The federal wire fraud statute has a far-reaching scope, allowing prosecutors to go after conduct as varied as investor fraud to college admissions scandals. In late June, the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals arguably broadened that scope even further by affirming a wire fraud conviction for a defendant who devised the scheme from
Latest from Subject to Inquiry - Page 2
DOJ’s Public Struggles with Electronic Evidence Highlights the Need for Counsel to Formally Demand Discovery Early and Often
DOJ’s dismissal last week of a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act case in Boston is the latest in a string of bad outcomes for the government due to discovery mishaps. While the government works to revise its discovery policies and seek resources to collect, review, and analyze the vast amount of electronic evidence attendant to nearly…
Less is More? DOJ Signals Shift to More Targeted Evidence Collection
For a corporation receiving a grand jury subpoena, the most difficult (and expensive) part of a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) inquiry is often sifting through corporate data to find relevant material. That is proving to be increasingly burdensome to prosecutors as well—not just because it costs DOJ time and resources to review extensive data…
Twitter to Pay $150M for Violating 2011 FTC Order Regarding Misrepresentation of its Privacy and Security Practices
On May 25, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it, along with the Department of Justice, fined Twitter $150 million for violating a 2011 agreement the company had with the Commission. Under the 2011 FTC order, Twitter agreed that it would protect the integrity of nonpublic consumer information, including users’ phone numbers and…
CFPB’s New Interest in Examining Fintechs is Likely to Mean More Naming and Shaming by the Agency
On April 25, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it will begin examining nonbank “covered persons” that it has determined pose risks to consumers. The CFPB has had this authority since its inception. The Dodd-Frank Act empowered the CFPB to examine this category of nonbanks, which might include fintech firms that are…
DOJ and SEC Kick Off the Second Quarter with Major FCPA Settlement with International Waste Management Company
On April 20, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) separately announced that Stericycle Inc. (Stericycle), an international waste management company headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois, has agreed to pay more than $84 million to resolve parallel investigations by authorities in the United States and Brazil. The investigation is…
FERC’s New Infrastructure and Environmental Impacts Priority – What to Expect in Enforcement Cases
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Office of Enforcement (OE) has historically focused on four “priorities,” as described in its annual Report on Enforcement. Those four priorities included (1) fraud and market manipulation; (2) serious violations of Reliability Standards; (3) anticompetitive conduct; and (4) conduct that threatens the transparency of regulated markets. In the 2021…
New Revelations in Ukraine Lead to Tightening Global Sanctions
As the world watched in horror over the atrocities occurring in the war zones of Ukraine this week, global leaders re-doubled their efforts to bring increasing sanctions pressure to bear on Russian industry, the Russian economy and the sphere of influence surrounding Russian President Vladimir Putin. The U.S., UK and EU rolled out a series…
DOJ Publishes FCPA Declination on Cross-Border Bribery Investigation
Without fanfare, DOJ recently published a “declination and disgorgement letter,” the first FCPA declination published by the Department since August 2020.…
Largest-Ever Small-Business Contracting Fraud Settlement Related to Pass-Through Subcontracting
Federal contractors should take note of a $48.5 million False Claims Act settlement between the Department of Justice and TriMark USA LLC — the largest-ever FCA settlement based on allegations of small-business set-aside contracting fraud. DOJ alleged that TriMark had a plan to circumvent specific small-business contracting requirements by providing significant assistance to three small…