Category: General

26 May, 2021

Justice Department’s Antitrust Division Indicts Claxton Poultry Farms in Expanding Criminal Prosecution of Chicken Producing Industry

The Justice Department’s criminal prosecution of the chicken producing industry took another significant turn. Step-by-step, the Antitrust Division is building a large and comprehensive criminal prosecution of a significant cartel. Claxton Poultry Farms refused to plead guilty and cooperate in the Antitrust Division’s sprawling criminal prosecution. Instead, Claxton Poultry Farms became the second producer to be charged and the first to be indicted rather than...

General

25 May, 2021

ECI Conducts Important Compliance Survey: E&C Leaders — Voice Your Views!

The Ethics & Compliance Initiative (ECI) is fielding a confidential survey about the applicability of compliance guidance documents issued by the US Department of Justice. A summary of the results will be shared publicly, and with the DOJ. If you are a Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer or Chief Ethics Officer (or the equivalent) and want to share your views, please participate...

General

25 May, 2021

Volkov Law Group Secures False Claims Act Settlement of $5.6 Million Against Tungsten Heavy Powder of San Diego to Settle False Claims Act Case

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California recently announced a settlement of a False Claims Act case against Tungsten Heavy Powder of San Diego (THP), which was filed and prosecuted by the Volkov Law Group on behalf of two relators, Global Tungsten & Powders Corporation (GTP), and Greg Caputo, a former employee of THP. GTP and Caputo filed the original lawsuit under...

General

24 May, 2021

Cybersecurity Oversight: A Board Challenge

Corporate boards face exponentially escalating risks – at the heart of this development is the rapid escalation of board member accountability. Board members are no longer operating in a sinecure, free from legal risks. The walls are changing. A perfect example of the changing landscape of risk is the importance of cybersecurity oversight and protections. The criminal cyberattack against the Colonial pipeline and the acknowledge...

General

20 May, 2021

Judge Lamberth Sanctions Paul Weiss and Former Partner Alex Oh

Lawyers can “Break Bad” and veer from ethical and professional standards. Somehow this is not so hard to envision. Legal misconduct occurs more than most expect. And the system reacts in variety of ways – professional responsibility enforcement actions and judges stand as the two most important watchdogs over legal professional conduct. In a curious and headline-making case, Judge Royce Lamberth, who is known for...

General

18 May, 2021

Under Armour Agrees to Pay $9 Million to Settle SEC Charges it Mislead Investors About Revenue Growth

Under Armour settled its long-pending SEC investigation by agreeing to pay $9 million surrounding misleading statements and practices relating to its revenue growth and uncertainties as to future growth. As part of the settlement, the SEC declined to bring charges against its CEO, Kevin Plank, and its CFO, David Bergman. The Justice Department inquiry appears to have lost steam since the middle of last year,...

General

17 May, 2021

Swiss Life and Three Subsidiaries Agree to Pay Justice Department More Than $77 Million for Conspiracy with U.S. Taxpayers to Hide Assets and Income

In the run-up to the deadline for filing federal taxes, the Justice Department has a well-established practice of bringing tax-related enforcement cases against crooked tax preparers, fraudsters and corporate entities as an important reminder on the importance of tax compliance. For years, the Justice Department struggled to bring Swiss banks to the enforcement table and eventually was successful in building cooperation in enforcement matters. It...

General

13 May, 2021

MoneyGram Payment Systems Agrees to Pay OFAC $34k for Sanctions Violations

MoneyGram settled with OFAC for $34,329 for 359 sanctions programs violations. MoneyGram is a global payments service. According to OFAC, the 359 transactions totaled $105,627 in value and were processed on behalf of approximately 40 individuals on OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals list (SDN List). MoneyGram has been operating under a monitor imposed in 2012 U.S. Department of Justice settlement to ensure MoneyGram’s enhancement of its...

General

12 May, 2021

The Transformative Role of “National AML Priorities” for Compliance in the AML Act of 2020

Alexander Dill, an expert in financial markets and regulation, joins us today for an interesting posting on the recent AML Act of 2020. Alex can be reached at [email protected]. It would be the height of folly to claim that a single theme dominates the AML Act of 2020 (Act). The new law, enacted on January 1 of this year, is an extraordinarily wide-ranging and long...

General

11 May, 2021

EU Mandatory ESG Due Diligence

Alex Cotoia, Regulatory Compliance Manager, at The Volkov Law Group, rejoins us for a posting on ESG due diligence requirements. Alex can be reached at [email protected]. On March 10, 2021—by an overwhelming majority—the European Parliament passed a resolution that directs the European Commission to move forward with a formal directive (“Directive”) mandating Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) due diligence by companies throughout their value chains....