All Regulatory Enforcement articles – Page 155
-
Blog
Ceresney: SEC Takes ‘Careful, Measured Approach’ to CCO Liability
Image: Many compliance officers are on edge these days amid regulatory actions that underscore their risk of personal liability. Once again, Andrew Ceresney, director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, is trying to soothe some of that angst. He recently told an audience of CCOs, “There has been no change ...
-
Blog
Seven SEC Enforcement Directors Convene For Historic Panel
At yesterday's Securities Enforcement Forum 2015, a Directors Panel was held that included seven current or former SEC Directors of Enforcement--including Hon. Irving Pollack, the very first Enforcement Director, and Andrew Ceresney, the current Director.
-
Blog
Deutsche Bank to Pay $258 Million for Sanctions Violations
Deutsche Bank today reached a $258 million settlement with the New York State Department of Financial Services and the Federal Reserve regarding transactions with countries and entities subject to U.S. sanctions, including Iran, Libya, Syria, Burma, and Sudan. As part of the settlement, the bank also has agreed to install ...
-
Blog
Caldwell Explains New Compliance Officer Counsel
Image: During remarks at a recent conference in New York, Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell offered some insight about the Justice Department’s newly established compliance counsel position and how this individual will help the Criminal Division assess compliance programs. “Unfortunately, a surprising number of companies still lack rigorous compliance programs,” ...
-
Blog
SEC Files Crowdfunding Fraud Complaint
In the same month that the Securities and Exchange Commission approved Regulation Crowdfunding, permitting startups and small businesses to raise capital by offering and selling securities through crowdfunding, the agency also filed its first complaint for crowdfunding fraud. The case highlights the emerging risk posed by online fundraising for the ...
-
Blog
Volkswagen Disputes New EPA Allegations
The Environmental Protection Agency today issued a second “notice of violation” of the Clean Air Act, alleging that Volkswagen developed and installed a defeat device in certain VW, Audi, and Porsche light-duty diesel vehicles equipped with 3.0 liter engines for model years 2014 through 2016. These alleged violations are in ...
-
Blog
Porsche Suspected of ‘Defeat Devices’ in Diesel Models
The Environmental Protection Agency has slapped additional charges against Volkswagen after the agency found that its subsidiary, Porsche, has been equipped with “defeat devices” to evade emissions tests. A notice of violation on the EPA’s website confirms that the regulator found 2014 to 2016 VW, Audi, and Porsche models ...
-
Blog
457 Hospitals to Pay $250M in False Claims Act Case
The Department of Justice today reached 70 settlements totaling more than $250 million involving 457 hospitals in 43 states to resolve allegations that these hospitals implanted cardiac devices in Medicare patients in violation of Medicare coverage requirements. “In terms of the number of defendants, this is one of the largest ...
-
Blog
Justice Department Names GM Monitor
The Department of Justice announced this week that it has approved the appointment of Bart Schwartz to serve as the monitor for General Motors. The monitor appointment is part of a deferred prosecution agreement GM reached with the Justice Department last month to resolve criminal charges for wire fraud and ...
-
Blog
Warner Chilcott to Pay $125 Million in False Claims Act Case
Warner Chilcott U.S. Sales, a subsidiary of pharmaceutical maker Warner Chilcott, today reached a $125 million settlement with the Department of Justice to resolve charges of healthcare fraud. The company pleaded guilty to criminal charges that the company paid kickbacks to physicians throughout the United States to induce them to ...
-
Blog
SEC’s Financial Reporting Cases, Overall Activity Surge in FY 2015
SEC Fiscal Year 2015 enforcement results revealed that for the year ended Sept. 30, 2015, the Commission filed a record-high 807 enforcement actions and obtained orders totaling approximately $4.2 billion in disgorgement and penalties. Of these 807 enforcement actions, 507 were “independent actions,” with the other 300 actions being either ...
-
Article
When a Board Member Goes Bad
Image: Investigations into rumors of misconduct are part of a compliance officer’s job. Seldom, however, is the task as delicate as when investigating a board member. “You need to think about making decisions knowing that the facts may end up completely different, once it is all done,” Adam Frankel, general ...
-
Blog
New Database Tracks SEC Enforcement Actions Against Public Cos.
A new, publicly-available database known as "SEED" tracks SEC enforcement actions against public companies. The database, from NYU and Cornerstone Research, will also provide the basis for ongoing academic analysis of trends in SEC enforcement.
-
Blog
The Schrems Decision and Compliance
Image: While the recent Schrems decision has seen a signifcant focus on the lack of U.S. data privacy protection from government or company intrusion, CW’s FCPA blogger Tom Fox says the decision also raises issues with hotlines and internal investigations. With these two key components of any best practices ...
-
Blog
SEC: First-of-Their-Kind Actions Take the Spotlight in 2015
The Securities and Exchange Commission continued to build a strong record of first-of-their-kind cases that spanned the spectrum of the securities industry, according to the agency’s fiscal year 2015 enforcement report. The SEC filed 807 enforcement actions, obtaining approximately $4.2 billion in disgorgement and penalties—an increase from the 755 enforcement ...
-
Blog
Irish Data Regulator Probes Facebook’s European Privacy Practices
Image: The investigation by Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon into Austrian law student Max Schrems’ privacy complaint will continue in light of the recent decision by the European Court of Justice to invalidate the Safe Harbor program for international data transfers between the United States and the European Union. ...
-
Blog
Crédit Agricole to Pay $787 Million for Sanctions Violations
Crédit Agricole will pay a total of $787.3 million in criminal and civil financial penalties for economic sanctions violations. Federal and local agencies allege that Crédit Agricole engaged in a series of schemes to process more than $32 billion in U.S. dollar payments through its New York branch from its ...
-
Blog
Pres. Obama Nominates Fairfax, Peirce as SEC Commissioners
This week, President Obama announced his intent to nominate Lisa Fairfax, currently a law professor at the George Washington University Law School, and Hester Peirce, a senior research fellow at the Financial Markets Working Group at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center, as SEC commissioners. If confirmed, Fairfax and Peirce will ...
-
Blog
'You Know What's Cool? A Billion Dollars,' Part III
Yes, the Madoff trustee's legal and professional fees have passed the $1 billion mark, but with the release today of more good news for Madoff victims, the trustee says that this $1 billion (and counting!) is a “very good return on an investment.”
-
Blog
Millennium Health to Pay $256 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Case
Millennium Health (formerly Millennium Laboratories) today reached a $256 million settlement with the Justice Department to resolve allegations that it billed for Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health care programs for medically unnecessary urine drug and genetic testing and for providing free items to physicians who agreed to refer expensive ...