Company executives and stakeholders in charge of making decisions to insulate their business from legal liability by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) at the U.S. Department of Treasury have a difficult choice to...more
Before filing a criminal or civil action under the False Claims Act, or FCA (31 U.S.C. § 3729), the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) can start with a civil investigative demand or CID. Similar to subpoenas, Civil...more
On May 11, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the launch of its Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) Environmental Crimes Task Force. This new task force will focus specifically on combating...more
6/14/2023
/ Air Pollution ,
Chemical Spills ,
Criminal Liability ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Departments of Commerce ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Environmental Crimes ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Violations ,
FQPA ,
Fraud Abuse and Waste ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Marine Life Protections ,
Natural Resources ,
Navigable Waters ,
Oil Spills ,
Public Corruption ,
Puerto Rico ,
Virgin Islands ,
Water Pollution ,
Wetlands ,
Wildlife Protection
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has conducted several publicized investigations focused on broker and investment adviser or advisor cherry-picking in recent years. Most recently, the SEC announced on August...more
Always on the lookout for unapproved drugs and supplements being sold, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ramped up its enforcement actions against selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs), which are banned...more
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) investigations present significant risks for broker-dealers. Not only can FINRA take enforcement action—including the imposition of penalties and barring broker-dealers from the...more
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) confirmed that it is investigating allegations that a 60 Minutes segment on the popular body weight loss drug Wegovy was actually an advertisement promoting the...more
4/19/2023
/ Advertising ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Investigations ,
Marketing ,
Novo Nordisk ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drugs
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigates publicly-traded and privately-held companies for a broad range of statutory and regulatory violations. SEC investigations can target issues ranging from...more
4/4/2023
/ CEOs ,
Civil Liability ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Defense Strategies ,
Investigations ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Statutory Violations ,
Subpoenas ,
Wells Notice
As a doctor or other licensed medical professional, the prospect of losing your license to practice medicine can be overwhelming. But, to protect your license—and your career—to the fullest extent possible, you need to act...more
3/21/2023
/ Defense Strategies ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Investigations ,
Licensing Boards ,
Medical License ,
Medical Malpractice ,
Physicians ,
Professional Disciplinary Actions ,
Professional Liability Insurance ,
Professional Responsibility ,
State Medical Board
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has broad authority to evaluate and approve drugs for medical use or prescription drugs. It also has the authority to investigate fake or counterfeit medicines and substances in the...more
Similar to other types of healthcare entities, clinical laboratories have been facing enhanced scrutiny from federal authorities over the past couple of years. While this is due in part to fraud concerns related to COVID-19...more
3/8/2023
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Civil Liability ,
Clinical Laboratories ,
Clinical Laboratory Testing ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Liability ,
Defense Strategies ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Evidence ,
False Billing ,
FBI ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Internal Audit Functions ,
Investigations ,
Risk Assessment
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has recently taken a renewed interest in management services organizations (MSOs), including physician-syndicated MSOs in which physician-owners provide medical services in exchange for...more
Below is an excerpt from Nick Oberheiden's latest book, "The Law of Tomorrow: Bitcoin, Tokens, Blockchain - An Introduction for Lawyers"
Blockchain is the next technology that lawyers shouldn’t ignore. Mainstream acceptance...more
2/21/2023
/ Arbitration ,
Blockchain ,
Corporate Records ,
Criminal Records ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Discovery ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
e-Discovery Professionals ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Financial Transactions ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Land Registries ,
Law Firm Associates ,
Law Firm Partners ,
Legal Fees ,
Legal Project Management ,
Legal Technology ,
Popular ,
Proof of Service ,
Settlement ,
Smart Contracts
If you need to appeal the outcome of your federal criminal case, you have lots of factors to consider. While there are a variety of grounds for pursuing appeals, not all grounds are available in all cases; and, even if you...more
Getting convicted for a federal crime in district court is not a situation that defendants want to find themselves in. However, the conviction or the sentence that it leads to do not have to be the end of your case. You have...more
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) together with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) aggressively execute its mission “to protect America from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration that threaten...more
1/31/2023
/ Criminal Liability ,
Defense Strategies ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
Investigations ,
Search Warrant ,
Subpoenas
Regulated securities firms need to take significant actions to ensure that their company is complying with the legal requirements set out by regulations promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the...more
1/25/2023
/ Audit Reports ,
Auditors ,
Internal Audit Functions ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Companies ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Securities Act ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Regulation ,
Whistleblowers
As a pharmacist, facing a board of pharmacy investigation can have a multitude of adverse consequences. While losing your license might seem like the greatest risk, this isn’t necessarily the case. Increasingly, boards of...more
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) holds primary responsibility for enforcing the nation’s consumer protection and antitrust laws. While the FTC actions have traditionally focused on targeting large companies suspected...more
1/10/2023
/ Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Civil Investigation Demand ,
Consumer Fraud ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Defense Strategies ,
E-Commerce ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Investigations ,
Record Preservation ,
Special Reports ,
Subpoenas
Allegations of unauthorized trading claims present significant risks for investment brokers and brokerage firms. In addition to investor arbitration with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), brokers and...more
1/3/2023
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Duty of Care ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Investment Fraud ,
Investors ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Regulation BI ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Transactions ,
Unauthorized Transactions
Hospitals, like all healthcare organizations, are subject to numerous state and federal laws, rules, and regulations. But, unlike other healthcare organizations, hospitals often face enhanced scrutiny from state and federal...more
Find Out What Companies and Investment Firms Need to Know about the SEC’s Exam Priorities for 2023 -
Each year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) publishes its annual examination priorities. This report...more
12/20/2022
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Assets ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fraud ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Firms ,
Private Funds ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblowers
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) in the United States Department of Commerce has experienced a surge in recognition and importance over the past year. This Bureau, and particularly the Office of Export Enforcement...more
12/14/2022
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Exports ,
Final Rules ,
Imports ,
International Trade ,
Penalties ,
Reputational Injury ,
Russia ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
Ukraine
Online cryptocurrency promotion—and promotion on social media in particular—has garnered national media attention in recent months. First, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it had entered into a...more
12/7/2022
/ Bitcoin ,
Celebrity Endorsements ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethereum ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fraud ,
Investment ,
Investment Firms ,
Popular ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Media ,
TikTok ,
Transparency ,
Twitter ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The report is the culmination of an internal audit, where the internal auditors describe what they found, provide evidence of the issues that were detected, and the corrective action that they recommend to fix them. The...more