In a huge victory for white collar defendants and lawyers alike, the US Sentencing Commission (the “Commission”) recently announced several key amendments to existing federal sentencing guidelines will be effective November 1, 2023. Two of the most significant amendments relate to (1) zero-point offenders and (2) withholding points for acceptance of responsibility.Continue Reading Good News for White Collar Defendants and Their Lawyers – Recent Changes to the Sentencing Guidelines
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced last week the advent of a new safe harbor for companies that discover wrongdoing by the acquired business in the course of an M&A transaction. Buyers hoping to take advantage of this avenue for leniency would be well-advised to conduct thorough diligence and act quickly to report any wrongdoing they uncover, as the potential upsides for those who do so may be considerable in light of the DOJ’s new policy.Continue Reading DOJ Announces Mergers & Acquisitions Safe Harbor Policy
On September 29, 2023, Albemarle Corporation (“Albemarle”), a global chemical manufacturer, reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to resolve investigations into violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). This settlement is the culmination of a five-year investigation stemming from bribe payments made by Albemarle’s third-party sales representatives and employees of a subsidiary to government officials in Vietnam, Indonesia, and India to obtain government contracts in the chemical catalyst business between 2009 and 2017.Continue Reading Albermarle Agrees to Pay $218 Million to Settle Foreign Bribery Probe
A few weeks ago, we discussed two recent cyber-related False Claims Act (FCA) cases. One of those cases is a qui tam lawsuit against Penn State and, as of the date of our article, we were waiting to see if DOJ would opt to intervene in the case on behalf of the United States.Continue Reading Update – DOJ Declines to Intervene in Penn State Cyber-Related FCA Case
At the Global Investigations Review Annual Meeting in New York on September 21, 2023, Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Marshall Miller (“Miller”) delivered remarks that provide an invaluable glimpse into the Department of Justice’s (“DOJ’s”) current and forthcoming priorities and initiatives on corporate criminal enforcement. Miller’s remarks shed light on various key areas of DOJ’s enforcement focus, including DOJ’s continued encouragement of voluntary self-disclosure and increasing attention towards safeguarding national security interests. Miller also emphasized DOJ’s commitment to consistency, predictability and transparency in its corporate enforcement work with an aim that such commitment will help companies better predict outcomes for certain criminal violations and implement robust compliance programs to prevent criminal prosecution.Continue Reading A Look into DOJ’s Current Corporate Criminal Enforcement Landscape
On August 28, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) instituted cease-and-desist proceedings under Section 8A of the Securities Act against Impact Theory, a Los Angeles media and entertainment company, alleging that the company’s sale of non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) violated the registration requirements under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Act”). Continue Reading The SEC’s Sudden Impact on NFTs
In recent weeks, there has been an uptick in news of cyber-related False Claims Act (“FCA”) activity. For example, on September 1, 2023, the court unsealed a qui tam lawsuit against Penn State University relating to allegations of non-compliance with Department of Defense (“DoD”) cybersecurity obligations. Separately, on September 5, 2023, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced a multi-million dollar FCA settlement with Verizon under its Civil-Cyber Fraud Initiative (which focuses on leveraging the FCA to pursue cybersecurity related fraud by government contractors and grant recipients, as we previously discussed here). These and other cases suggest—as many had been speculating—that the number of enforcement actions and publicity associated with previously-sealed qui tam cases will continue to increase. They also signal that contractors and universities should brace for additional scrutiny and potential whistleblower claims in this area.Continue Reading Recent Cyber-Related False Claims Act Activity Signals Contractors and Universities Should Examine Their Cybersecurity Practices and Brace for an Uptick in Enforcement
The Department of Justice’s recent criminal self-reporting policy changes are beginning to show results, according to Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite Jr. Speaking at the New York City Bar Association’s White Collar Conference on May 24, Polite said that prosecutors are seeing an uptick in corporate self-reporting.Continue Reading DOJ Touts Emerging Results from New Corporate Crime Self-Reporting Initiatives
On May 15, the Pennsylvania Attorney General Attorney General Michelle Henry announced a $11 million settlement with a rent-to-own lender and its subsidiaries accused of engaging in predatory financing practices. Among other claims, the AG alleged that the company and its subsidiaries disguised the nature of financing products it offered, concealed outstanding balances, engaged in deceptive collection practices, and used a web portal that allowed retailers to sign consumers up for financing without their knowledge. In particular, the lender disguised one-year rent-to-own agreements as “100-Day Cash Payoffs” and then concealed the balances owed. In its initial complaint, the AG alleged that these actions violated Pennsylvania’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, Rental-Purchase Agreement Act, Goods and Services Installment Sales Act, and Fair Credit Extension Uniformity Act. The company did not admit to any of the Attorney General’s allegations and continues to expressly deny any wrongdoing in the case.Continue Reading Pennsylvania AG Targets Rent-to-Own Company for Alleged Deceptive and Predatory Practices
It has been another busy year for the Department of Justice’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF). Formed in 2019, the Department of Justice created the PCSF, a joint law enforcement effort to combat antitrust crimes and related fraudulent schemes that impact government procurement, grant, and program funding at all levels of government – federal, state and local. The PCSF is a constellation of partnerships among the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, multiple U.S. Attorneys’ Offices around the country, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Inspectors General for multiple federal agencies working together to crack down on unlawful anticompetitive activities in the public procurement process.Continue Reading Government Contracting Companies Beware: DOJ’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force is Global, Growing, and Going Strong