Oscar Gonzalez
Oscar Gonzalez is a freelance writer and editor who covers tech, misinformation, business, and the stock market. He's written for Gizmodo, CNET, TheStreet, CBS, and NBC.
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News BriefFTC’s $60 million Instacart case puts misleading fees in the spotlight
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission settled with grocery delivery giant Instacart over accusations of deceptive billing and subscription practices.
ArticleCrypto network Paxful will plead guilty to BSA violations, pay $4M fine, shut down
Paxful, a crypto peer-to-peer network, will plead guilty to multiple federal criminal charges related to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), among others. The plea agreement follows years of scrutiny from regulators over anit-money laundering (AML) compliance failures.
SurveyCW survey finds compliance teams struggling to scale due diligence beyond direct vendors
Companies are tightening oversight of third-party risks but still struggle to extend due diligence beyond their direct partners, according to a new survey by Compliance Week and GAN Integrity.
News BriefCFPB humility pledge reshapes exam process, as agency faces uncertain future
The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Supervision Division introduced a new “humility pledge” last month that examiners will read aloud at the start of each oversight engagement. It’s another shift in how the organization handles itself under the Trump administration.
News BriefSEC exam priorities for 2026 signal heightened focus on firmwide compliance
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Examinations released its 2026 examination priorities, which give companies a roadmap of areas of heightened risk and regulatory focus for next year.
News BriefCostco sues federal government over Trump-era tariffs, seeks refund rights
Wholesale retailer Costco would like a tariff refund from the U.S. government, if the U.S. Supreme Court rules that President Donald Trump overstepped his authority by imposing them.
News BriefFDIC eases leverage rules for banks, citing lower risk burdens
The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issued a final rule to change the leverage capital requirements for both large and community banks. The agency said the modification will ”reduce disincentives a banking organization may have to engage in lower-risk activities.”
News BriefSEC dismisses SolarWinds case tied to 2020 cyberattack
The dismissal of charges against SolarWinds for alleged cybersecurity lapses related to a 2020 Russian cyberattack in 2020 are the latest in a continuing pattern of leniency for corporations by the Trump administration.
News BriefCFPB shutdown appears imminent, enforcement transferred to DOJ
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is reportedly transferring its enforcement caseload to the DOJ, one of multiple indicators telegraphing its eminent shutdown.
News BriefDOJ secures $118 million penalty in FCPA violation case tied to Guatemalan telecom firm
The parent company of a telecom subsidiary in Guatemala agreed to pay $118.2 million to settle allegations of improper payments made to government officials, but the U.S. Department of Justice chose not to impose a compliance monitor to administer the firm’s compliance with the Foriegn Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
News BriefU.S. Treasury faces new pressure over unreleased Epstein bank records
The release of thousands of emails written by Jeffrey Epstein has sparked a political storm. One Democratic Senator is ramping up pressure for the U.S. Treasury to also disclose the deceased financier’s bank records.
News BriefCompliance concerns surface at Fannie Mae following internal probe
A probe into Fannie Mae uncovered compliance and governance concerns involving FHFA director Bill Pulte and other senior officials. The result, so far at least, was not to address the concerns uncovered but to fire staff in Fannie Mae’s ethics and internal investigations unit.
News BriefCFPB proposes changes to equal credit opportunity act rules
The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed a rule change that would narrow anti-discrimination requirements for the financial industry. This comes as the Trump administration attempts to shutter the agency may finally come to pass.
News BriefFinCEN flags $9 billion in Iranian shadow-banking activity, citing SARs filings from U.S. banks
Approximately $9 billion of potential shadow-banking flows tied to Iranian networks in 2024, according to a new analysis from FinCEN. The report highlights how illicit funds are making their way through financial institutions as they meet the requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).
News BriefCFPB ends probe into Meta’s financial advertising practices
Meta says it is no longer under investigation by the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the latest instance of the agency scaling back enforcement under President Donald Trump.
News BriefTexas sues Johnson & Johnson, Kenvue over alleged misleading marketing of Tylenol
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued two pharmaceutical companies for ”deceptively marketing Tylenol to pregnant mothers” despite risks linked to autism. The filing came two days before HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared to walk back the claims.
News BriefCFPB scraps bad-actor registry, citing cost-benefit issues
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau shut down a registry of non-bank financial firms that broke consumer laws. The agency cites the costs being ”not justified by the speculative and unquantified benefits to consumers.”
News BriefFINTRAC hits British Columbia crypto firm with record $125M penalty for AML failures
Canada’s financial intelligence agency has issued its largest-ever penalties against a cryptocurrency exchange, a fine of $126 million (CA$176.9 million). The agency said the exchange’s compliance failures represented a “severe breach of Canada’s anti–money laundering framework.”
News BriefBinance’s Changpeng Zhao receives presidential pardon from Trump
The founder of crypto exchange Binance, Changpeng Zhao, received a pardon from President Donald Trump. This pardon comes almost two years after Zhao signed a plea agreement and was sentenced to a four-month prison sentence.
News BriefCanada to launch new federal office targeting financial crime and fraud
Canada is creating a new federal office to lead efforts against financial crime. The initiative marks the government’s most significant move yet to modernize its approach to fraud and money laundering.