The financial recoveries for healthcare fraud are staggering.  The Justice Department and Health and Human Services (Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”)) regularly trumpet another round of healthcare fraud arrests and prosecutions.   They have turned healthcare fraud prosecutions into a cottage industry with phenomenal results. But who is committing all of this fraud?  A recent Government Accounting Office...

Benchmarking is a valuable tool because it gives you a window into industry practices.  Compliance professionals have to be careful how they use benchmarking information.  Falling into a benchmark should not necessarily give someone comfort.  It is better to develop your own “personal” benchmark – what you think the company needs, and the reasons for the details of your program. Take for example a recent...

Anti-Corruption Enforcement and Compliance Update: When: November 1, 2012 Time:  12 Noon EDT Who: Michael Volkov and Carlos Ortiz, LeClairRyan Sign up here The Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission have continued their aggressive enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. While there have been fewer settlements in 2012 than prior years, a number of Fortune 500 companies have disclosed ongoing internal...

The old English proverb, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink,” is particularly apt when you think of the financial industry and corruption compliance.  Maybe it comes from compliance overload, or maybe it is something else in the DNA of the financial industry. One thing is for sure – the financial industry is going to get hit hard in...

I recently had the pleasure of meeting with the compliance staff of a major global company to discuss issues of concern and share ideas.  It was not only a productive meeting; it was an exhilarating experience. You can always learn a lot from compliance professionals – they live and breathe the issues every day.  They have a unique perspective and they bring fresh ideas to...

The FCPA Paparazzi has done a great disservice to the business community.  Call it a complete lack of credibility.  Legal marketing has become confused in this day and age – marketing has now been turned into the “Fear Factor,” meaning that lawyers need to scare potential clients into hiring them.  That is flat out wrong.     Each week, new client alerts, client warnings and other...

For your weekend pleasure, I wanted to share with you my wife, Rosetta's blog: Sicily: Cuisine, Culture & Tradition.  Please check it out and bookmark it for future reference.  Sicily is a magical island with fantastic beaches, food, wines, and wonderful people.  I urge everyone to travel and enjoy Sicily.  If you cannot make it a travel destination, make a virtual visit through Rosetta's blog. http://sicilycuisine.blogspot.com...

Every company knows that its internal auditing function is the lifeblood of its compliance program.  Some companies carry that to an extreme by placing the overall compliance function in the auditing department.  As we all know, that is a mistake. Auditing plays a critical role in every compliance program.  Why?  For obvious reasons, internal auditors usually are the first to uncover improper payments.  So far,...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau continues to throw its weight around.  The CFPB is not shy nor is it reluctant to take on some of the biggest financial players in the industry.  The CFPB is still expanding its reach and its intended targets for investigation and prosecution. Recently, the CFPB issued its draft strategic plan for 2012 to 2018, which identifies for strategic goals and...

As if businesses do not have enough on their plate: the Justice Department and the Treasury Department have been increasing AML enforcement against banks and other “financial institutions.”  It is not a surprise because the Justice Department warned everyone they were going to increase AML enforcement, including non-traditional financial institutions. The Justice Department has flexed its muscles in this area.  It brought significant cases against...