Tagged: criminal prosecution

25 Apr, 2023

Supreme Court Authorizes Criminal Prosecution of Foreign State-Owned Entities

The Supreme Court rejected a challenge by Halkbank, a Turkish state-owned bank, to its criminal prosecution for anti-money laundering violations and evasion of Iran Sanctions. In a 7-2 decision, authored by Justice Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court rejected Halkbank’s claim that it was immune from U.S. federal criminal prosecution. The Supreme Court remanded the case back to the Second Circuit to consider whether the common law...

General

9 Dec, 2021

District Court Upholds Criminal Antitrust Charges for Labor Price-Fixing

The Antitrust Division won a preliminary skirmish against two co-defendants who challenged the criminal indictment against them charging price-fixing in the labor market. District Court Judge Mazzant, in the Eastern District of Texas, issued a decision denying the defendants’ motion to dismiss in United States v. Neeraj Jindal & John Rodgers, 20-CR-358. (Here). In rejecting the defendants’ motion, the trial judge ruled that price-fixing in...

General

11 Apr, 2019

Checking in on Criminal Healthcare Fraud Prosecutions

For criminal defense practitioners, it is easy to lose perspective when focused on FCPA, export control/sanctions and AML prosecutions. In the healthcare fraud area, prosecutors continue to aggressively enforce anti-kickback and fraud statutes through criminal prosecutions. The Justice Department has made its priority in this area clear – by dedicating law enforcement resources and prosecutors to investigating and prosecuting healthcare fraud schemes. As government participation...

General

6 Sep, 2018

The Ups and Downs of Cooperating Witnesses

Criminal prosecutors understand the importance of cooperating witness to the criminal justice system. Cooperating witnesses are vital to the criminal justice system because they are in the unique position of explaining to a jury the operation of a criminal enterprise. Without insider information, there are numerous criminals and criminal organizations that would never have been dismantled and punished. As we have seen in the recent...

General

18 Oct, 2016

DOJ Criminal Prosecution of Wells Fargo: What to Expect?

Compliance and enforcement headlines have focused on the Wells Fargo scandal. And for good reason. On September 8, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Comptroller of the Currency and the Los Angeles County Attorney announced the regulatory settlement against Wells Fargo. The enforcement action included a detailed discussion of the facts. What was interesting in the public announcement was that the Justice Department had...

Uncategorized

7 Jun, 2016

A Fair Assessment of the Impact of the Yates Memorandum

Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience. – Mark Twain If only Mark Twain were alive today, he would have many opportunities to articulate his wisdom, especially when it comes to politicians. Not to say that the compliance field is as important as politics (or would have been a good target), but I...

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24 Jan, 2016

Prosecuting Individuals – The Coming Wave

When the Justice Department adopts new strategies and policies, it takes time for results. Rest assured, however, that the Justice Department’s focus on individual accountability is going to have real and significant consequences. The political blowback to DOJ’s prosecution strategies started with the failure to indict or seriously investigate senior executives connected to financial institutions involved in the financial crisis of 2008 to 2009. The...

General

14 Jan, 2016

Prosecuting CCOs v. Holding CCOs Accountable

There has been a lot written about CCOs fearing prosecution for compliance failures. Not to say there is no risk, but the truth lies really in the middle. From my perspective, there is too much fear-mongering around this issue. Let’s look at one extreme – a CCO who engages in misconduct should be prosecuted. A good example of this case is the prosecution of Thomas...

Uncategorized

15 Oct, 2015

Yates and Outsourcing Government Investigations

The Justice Department’s recent Yates memorandum on individual accountability is a significant event. Sure, you can always find members of the FCPA Paparazzi who will discount the memo, or relegate it to a mere “political” statement. That view is unfortunate and ignores the real implications of the Yates memo. Such a viewpoint also shows how little members of the FCPA Paparazzi understand the true inner...