In 1996, President Clinton signed the Economic Espionage Act (the “Act”). At the time, the principal proponents of the law included business leaders from the then burgeoning Silicon Valley as well as from the aerospace industry. Proponents of the Act claimed foreign entities were actively attempting to steal trade secrets and that the existing laws … Continue Reading
The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) recently announced its largest ever health care fraud and opioid enforcement action. In a coordinated effort, DOJ charged 345 defendants with more than $6 billion in fraud losses for submitting false and fraudulent claims to federal health care programs and private insurers.… Continue Reading
Two U.S. authorities recently announced actions against four individuals and numerous entities associated with BitMEX, an online trading platform for futures contracts and other derivative products tied to the value of cryptocurrencies. Both actions allege that BitMEX failed to put in place required anti-money laundering programs and procedures, and serve as a reminder that institutions … Continue Reading
Every organization is at risk of a data breach, and can learn something from Uber’s data privacy missteps. In an article for Corporate Compliance Insights, Squire Patton Boggs lawyers Colin Jennings, Ericka Johnson, and Dylan Yépez offer key takeaways from the company’s high-profile data breaches and the criminal charges that followed.… Continue Reading
A New York federal judge recently held that a foreign bank could not challenge U.S. federal criminal jurisdiction prior to arraignment. US Allegation Halkbank is a Turkish majority state-owned bank. The United States alleged that Halkbank developed an illicit scheme comprised “of fraudulent transactions intended to deceive U.S. regulators and foreign banks” through which the … Continue Reading
Information about an expedited procedure for obtaining guidance about the permissibility of certain collaborations between competitors, which have the effect of protecting Americans’ health and safety, was set forth in a joint statement issued March 24, 2020, by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (the Statement). The Statement … Continue Reading
With governments around the world injecting trillions of dollars into the global economy to prevent a financial catastrophe, the first priority for companies is to figure out how to take advantage of the various stimulus packages to save themselves. This is not the time to take the money and run, however.… Continue Reading
Joseph “Jody” Hunt, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division, provided a glimpse of current civil enforcement priorities of the Department of Justice (DOJ). Speaking at the Federal Bar Association’s annual Qui Tam Conference on February 27, 2020, Hunt pledged that DOJ would pursue qui tam cases involving nursing homes, Medicare Advantage plans, and electronic … Continue Reading
On February 26, 2020, Judge Janet Bond Arterton, a federal judge for the District of Connecticut, overturned a former Alstom SA executive’s conviction under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) relating to a project to build power plants in Indonesia. Judge Arterton found that, despite a jury verdict to the contrary, prosecutors failed to prove … Continue Reading
In a recent brief to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the government argues that the federal wire fraud statute applies extraterritorially. This is yet another avenue through which federal authorities seek to acquire jurisdiction over conduct occurring outside the United States, particularly where the victims are US nationals, including corporations, or are located in … Continue Reading
The US Department of Justice recently extradited an individual from Sicily to face an antitrust violation in the US. Barry Pupkin explains this is developing trend. Read his analysis here.… Continue Reading
In 2019, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and other federal regulators continued to emphasize the importance of effective compliance programs, self-disclosure of violations of the law and cooperation with regulators during investigations. In a new client alert out this week, we shed light on some of the updated guidance from various government agencies released last year, landmark state and … Continue Reading
The National Security Division recently revised its policy on cooperation credit in order to align with other components of the U.S. Department of Justice. The changes, which are designed to “reassure companies,” are discussed in our client alert available here.… Continue Reading
The U.S. government relies upon whistleblowers to drive its recoveries under the False Claims Act. See our analysis here of how the Act’s qui tam provisions work, especially in healthcare, by Colin Jennings, Marisa Darden, and Ayako Hobbs.… Continue Reading
After a dip in the 2018 fiscal year, False Claims Act (FCA) settlements and judgments are back and climbing. The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced that it had obtained more than $3.05 billion from FCA settlements and judgments for the 2019 fiscal year. 2018 may have just been an aberration after the 2010s saw … Continue Reading
A new strike force of federal and state investigators is targeting antitrust violations in government procurement. The strike force consists of investigators from a variety of agencies who will receive special training in detecting and prosecuting antitrust agreements. The strike force seeks to increase both criminal and civil enforcement actions.… Continue Reading
Following its agreement with the United Kingdom, the United States announces formal negotiations are underway with Australia about joining the CLOUD Act. Although also a bi-lateral negotiation, the U.S. talks with Australia strike a more practical tone than those with the U.K.… Continue Reading
Saying it will accelerate complex investigations, the United States and the United Kingdom proposed an historic data exchange agreement. In future, each government will be able to obtain electronic data directly from technology companies in the other country. The governments also say this first of its kind agreement will protect privacy and enhance civil liberties.… Continue Reading
In a growing trend, the Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted two corporate executives and two licensed pharmacists for drug distribution. This is the second time in 2019 that DOJ acted to hold opioid distributors and manufacturers criminally liable for contributing to the drug crisis.… Continue Reading
On May 31, 2019, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas announced a $250,000 settlement with Coffey Health System, after two whistleblowers filed qui tam suit against Coffey for violations of the False Claims Act. The settlement resolved allegations that Coffey submitted false claims to Medicare and Medicaid pursuant to the Electronic Health Records … Continue Reading
This week, the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice released guidelines on cooperation credit in False Claims Act cases. The guidelines strongly emphasize voluntary disclosure, but also provide insight into other actions that could give rise to cooperation credit.… Continue Reading
Anti-corruption has been a hot topic in Russia for some time. But recently, the Russian government has begun to take creative approaches in the fight against corruption. These initiatives are aimed at raising public awareness of corruption among the general public. What appears to be missing in this outreach is compliance guidance to companies in … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced an update to its earlier guidance on how the DOJ will evaluate the effectiveness of a company’s corporate compliance program. The updated compliance guideline (“Updated Guidance”) is twice the length of the original, and utilizes a more instructive approach, serving as a roadmap to prosecutors, and prudent companies. Although … Continue Reading
The Supreme Court today held the Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause applies to the states. A wide variety of groups from the American Civil Liberties Union to the Chamber of Commerce of the United States supported the result.… Continue Reading
