Even during this difficult time of the pandemic, economic uncertainty and social unrest, the Justice Department and the SEC have concluded a major FCPA enforcement action.  Novartis and Alcon (which was a Novartis subsidiary at the time of the misconduct) agreed to pay a total of $345 million in criminal and civil penalties.  Novartis spun off Alcon in 2019. Under the DOJ settlement, Novartis and...

Companies that rely on mergers and acquisition for growth have to build robust post-acquisition integration policies and controls.  Such a requirement applies not only to ethics and compliance program integration but to overall business operations.  Successful companies employ a robust pre-acquisition planning process, incorporating ethics and compliance  as an important part of the overall integration process. Compliance officers have to participate in the integration process...

The Justice Department’s recent revisions to the Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs highlights an important trend and evolution of prosecution focus.  DOJ’s Revised Corporate Compliance Guidance recognized and reinforced the continuing focus on post-acquisition integration versus pre-acquisition due diligence.  For years, DOJ and compliance professionals placed significant emphasis on pre-acquisition due diligence.  This balance has been adjusted over the last ten years to raise the...

After a lengthy sentencing hearing in federal court in San Francisco, Bumble Bee CEO Chris Lischewski was sentenced to 40 months in prison for his involvement in a tuna price-fixing conspiracy.  The judge rejected prosecutors’ request to sentence Lischewski to 10 years in prison. Lischewski, who is 59 years old, argued for 12 months home confinement in view of the coronavirus.  Judge Chen also imposed a...

Several members of Congress have been implicated in potential insider trading scandals stemming from stock transactions that occurred at the beginning of COVID-19 crisis before the major stock market decline.  As reported by the press, members of Congress were regularly being briefed on the implications of the spreading virus.  Some of the members were making public statements discounting the significance of the virus. Senators Kelly...

The Antitrust Division’s recent indictment of the boiler chicken executives provided an important reminder to compliance officers on the importance of an effective antitrust compliance program.  With last year’s Guidance on Antitrust Compliance, DOJ has provided a roadmap for compliance officers to design and implement an effective compliance program.  Executive Level Participation and C-Suite Risk Assessment:  As described in the indictment, the price-fixing and bid-rigging...

The recent indictment of four executives involved in a long-running price-fixing scheme among broiler chicken suppliers provides an important window into how such conspiracies work and evade detection.  Antitrust compliance programs have to be crafted with appropriate consideration of industry concentration and practices, attendant risks, and effective monitoring and audit programs. Broiler chickens are supplied to grocers, restaurants and cooperatives.  Some fast-food restaurants participate in...

The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division recently announced the indictment in Colorado federal court of four executives from two chicken producer companies for participation in a long-running price-fixing and bid-rigging conspiracy. The indictment charges Jayson Penn, president and CEO of Colorado-based Pilgrim’s Pride, and former Vice President Roger Austin, and Georgia-based poultry producer Claxton Poultry’s President Mikell Fries and Scott Brady, a Claxton Poultry Vice President. ...