Doctors better get used to government regulation.  The Affordable Healthcare Act contains a lengthy complement of new laws and regulations.  Physicians are under greater government scrutiny.  As Medicare expands and inevitably grows, physicians face a growing number of risks. Some doctors have sworn off Medicare and Medicaid patients because of government regulation.  Not all doctors can afford to do that.  As a result, physicians are...

People love to make mountains out of mole hills.  Or to put in another way (as my daughter might say), “She/he is a drama freak.” When it comes to structuring a compliance and ethics program, and the reporting lines, I have been accused of being a “drama freak,” meaning that I have advocated for an independent and empowered chief compliance officer.  What does an independent...

Forgive me for dedicating a posting to this topic, since I have a vested interest in this topic.  I have conducted a number of Anti-Corruption Compliance Program Assessments.  I am a strong advocate for conducting such assessments.  My belief has nothing to do with compliance with the Sentencing Guidelines or the DOJ/SEC FCPA Resource Guide, which include specific directives to businesses to conduct such assessments. ...

We all remember the fun we had as children playing hide-and-seek.  It was a great game and those of us who are parents have passed on the rich tradition associated with that game.  Unfortunately, in our kids’ world, I am sure it has been turned into an “RPG” (Role Playing game) which is played online with hundreds of thousands of players around the globe. When...

My good friend and mentor, Judge Sporkin, is not shy nor bashful about his views on the FCPA.  When he heard about DOJ’s undercover sting in the Shot Show case, he scoffed, “What a mistake!  The government does not need to manufacture bribery.  There is plenty going on and they should prosecute those cases.” His point was well taken.  His point applies equally to the...

In 2010, Wall Street shuddered when it was disclosed that the SEC had launched an inquiry into financial institutions, investment banks and private equity firms for potential FCPA violations involving interactions with sovereign wealth funds.  Since the initial press reports on the investigation, nothing has happened. DOJ’s recent criminal prosecution against three individuals from Direct Access Partners (DAP) and the Venezuelan official from BANDES, is...

DOJ’s criminal enforcement of the FCPA was the story of the second quarter of 2013.  DOJ’s splash was so big on criminal enforcement that it overshadowed DOJ and SEC’s continuing enforcement of the FCPA against corporations. Whether you favor or oppose DOJ and SEC’s use of DPAs and NPAs, FCPA enforcement actions in the second quarter of 2013 resulted in fines, compliance requirements and even...

Let me remind everyone about the FCPA doomsayers – those who were worried and fretted over the absence of FCPA enforcement actions in the first quarter of 2013.  Remember the articles which wondered about the FCPA “slowdown” or whether DOJ prosecutors were gun shy after the Shot Show debacle.  Well, DOJ has put an end to all of these misguided prognostications. It is clear that...

International enforcement of corruption laws is increasing but far slower than many predicted.  As anti-corruption law enforcement increases, companies and individuals face the risk of a multi-jurisdictional nightmare:  when a company has to pay fines in multiple jurisdictions for a single bribery scheme, or an individual may be subject to multiple punishment for the same conduct.  This possibility could become a reality.   Practitioners will...

The healthcare industry has a long history of innovative compliance policies and strategies.  The government’s role in the healthcare industry is going to grow even more after 2014, when a number of Obamacare provisions are triggered.  For healthcare companies, regulation and enforcement will increase. The government’s enforcement programs are focused on civil False Claims Act cases and criminal fraud cases.  The government’s success in both...