If you ask members of a corporate board or senior executives about the cost of an FCPA enforcement action, they will candidly acknowledge all of the costs – fines, penalties, and professional costs (e.g. legal, accounting, forensic). These are significant costs and nothing to sneeze or laugh at (however the expression goes). In a moment of candor the board members and C-Suite executives will confess...

Healthcare organizations – ranging from physician practice groups to large, multi-state hospital systems – face a variety of risks, including fraud and abuse, as well as HIPAA privacy issues. Starting from a baseline risk assessment, healthcare organizations are often juggling among competing risks and responding to enforcement threats. The design and implementation of an effective healthcare compliance program is extremely difficult and requires dedication, resources,...

We all know the scene but choose to ignore it – a senior employee or manager is taking an online training course and is talking on the phone, writing emails and basically ignoring the training session. Why? Because it has no importance to the employee’s job. It is irrelevant but something he or she has to complete. A check the box task if ever there...

I respect prosecutors, most of them at least. I had the fortunate opportunity to work with a number of terrific prosecutors. Most are intelligent, hard working and committed to doing the right thing. I recognize that there are times when a prosecutor crosses the line, and for those prosecutors, I have no sympathy. Whatever punishment they receive is usually well deserved. But a very high...

The SEC, last week, announced its $5 million settlement with Key Energy. As always, FCPA settlements contain important examples of enforcement priorities and policies. Key Energy’s recent settlement is an example of the benefits of cooperation, especially when a company, like Key Energy, did not initiate the investigation by disclosing the matter to the government. Key Energy agreed to a books and records and internal...

Building on early successes, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) announced new rules targeting buyers of high-end real estate properties.  (Here). Earlier this year, FinCEN adopted rules focusing on high-end buyers of real estate in Miami and New York City. The new rules required title companies to report the beneficial owners of limited liability companies and shell companies which use cash to purchase high-end real...

Forgive me for overusing the term “convergence” but when the shoe fits, I say “wear it.”   If you are managing corporate risks and are responsible for securing export licenses, ensuring that you are complying with OFAC sanctions requirements, interacting with customs and immigration officials around the globe, and conducting third party due diligence to onboard a new agent or distributor, there is no question that...

I was honored to participate in a webinar sponsored by Workplace Answers with its President, Farzad Barkhordari.  A copy of the recording its available here in case you want to listen to it. Farzad and I covered a range of topics: Why training is important; Current trends and benchmarks in training Best practices in training Thanks for your support!!

Charitable organizations can easily become enmeshed in Justice Department enforcement issues. We have seen charities used in FCPA cases as a means to funnel bribes to government officials, spouses or family members. In the domestic world of drugs and anti-kickback laws, drug company relationships with patient foundations are now being examined for possible violation of anti-kickback laws. Government scrutiny of drug prices is occurring on...

Companies face an ever-changing constellation of risks, enforcement priorities and demands for internal controls and compliance program elements. As more resources are poured into government enforcement programs, companies have to “reinvent” compliance programs to incorporate new priorities and demands. Many companies have established complaint systems and internal investigation programs to conduct routine and serious investigation. In most cases, these systems do not adequately address whistleblower...