On September 30, 2024, a federal judge for the Middle District of Florida issued a groundbreaking decision invalidating the qui tam provision of the False Claims Act (“FCA”) as unconstitutional because the relator (or...more
The SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) recently hosted the 2024 SEC Speaks conference in Washington, DC. During the event, SEC leaders, including the Chair, commissioners, and senior staffers, shared their views...more
4/18/2024
/ Cooperation ,
Disgorgement ,
Electronic Communications ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Statistics ,
Personal Liability ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Regular Business Communications ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblowers
On May 30, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the third settlement of an enforcement action alleging violations of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the Advisers Act) with respect to activities...more
The Supreme Court recently issued a significant decision clarifying what it means to “knowingly” submit a false claim under the False Claims Act. At issue in United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu Inc. were allegations...more
6/6/2023
/ Discount Pricing ,
Drug Pricing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fraud ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Mens Rea ,
Objective Standard ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Pharmacies ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Safeco Insurance Co of America v Burr ,
Scienter ,
SCOTUS ,
Subjective Standard ,
US ex rel Tracy Schutte et al v SuperValu Inc et al ,
Willful Violations
As part of a recent series of announcements regarding updates to its corporate compliance policies, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced significant revisions to its evaluation criteria for corporate compliance programs,...more
3/8/2023
/ Chief Compliance Officers ,
Clawbacks ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Electronic Communications ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Executive Compensation ,
Monaco Memo ,
White Collar Crimes
On February 22, 2023, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy (VSD Policy) to formalize DOJ’s efforts to incentivize companies to voluntarily self-report criminal misconduct to the...more
3/1/2023
/ Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Monaco Memo ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
White Collar Crimes
Recent developments demonstrate that sponsor-backed companies in the healthcare and life sciences sectors, and in some instances private equity firms and professionals, have entered a new era of heightened regulatory scrutiny...more
Private funds can draw lessons about how to prioritize their compliance efforts and practices in response to a series of warnings by newly-appointed federal regulators of increased scrutiny, regulation, and enforcement...more
4/8/2022
/ Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
False Statements ,
Form PF ,
Government Investigations ,
Hedge Funds ,
Misleading Statements ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Private Funds ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Rules ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Valuation ,
Venture Capital
The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) recently announced that over $5.6 billion in False Claims Act (“FCA”) settlements and judgments had been reached during the 2021 fiscal year, with over $5 billion of those settlements...more
3/8/2022
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Clinical Laboratories ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Health ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Technology ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Life Sciences ,
Medical Devices ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Private Equity ,
Telehealth
On October 28, a majority of members on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 15-7 to advance to the full Senate a bipartisan bill that would make a number of amendments to the False Claims Act (“FCA”), including one that...more
The federal False Claims Act (FCA) has long been a powerful tool for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) — or private whistleblowers bringing suit on the DOJ’s behalf — to investigate and police activity financed with...more
7/2/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Colleges ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Funding ,
Federal Grants ,
Financial Aid ,
Government Investigations ,
Research Funding ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Universities ,
Whistleblowers
In one of its last opinions to be released this Term, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision on June 22, 2020 in Liu v. Securities and Exchange Commission, a case about whether and to what extent disgorgement is an...more
6/25/2020
/ 15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(5) ,
Administrative Authority ,
Business Expenses ,
Calculation of Damages ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equitable Relief ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Lack of Authority ,
Liu v Securities and Exchange Commission ,
Net Profits ,
Remedies ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Recent statements by U.S. government officials indicate greatly increased odds that recipients of CARES Act Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans will face scrutiny and potential government action.
Yesterday, in a CNBC...more
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a seemingly constant state of concern and activity for companies in all sectors, with many businesses trying to launch new initiatives and find new financing to weather the storm and provide...more
On March 3, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court heard argument in Liu v. Securities and Exchange Commission, a case about whether disgorgement is an available remedy in SEC enforcement actions filed in federal court under a...more
3/4/2020
/ Administrative Authority ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equitable Relief ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Lack of Authority ,
Liu v Securities and Exchange Commission ,
Penalties ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Split of Authority ,
Statute of Limitations
Earlier today, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein announced that the President issued an executive order establishing a new Task Force on Market Integrity and Consumer Fraud, comprised of a number of divisions of the...more
In its decision issued yesterday in Salman v. United States, 580 U.S. __ (2016), the United States Supreme Court unanimously affirmed a criminal insider trading conviction even though there was no evidence that the tipper...more
12/7/2016
/ Confidential Information ,
Dirks v SEC ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Markets ,
Illegal Tipping ,
Insider Trading ,
Non-Public Information ,
Personal Benefit ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Violations ,
Tippees ,
Tippers ,
US v Newman ,
US v Salman