Category: General

31 Aug, 2020

Herbalife Settles FCPA Charges and Agrees to Pay $123 Million (Part I of III)

DOJ and the SEC settled their long-pending FCPA investigation of Herbalife Nutrition Ltd (“Herbalife”). Herbalife entered into a 3-year deferred prosecution agreement (“DPA”) with DOJ and an administrative order with the SEC, and agreed to pay $55 million in criminal penalties and $67 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest to the SEC. In light of the criminal penalties, the SEC declined to impose any civil...

General

31 Aug, 2020

Teva Pharma Charged with Antitrust Conspiracy in Generic Pharmaceuticals Industry

Teva, the global pharmaceutical giant, was indicted last week as part of DOJ’s expanding criminal conspiracy investigation focused on illegal price-fixing and customer allocations. Teva and DOJ sought to resolve the case in advance of indictment but were unable to reach agreement. DOJ then decided to indict Teva in a broad conspiracy. Given the broad legal implications of such an indictment, Teva is unlikely to...

General

29 Aug, 2020

Tom Fox’s 500th Podcast Episode Celebration

Congratulations to my good friend and colleague Tom Fox for his extraordinary accomplishment — his 500th Podcast Episode. Tom has been a leader in the ethics and compliance industry for over a decade. Tom’s 500th Episode is Here. I was honored to participate with Tom and my friends and colleagues, Jonathan Marks, Matt Kelly, Jonathan Armstrong, and Jay Rosen in recording a series of podcasts...

General

27 Aug, 2020

DOJ Secures Guilty Plea and Charges A Second Former PDVSA Official with Money Laundering

The Justice Department continues to pursue criminal cases against Venezuelan officials at Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) in an attempt to strangle President Nicolas Maduro. DOJ has been pursuing a three-pronged strategy by bringing cases in the New York, Miami and Houston federal courts. DOJ has been pursuing officials who have left Venezuela and now reside in Spain and other European locations. DOJ has charged...

General

27 Aug, 2020

Three Individuals Charged with Fraud and FCPA Violations in International Adoption Scheme

FCPA cases can arise in un usual situations. DOJ has focused two separate prosecutions on bribery and fraud involving adoptions from Uganda and Poland. At the heart, the defendants bribed Ugandan and Polish authorities to secure children who were not orphaned and deceived prospective parents as to the orphaned status of the children placed for adoption. In the end, innocent children were removed from their...

General

26 Aug, 2020

FCPA Issues First Opinion Release in Six Years

Take it from me, if I recommend a stock pick to buy or sell – do the opposite. In a great episode of Seinfeld, George Costanza adopted a new-life approach by doing the exact opposite of what he normally would do in a situation. Here is the classic clip. In a podcast episode I recorded with Tom Fox, I made the “brilliant” point that DOJ...

General

25 Aug, 2020

The IIA’s New Three Lines of Defense Model Misses The Mark

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”― Confucius “One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.”― Jack Kerouac, The Dharma Bums Corporate governance and compliance is not as hard as everyone tries to make it. Much of management theory, risk management, and theories surrounding corporate operations is intuitive. Be wary of those who try to complicate issues, especially when...

General

24 Aug, 2020

Steve Bannon and Three Defendants Indicted for $25 Million “We Build The Wall” Fraud Scheme

In a surprise indictment, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced that Steve Bannon, Brian Kolfage, Andrew Badolato and Timothy Shea were indicted for defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors in response to the “We Build The Wall” online fundraising campaign. The indictment charges the defendants in defrauding donors from more than $25 million. As charged, the defendants defrauded hundreds...

General

20 Aug, 2020

Ten Essential Steps to Take Now to Advance Corporate Board Governance (IV of IV)

Corporate board members face increasing risks. Federal prosecutors are watching their behavior when corporate malfeasance occurs. Regulators focus on the important issue of board governance. Shareholders are ready to file derivative suits at the drop of a hat when corporate misconduct occurs. An effective corporate board can bring about significant results – improved financial performance, effective ethics and compliance, a positive corporate culture and a...

General

19 Aug, 2020

Challenges for Board Decision-Making (Part III of IV)

Corporate boards face serious challenges – business disruption from the pandemic and a slowing global economy. Directors have to focus on these two issues for at least the next 12 months. But the issue plate contains other significant risks. Three out of five directors have identified cybersecurity as a significant risk along with the current crisis climate. The impact from a cyber-event is significant and...