On July 30, 2020, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an advisory alerting financial institutions to potential indicators of cybercrime and cyber-enabled crime observed during the COVID-19 pandemic.The...more
8/6/2020
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Data Security ,
Extortion ,
FinCEN ,
Fraud ,
Malware ,
Personal Data ,
Phishing Scams ,
Popular ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
Whistleblower Developments is a periodic report covering significant cases, decisions, proposals, and legislation related to whistleblower statutes and how they may impact your business. Recent developments include:
SEC...more
8/5/2020
/ CARES Act ,
CFTC ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
...Think your company and its employees are beyond the reach of U.S. authorities? Maybe you don’t have U.S. operations there, or your company isn’t publicly traded on a U.S. stock exchange. Perhaps you don’t directly sell or...more
6/2/2020
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Business Operations ,
Conspiracies ,
Copyright ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Exports ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Imports ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Jurisdiction ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Patents ,
Sherman Act ,
Trademarks
On May 15, 2020, the SBA issued its Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan Forgiveness Application.
1. Permits Use of Alternative Payroll Covered Period -
While the term of the “Covered Period” for loan forgiveness...more
On May 13, 2020, the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued new, important guidance (available here) regarding how the SBA will review a borrower’s required good-faith certification of necessity made in its loan...more
While recent federal funding has provided a lifeline for some companies, accepting government assistance under the CARES Act also carries significant legal, political and reputational risks for recipients. Loans are the tip...more
On April 15, 2020, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) released updates to the Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) Examination Manual (Manual). The Manual, which was developed to...more
Businesses that applied for a Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan have a chance to change their minds if they return the money by May 14, 2020.
With the onslaught of COVID-19...more
Businesses that applied for a Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan have a chance to change their minds if they return the money by May 7, 2020.
With the onslaught of COVID-19...more
With the onslaught of COVID-19 business closures, the government invited businesses around the country to apply for CARES Act relief to help survive the closures. Many have chosen to apply for assistance through the Small...more
Following the Eleventh Circuit’s and Third Circuit’s recent rulings in United States v. AseraCare and United States v. Care Alternatives, respectively, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has now also addressed the question of...more
The COVID-19 virus crush is upon us at this moment. Like in 2008 with TARP, the government has invited businesses around the country to apply for CARES Act relief to help survive this pandemic...more
4/9/2020
/ Affiliated-Business Arrangements ,
Board of Directors ,
Business Interruption ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Injury Disaster Loans ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Loans ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Health Insurance ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Relief Measures ,
SBA ,
SBA Lending Programs ,
Shareholders ,
Small Business ,
Stocks ,
Tax Relief
Despite the global pandemic, the federal judiciary continues to issue rulings. In the last week, two courts provided guidance about when self-disclosures to the government waive the attorney-client privilege, underscoring the...more
4/2/2020
/ Board of Directors ,
Compliance ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data Points ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Directors ,
Ethics ,
Internal Investigations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
In times of crisis, there are heroes, villains, victims, and everyone in between. Amidst the COVID-19 crisis, many valiant efforts are under immense time pressure—to care for the ill, to protect the vulnerable, to find and...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled last week that whistleblower relators need not show “objective falsity” to prove their claims, and that a dispute among physician experts about a clinical...more
3/12/2020
/ False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospice ,
Insurance Fraud ,
Life Sciences ,
Medicare ,
Objective Falsity ,
Physicians ,
Professional Liability ,
Qui Tam ,
Relators ,
Scienter ,
Triable Issue of Fact ,
Whistleblowers
Federal enforcers typically announce (formally as well as informally) work plans or focus areas for the upcoming year that can provide some guidance as to where providers might anticipate enforcement action and, where they...more
All hospice providers routinely should assess risk exposure under the False Claims Act — now with the benefit of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit’s long-awaited decision in United States v. AseraCare Inc. ...more
2/4/2020
/ Appeals ,
Evidence ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospice ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Medical Experts ,
Medical Records ,
Medicare ,
Objective Falsity ,
Physicians ,
Summary Judgment ,
Terminal Illness Treatments ,
Trial Court Orders ,
Vacated
Whistleblower Developments is a periodic report covering significant cases, decisions, proposals, and legislation related to whistleblower statutes and how they may impact your business. Recent developments...more
1/29/2020
/ Annual Reports ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
CFTC ,
Directors ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Rule 21F-17 ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
On November 5, the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division announced the establishment of the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF). The PCSF aims to deter, detect, investigate, and prosecute antitrust crimes and...more
11/8/2019
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Bid Rigging ,
Collusion ,
Criminal Antitrust Litigation ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
DCIS ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
DOJ Strike Force ,
FBI ,
Federal Contractors ,
General Services Administration (GSA) ,
Inspector General ,
Price-Fixing ,
Public Procurement Policies ,
State Attorneys ,
USPS
Although a whistleblowing employee typically cannot release fraud claims against her employer brought on behalf of the United States under the False Claims Act (FCA), courts have demonstrated a willingness to enforce properly...more
10/9/2019
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Health Care Providers ,
Qui Tam ,
Release of Claims ,
Retaliation ,
Severance Agreements ,
Waiver of Liability ,
Waivers ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
Tuesday’s ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in United States v. AseraCare is a win for hospice and other health care providers who have long argued that a mere difference of clinical...more
The Department of Justice Antitrust Division will now consider a target company’s antitrust compliance program when determining how to resolve criminal matters. This represents a fundamental shift in the Antitrust Division’s...more
9/6/2019
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Cooperation ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Sentencing Guidelines ,
New Guidance ,
Risk Assessment ,
White Collar Crimes
Whistleblower Developments is a periodic report covering significant cases, decisions, proposals, and legislation related to whistleblower statutes and how they may impact your business...more
Health care providers, government contractors, and others who receive money from the federal government are at greater risk of suit under the False Claims Act (FCA), 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729 et seq., following the Supreme Court’s...more
5/31/2019
/ Appeals ,
Cause of Action Accrual ,
Cochise Consultancy Inc v United States ex rel Hunt ,
Dismissals ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Intervenors ,
Limitation Periods ,
Qui Tam ,
Reaffirmation ,
Relators ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Statute of Limitations
In a memo leaked last year (the Granston Memo), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) instructed its prosecutors to more seriously consider dismissing meritless whistleblower False Claims Act (FCA) cases when it is in the...more