Two ophthalmology practice groups recently reached settlements with the U.S. government totaling nearly $20 million to resolve allegations that their third-party cataract arrangements violated several healthcare laws.

Read on to discover how the settlements offer guidance to vision providers with respect to the government’s focus on ophthalmology-optometry relationships, and whether the settlements’ lessons have broader…

Corporate Transparency Act Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements to Take Effect

In 2021, the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) was enacted as part of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, requiring certain business entities (“Reporting Companies”) to report beneficial ownership information (“BOI”) to the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”).  FinCEN issued the final…

On 26 October 2023, the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act received royal assent. The new law is designed to fight corruption, money laundering and fraud, and has major implications for businesses, including:

…

In the U.S. Department of Justice’s continuing efforts to incentivize voluntary disclosure of corporate misconduct, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced the Criminal Division’s latest corporate self-disclosure policy this week, aimed at mergers and acquisitions specifically (remarks Here).  Pursuant to DOJ’s new Mergers and Acquisitions Safe Harbor Policy (the “Policy”), acquiring companies that promptly…

During the week of September 11, 2023, the California Legislature passed a series of bills known collectively as the “California Climate Accountability Package” (“CCAP”).  The CCAP is comprised of three bills: S.B. 252 (applicable only to two California state pension funds, and not discussed further herein), S.B. 253 (the “Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act” of…

On September 14, 2023, Daniel W. Glad — Director of the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (“Strike Force”) for the Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) Antitrust Division — gave remarks as the keynote speaker for the Virginia Bar Association’s Annual White-Collar Fall Forum, emphasizing a renewed commitment to pursuing criminal investigations in the federal procurement arena.  DOJ…

Influenced by the U.S. Supreme Court’s SFFA college affirmative action decision, on July 19, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee enjoined the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) from determining federal contractor eligibility for its 8(a) Business Development program according to a “rebuttable presumption” that individuals of certain racial groups are socially…