The Supreme Court's recent decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, abolishing the Chevron doctrine, provides the False Act Claims defense bar with a potent new weapon.
Two critical elements of any FCA claim are...more
Civil forfeiture allows the government — typically police or other law enforcement — to seize and keep or sell property that is allegedly involved in a crime or illegal activity. While civil forfeiture law varies between...more
On April 15, 2024, the Department of Justice released its “Criminal Division’s Pilot Program on Voluntary Self-Disclosures for Individuals.” Similar in many ways to programs introduced earlier this year by the U.S. Attorney’s...more
5/9/2024
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Government Investigations ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
White Collar Crimes
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on March 13 issued a highly consequential decision in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Rashid, interpreting and applying the mental state for liability of investment...more
4/2/2024
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Dissenting Opinions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Liability ,
Negligence Standard ,
Reversal ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Regulation
As we do every year, this issue revisits the key cases and other developments from the year gone by. And by most metrics, 2023 was a notable year for the False Claims Act (FCA).
We start with the numbers: The Department...more
2/28/2024
/ Causation ,
Damages ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Kickbacks ,
Materiality ,
Objective Falsity ,
Penalties ,
Qui Tam ,
Relators ,
Retaliation ,
Scienter ,
Settlement ,
Sovereign Immunity ,
Whistleblowers
The Seventh Circuit issued the third in a trilogy of opinions in October establishing the metes and bounds for criminal prosecutions of “spoofing”—a form of market manipulation, mostly in the commodities markets—that Congress...more
A battle is heating up in the Jan. 6 criminal case against former President Donald Trump that, while seemingly technical, will likely have a significant impact on the defendant’s ability to mount a defense. It may well serve...more
In a decision issued late last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit provided new guidance on the rules governing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's ability to seek the remedy of disgorgement in...more
7/25/2023
/ Appeals ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Liu v Securities and Exchange Commission ,
New Guidance ,
New Legislation ,
New Rules ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
In an extremely consequential decision issued last week, the United States Supreme Court reined in what the Court termed the government’s “boundless interpretation” of the aggravated identity theft statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1028A....more
When the Supreme Court in 2020 issued its decision in Liu v. SEC, placing limits upon the Securities and Exchange Commission's ability to obtain disgorgement, many observers believed that the decision would significantly...more
A recent significant enforcement action brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against Blackbaud Inc. highlights the importance of public companies maintaining disclosure controls and procedures relating to...more
3/28/2023
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Security ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Nonprofits ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act
The SEC’s Division of Examinations last week announced its 2023 “examination priorities.” The division’s annual announcement of priorities provides valuable insight into the categories of registrants most likely to be the...more
In 2022, the False Claims Act (FCA) continued to be the federal government’s chief tool for combatting fraud. Many trends in recent years were likewise present in 2022: robust FCA enforcement generally, healthcare as the...more
On November 15, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced the results of its Division of Enforcement activity for the 2022 fiscal year. Actions speak louder than words and—while the Commission issued several...more
A Fourth Circuit ruling in a False Claims Act case has created a 4-4 circuit split over the issue of the act’s knowledge requirement, Bradley partner Elisha Kobre explains. This makes the issue ripe for the US Supreme Court,...more
Must a public company disclose to its shareholders that it is under investigation by a government agency? The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently shifted the legal landscape by expanding when a company has a...more
The heavily publicized announcement by New York federal prosecutors of the first-ever charges for insider trading in digital assets — non-fungible tokens, or “NFTs” in particular — is a significant but somewhat confusing...more
Thomas Prose is the founder and owner of a Michigan-based “post-hospitalist” company named General Medicine P.C. (GM), which purports to specialize in the care of post-acute patients in long-term care facilities by providing...more
Until recently government enforcement and regulatory scrutiny of fraud and other misconduct relating to COVID-19 relief programs were generally limited to end recipients of the relief.
These efforts have mostly been...more
4/20/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
CARES Act ,
Compliance ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fraud ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
Loans ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Risk Mitigation ,
SBA
On February 25, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a new Proposed Rule 13f-2 requiring institutional money managers to file with the SEC, on a monthly basis, certain short sale related data. A short sale is a...more
The past year has seen substantial activity by the federal courts in guarding against government overreach in False Claims Act cases. One of the principal areas courts have focused on is the FCA's knowledge requirement —...more
The year 2021 marks the 10th anniversary of the Bradley False Claims Act Year in Review. In that decade, much has remained the same in FCA enforcement. To start with the obvious: It continues to result in billions of dollars...more
2/3/2022
/ Alternate Remedy ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
CARES Act ,
Causation ,
Class Action ,
Cybersecurity ,
Damages ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dismissals ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Government Investigations ,
Healthcare ,
Local Coverage Determination (LCD) ,
Materiality ,
Overpayment ,
Pleading Standards ,
Public Disclosure Bar ,
Request for Equitable Adjustment ,
Scienter ,
Settlement
On December 15, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued proposed amendments to Rule 10b5-1, an SEC rule that provides an affirmative defense to insider trading liability in circumstances where trading was...more
The federal government is substantially ramping up its enforcement of COVID-19-related fraud. In a press release issued yesterday, the United States Secret Service announced the naming of a “National Pandemic Fraud Recovery...more
12/23/2021
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
FHFA ,
Fraud ,
Indictments ,
Investigations ,
Loans ,
OIG ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
SBA ,
Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) ,
Unemployment Insurance
In one of the most high-profile actions recently undertaken by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Fort Worth Office, the SEC in late October settled securities fraud charges for nearly $40 million against Akazoo, S.A.,...more
12/7/2021
/ Capital Raising ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Mergers ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Settlement ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)