Many business executives believe if they have done nothing wrong, they should agree to be interviewed by law enforcement if requested to do so as part of an internal or criminal investigation. Experienced white collar attorneys know better; even the truly innocent have much more to lose than they can gain by agreeing to be interviewed without the assistance of counsel. The risks business executives face during law enforcement interviews increased this June when the United States Supreme Court effectively expanded law enforcement officers’ rights to obtain incriminating evidence through custodial interviews. Read the rest of this entry »
Internal Investigations: Branded a Corporate Criminal. Part 2 – The risk of talking to law enforcement
Posted on August 20th, 2010 by David Smith
H-P CEO Case Highlights Role of Internal Investigations
Posted on August 19th, 2010 by Michael O'Connor
The road from hero to villain can be short. Mark Hurd, the highly successful CEO of the world’s biggest computer manufacturer, was forced to resign earlier this month following an internal investigation of his relationship with a Hewlett-Packard marketing consultant. According to reports, H-P’s internal investigation found no evidence that Mr. Hurd harassed an actress the company hired to work at corporate marketing events. It did, however, find that Mr. Hurd had filed inaccurate expense claims relating to meals with the woman, travel and, in one case, fees for a corporate appearance by the actress. Read the rest of this entry »
Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich convicted of just one of 24 counts
Posted on August 17th, 2010 by Sam Kauffman
A Northern District of Illinois federal jury, after fourteen days of deliberations, reached a decision on only one of twenty four counts brought against former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. The jury found Blagojevich guilty of count 24 which alleged that Blagojevich violated 18 U.S.C. §1001(a)(2) by telling the FBI on March 16, 2005 that: (i) he tried to maintain a firewall between politics and government; and (ii) he did not track, or want to know, who contributed to him or how much they were contributing to him. Read the rest of this entry »
New Extradition & MLAT’s Broaden Prosecutorial Reach of U.S.
Posted on August 12th, 2010 by David Smith
The United States and European Union have entered into new extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance Agreements (“MLAT’s”) that greatly increase the prosecutorial reach of the United States government. A total of 56 new treaties became effective on February 1, 2010. See, DOJ’s February 1. 2010 press release. Read the rest of this entry »
Federal Bounties for Whistle-Blowers
Posted on July 21st, 2010 by David Smith
Today, President Obama will sign the financial reform bill passed by Congress. One of the little known provisions of the law allows whistle-blowers to recover a bounty for disclosing securities violations committed by their employers. This new law may create new challenges and risks for companies operating in the US. Read the rest of this entry »
Internal Investigations: Branded a Corporate Criminal
Posted on July 14th, 2010 by David Smith
Caught in the storm of a corporate internal investigation, many executives never stop to consider how being indicted would impact themselves, their families, their finances and their hard-earned reputations. One potential consequence of an internal investigation is that the corporation will provide the government with the investigation’s findings or that the corporation will enter into a plea agreement with the government that may leave executives out in the cold. Consider the recent article “Executives find reputations don’t return after criminal charges dropped” from Bloomberg News and the “You Are Closer to Being Indicted Than You Think… ” article in the Construction Financial Management Association magazine describing the wrenching experiences of executives who were indicted but had charges dismissed pre-trial or were acquitted at trial. Read the rest of this entry »
US v. Siegelman and Scrushy
Posted on July 7th, 2010 by Tim Smith
On Tuesday, June 29, 2010 the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the government corruption convictions against former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and ex-HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy. The Court ordered the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review the matters in light of the ruling in Skilling v. United States, 561 US ___ (2010), the case of former Enron chief Jeffrey Skilling.
In the Skilling case (reported in our blog), the Supreme Court interpreted the honest services fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1346, which prohibits “a scheme or artifice to deprive another of the intangible right of honest services.” The Supreme Court limited the scope of the honest services fraud statute so that it covers only bribes and kickback schemes. In other words, the Supreme Court limited the scope of prosecutions under the honest service fraud statute to those cases where prosecutors put forward evidence that defendants accepted bribes or kickbacks. Read the rest of this entry »
Supreme Court Rejects The Government’s Expansive Interpretation of ‘Honest Services’ Fraud Statute.
Posted on June 24th, 2010 by Sam Kauffman
In a major ruling, the United States Supreme Court, at least partially, eliminated a critical tool for white collar prosecutors: the ability to bring charges for “honest services fraud” pursuant to 18 USC §1346, based on the undisclosed self-dealing by a public official or private employee.
The United States Supreme Court vacated one of the convictions of former Enron executive Jeffrey Skilling for so-called “honest services fraud” (18 USC §1346). Skilling v. United States, all nine Justices agreed that the “honest services” conviction should be reversed, but for different reasons.
TAGS: Tags: Berghuis v. Thompson, custodial interviews, internal investigation, Miranda warnings
Internal Investigations