight the charges and fight they did. Federal Express mounted a vigorous pre-trial assault and persuaded Judge Breyer (brother...

Last week was a tough week for the Justice Department’s criminal prosecutors. Before everyone gets out their Yates Memorandum trending claims, it is important to recognize that DOJ’s loss in several high profile cases does not reflect some earth-shattering trend or recent Yates phenomena. DOJ last a series of criminal cases that were indicted or investigated before the Yates Memorandum had hit the ground in...

The compliance profession faces many challenges. Some are more important than others. When it comes to evaluating performance, or measuring compliance programs, the profession has a steep uphill climb. Unfortunately, measuring compliance programs and defining what an “effective” program is an issue that requires extensive research and analysis. Justice Potter Stewart’s famous words defining “obscenity” – “I know it when I see it,” just will...

Compliance officers are, by definition, goal driven. They are high achievers and expect to succeed. So what. You may say – we all know that. Compliance officers are not the most patient group of people. They want to see change, improvement and action. Patience is not in their blood, nor is it their middle name(s). Unless a CCO is directed by the board or the...

DOJ’s FCPA Unit knows what they are doing. In the immediate weeks after the release of the FCPA Pilot Program, DOJ publicly released two declination letters for Akamai Technologies and Nortek, Inc. and the SEC announced disgorgement settlements of $671 thousand and $321 thousand, respectively. These two actions, however, will not solve DOJ’s bigger problem – the FCPA Pilot Program needed to offer a bigger...

Economics is extremely useful as a form of employment for economists – John Kenneth Galbraith I always enjoy economists and the rigor of economic analysis. It has a logic all its own. Economic theory reveals the power of incentives and disincentives. Many critics of economic theory fail to see how it applies to real life. I disagree with that narrow view. We operate in accordance...