By: Sam Finkelstein and Daniela Melendez, associates at the Volkov Law Group . Sam can be reached at sfinkelstein@volkovlaw.com and Daniela can be reached at dmelendez@volkovlaw.com. On June 28, 2024, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network released a notice of proposed rulemaking. The purpose of the proposed rule is to strengthen and modernize Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (“AML/CFT”) processes for financial institutions (including, but not...

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) has released a $7.45 million penalty against State Street Bank and Trust Company and its non-bank, fintech subsidiary Charles River Systems for 38 apparent violations of the Ukraine/Russia-Related Sanctions Regulations, which occurred between December 2016 and May 2020. State Street is a global financial services and bank holding company headquartered in Boston, and is...

In a significant expansion of internal controls enforcement, the SEC announced a $2.1 million settlement with R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. (“RRD”) for its handling of a 2021 ransomware attack and resulting disclosure failures.  The settlement represents the SEC’s first application of its internal controls enforcement authority to include cybersecurity policies and procedures.  The SEC’s interpretation represents a significant expansion of its enforcement authority.  In...

Gentiva, the renamed former Kindred at Home, agreed to pay $19.4 million to resolve claims that its predecessor company, Kindred at Home and related companies, violated the False Claims Act by retaining overpayments for hospice services provided to patients. Gentiva’s hospice operations, based in Atlanta, include various organizations that previously operated hospice locations under various brand names including Avalon, Kindred, SouthernCare and SouthernCare New Beacon....

Boeing’s Plea Agreement includes two Separate Factual Statements — the January 7, 2021 DPA, which is discussed in a prior blog post, and a factual outline of Boeing’s breach of the original DPA, resulting in the current Plea Agreement.  The most recent Factual Statement covers Boeing’s DPA breach for failure to implement an effective ethics and compliance program that is “designed, implemented, and enforced to...

DOJ and Boeing have entered into a proposed plea agreement that will require judicial scrutiny and determinations of the public interest and the victims’ rights under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3771 [“CVRA”].  The prosed Plea Agreement includes several interesting features that address appointment of an independent compliance monitor, and Boeing’s consideration of the impact of Boeing’s malfeasance on the victims’ families....

The Boeing 737 MAX case took another dramatic turn.  On July 24, 2024, the Department of Justice filed with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas a proposed plea agreement with Boeing.  The plea agreement, which has been filed under Federal Rule Criminal Procedure 11(c)(1)(C), requires the Court to approve and accept the deal.  The Court can reject the plea deal...

NAVEX delivers quality studies and important insights on ethics and compliance topics.  In its 2024 State of Risk & Compliance, NAVEX provides a comprehensive report on current trends and practices involving risk and compliance management. The Report reflects the survey results from over 1,000 respondents global who influence or manage their organization’s risk and compliance programs. Over half of the respondents came from the United...

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has released updated guidance concerning recent legislation that doubled the statute of limitations for violations of certain sanctions and export control provisions. This updated guidance provides clarity regarding time-bars for enforcement and includes additional information about OFAC’s planned extension of record-keeping requirements. On April 24, 2024, President Biden signed into law the 21st Century Peace...

DaVita is a regular target of government enforcement actions involving fraud and illegal kickbacks.  It has an extensive history of violations and settlements.  here is a list of some of the highlights:: In its most recent settlement, DaVita paid just over $34 million to resolve claims that it violated the Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”)  by paying kickbacks to induce referrals to DaVita Rx, a former subsidiary...