With enactment of the CARES Act on March 27, Congress appropriated $2.2 trillion, the largest economic stimulus package in history, to combat COVID-19 and the serious economic damage it has wrought to all facets of the economy. Along with this mammoth government subsidy, however, comes the prospect of unprecedented fraud and abuse in sectors of … Continue Reading
The Special Agent in Charge of the Boston office of the FBI, Joseph Bonavolonta, has issued an advisory aimed at alerting and keeping individuals and companies safe in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. His memo reported on emerging schemes and frauds being perpetrated by criminals looking to capitalize on the current crisis. The FBI … Continue Reading
The Mandatory Victims Restitution Act of 1996 provides that defendants convicted of crimes committed by “fraud or deceit” must compensate victims for the full amount of their losses. A question that courts often face is whether the government and victim have provided sufficient evidence of their actual losses to obtain restitution under the MVRA. The … Continue Reading
We are seeing a growing number of False Claims Act (“FCA”), 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729 – 3733 cases where defendants test the sufficiency of relators’ pleadings, which is the heightened pleading standard under Rule 9(b). Rule 9(b) acts as a gatekeeping function by requiring that “in alleging fraud” a “party must state with particularity the … Continue Reading
Early in 2015, the FBI launched a new program aimed at routing out foreign bribery in which it established three dedicated international corruption squads, based in New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. The FBI reported that members of these three squads—agents, analysts, and other professional staff—have a great deal of experience investigating white-collar … Continue Reading
The Justice Department announced that it secured over $3.5 billion in settlements and judgments from civil cases involving fraud against the government in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2015 (“FY2015”). This is the fourth year in a row that the Justice Department has recovered more than $3.5 billion in cases under the False Claims … Continue Reading
The U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued a groundbreaking enforcement action against Ripple Labs, Inc., a Northern Californian virtual currency company. FinCEN announced on May 5th that Ripple Labs has been ordered to pay $700,000 in penalties and fines for violating FinCEN’s money transmitter regulations. The company has been charged with acting … Continue Reading
The United States Sentencing Commission has voted to change the sentencing guidelines for persons convicted of fraud. The proposed changes, which remain subject to congressional approval, are intended to better account for harm to victims, individual culpability, and the offender’s intent. Three changes proposed by the Commission are especially noteworthy: Offenders would receive harsher penalties … Continue Reading
In an unprecedented move, the Utah Legislature has approved a measure to create the country’s first white-collar crime offender registry. Similar to convicted sex offenders registries, the measure calls for the publication of white-collar offenders’ names and aliases, a recent photograph, a physical description, and a list of their crimes. Pointing to the trusting nature … Continue Reading
By: David Jimenez, Bob Peabody, Paul Kelly and Shawn Kee An official of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) recently reported that the Agency has established three new squads of enforcement officials and stands ready to deploy them to the FBI’s three largest field offices. Jeffrey Sallet, the head of the Agency’s public corruption and … Continue Reading
Two former executives at one of the nation’s leading healthcare claims processing firms, MultiPlan, Inc., were recently sentenced to serve one year and one day in federal prison for their role in a scheme to steer contracts to technology vendors in exchange for $3.4 million in bribes and kickbacks. Keith Bush, MultiPlan’s former Vice President … Continue Reading
Overturning the criminal convictions of former Diamondback Capital Management, LLC portfolio manager, Todd Newman, and former Level Global Investors, L.P. portfolio manager, Anthony Chiasson, for insider trading, the federal appeals court in New York has held the government “failed to present sufficient evidence that the defendants willfully engaged in substantive insider trading or a conspiracy … Continue Reading
The Mandatory Victim Restitution Act of 1996 (“MVRA”) provides that defendants convicted of crimes committed by “fraud or deceit” compensate victims for the full amount of their losses. Whether the amount of restitution may be offset if an employer-victim actually profited from the fraud or deceit has been a question for the courts. According to … Continue Reading
The Justice Department announced that it secured a record $5.69 billion in settlements and judgments from civil cases involving fraud against the government in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2014 (“FY2014”). This marks the first time the Justice Department recovered more than $5 billion in these cases, bringing the total recoveries under the False … Continue Reading
Five franchisees and operators of 7-Eleven, Inc. stores located throughout Long Island, New York and Virginia plead guilty to committing wire fraud and concealing and harboring unauthorized foreign national employees, the DHS has announced. The September 22nd pleas were the result of an investigation that culminated in the June 16, 2013 raids of more than … Continue Reading
Not only are pharmacies and those who prescribe Part D drugs increasingly becoming targets for whistleblowers with False Claims Act suits for kickbacks and other fraud-based conduct, they also need to be concerned with Medicare Part D insurers, who monitor pharmacies for abuse On May 19, 2014, as … Continue Reading
The Fifth Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of two Relators’ claims brought under the Federal False Claims Act (“FCA”), 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729-3733 based on the Relators’ lack of personal knowledge of the information in their Complaint. In requiring a federal False Claims Act relator to be an original source of the information underlying the … Continue Reading
Written by Maurice Jenkins Attorney-client privilege protects against disclosure of internal investigation documents if a significant purpose of the communication is obtaining or providing legal advice, according to the influential D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals,. In Re Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc., et al., No. 14-5055 (D.C. Cir. June 27, 2014). In this case, the … Continue Reading
An effective anti-corruption program is important for any company covered by Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), which bars American companies from bribing officials overseas. The World Bank and its partners have released the “Anti-Corruption Ethics and Compliance Handbook for Business,” billed as a new resource developed by companies, for companies. (Available at http://www.oecd.org/g20/topics/anti-corruption/anti-corruption-ethics-and-compliance-handbook-for-business.htm.) The Handbook … Continue Reading
Beginning July 1, 2014, New York State will require non-profit organizations to institute certain internal governance controls. The Non-Profit Revitalization Act (N.Y. N-PCL §§ 715-a, 715-b (2014)) imposes new requirements on whistleblower and conflict of interest policies, as well as financial reporting and audit procedures. The required whistleblower policy, designed to promote an employer’s zero … Continue Reading
Hospice of the Comforter, Inc. (HOTCI) agreed to pay $3 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by submitting false claims to the Medicare program for hospice services provided to patients who were not eligible for the Medicare hospice benefit. HOTCI did not admit any liability in the settlement. The … Continue Reading
