Category: General

1 Feb, 2021

False Claims Act 2020 Year in Review: The FCA “Has Never Been More Important Than it is Right Now”

Jessica Sanderson, Partner at The Volkov Law Group, joins us for her annual False Claims Act Review. Jessica can be reached at [email protected]. $1.9 trillion dollars of federal spending on the horizon. That’s right, immediately following his inauguration in 2021, President Biden proposed a $1.9 trillion stimulus plan to help recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. This follows the approximately $3.5 trillion of federal government funds...

General

28 Jan, 2021

New Jersey Businessman Pleads Guilty to FCPA Violation

In 2020, the Justice Department brought criminal charges against 22 individuals in FCPA-related investigations. While this was a decline from the two preceding years, COVID-19 had a dramatic impact on criminal FCPA prosecutions. In particular, DOJ faced challenges from unavailable grand juries to present evidence needed to bring criminal indictments, and numerous federal courthouses were either closed down or not conducting criminal trials for lengthy...

General

27 Jan, 2021

FinCEN Settles with Capital One for $390 Million for AML Violations

In a harbinger of future enforcement actions surrounding AML compliance program violations, the Treasury Department’s The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network announced a $390 million settlement with Capital One for weaknesses in its AML program. Capital One was credited $100 million for its 2018 payment to the Office of the Comptroller for AML violations involving its check cashing business unit. The FinCEN enforcement settlement involved conduct...

General

27 Jan, 2021

Deutsche Bank FCPA and Fraud “Spoofing” Settlement: A Review of Deutsche Bank Conduct (Part II of II)

Deutsche Bank’s ethics and compliance function faces numerous challenges. Deutsche Bank has a storied record of scandals, government enforcement actions and failures to abide by prior deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs). When you review these matters, Deutsche Bank’s track record reflects serious culture and control deficiencies, including participation of high-level executives in bribery schemes. Deutsche Bank’s continuing legal and compliance failures are likely to continue unless...

General

26 Jan, 2021

Deutsche Bank Agrees to Pay $130 Million to Resolve FCPA and Fraud Cases (Part I of II)

Deutsche Bank, the infamous German bank connected to President Trump, settled FCPA and fraud cases with the Justice Department and the SEC, and agreed to pay a total of $130 million. The settlement included resolution of fraud charges against Deutsche Bank relating to a commodities fraud scheme, commonly referred to as “spoofing.” Under the global resolution, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay: (1) criminal penalties of...

General

25 Jan, 2021

DOJ Files Civil Complaint Against Walmart for Illegal Opioid Distribution

The Justice Department handed Walmart a huge slap in the face last year with the filing of a comprehensive civil case alleging that Walmart knowingly distributed large quantities of opioids in disregard of the law that fueled the national opioids crisis. In a lengthy complaint (160 pages), DOJ outlined Walmart’s serious deficiencies in its compliance program and its unwillingness to spend money needed to prevent...

General

22 Jan, 2021

Sabre Travel Services Settles Data Breach Charges with State Attorneys General for $2.4 Million

Sabre Corporation, the travel technology company, agreed to pay $2.4 million as a settlement with twenty-seven (27) State Attorneys General for a 2017 data breach involving hotel booking services. In 2017, Sabre suffered a major data breach involving 1.3 million credit cards. Sabre was cited for failing to adhere to state laws governing breach notification and data security in response to a cyberattack against Sabre’s...

General

20 Jan, 2021

OFAC 2020 Review: Enforcement Themes and Common Violations (Part II of II)

The 2020 OFAC enforcement record underscores the importance of sanctions compliance. Yet, companies appear to move slowly in response to sanctions risks, often relying on outdated or outmoded screening technologies and failing to build basic policy controls and procedures. In reviewing the 2020 enforcement actions, many of the cases involve common miscues and compliance failures. These cases fall into the following categories: (1) basic screening...

General

19 Jan, 2021

2020 OFAC Sanctions Enforcement Year in Review (Part I of II)

The pandemic and its impact is the story of 2020 – no doubt. Federal prosecutors and regulatory enforcement agencies faced unprecedented challenges. In the face of these challenges, however, enforcement almost across the board continued with some significant exceptions relating to individual criminal enforcement. Prosecutors faced almost impossible obstacles to convening grand juries and conducting court proceedings while the deadly pandemic raged. Despite the challenges...

General

18 Jan, 2021

2020: What a Year! The Important Keys to Rebuilding a Positive Corporate Culture

Whew! 2020 is over and we can start the New Year with hope – a fresh approach to restoring life “as it was before.” It is hard to imagine life before 2019 because no matter what – we have been changed forever. So, we need to let go of whatever notion we have of pre-pandemic life. A positive way to approach this new year is...