Weekly Brief: BoA Sued; SCOTUS Shortlists; Fund Fights Argentina
November 21, 2023- The U.S. Department of the Treasury, through the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and IRS Criminal Investigation (CI), has settled with Binance...more
On January 25, the Biden administration announced new actions for enhancing tenant protections and furthering fair housing principles, which align with the administration’s Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights that was...more
Landlords in the state of Texas won a battle over their ability to conduct residential evictions when a federal court struck down the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) broad eviction moratorium last Thursday. On February...more
Financial institutions should work with outside counsel to ensure that their internal policies and external actions minimize conduct that may violate state and Federal laws and regulations, and incentivize employees to reward...more
The DC Circuit Court of Appeals dealt the DOJ a blow yesterday with a ruling that “rejected the government’s claim that a lower court had applied antitrust laws incorrectly in allowing the merger” between AT&T and Time Warner...more
US banks are reporting that cases of financial abuse of seniors are on the rise. Treasury department data showed a 2-fold increase in suspected cases from just 5 years ago and a 12% increase from just a year ago....more
Less than a day after the Journal reported that CBS and the Redstones are nearing a deal to resolve their many differences, we’ve learned that CBS chief Les Moonves—facing an investigation into alleged sexual harassment...more
A lot of the furor over Elon Musk’s recent “going private” tweets has centered on whether he actually had the financial backing needed to pull it off. The Times sets aside that initial inquiry to explore the why and how,...more
Outlook for This Week in the Nation's Capital - Senate Floor. The Senate is schedule to finish its work this evening on the minibus appropriations bill, a three-bill spending package that includes Energy and Water...more
Outlook for This Week in the Nation's Capital - FY18 Appropriations Work Already Underway. Since the passage of the bipartisan budget deal this past Friday, House and Senate Appropriations Committees have already begun...more
Another short-term continuing resolution is all but guaranteed as the current continuing resolution will expire later this month and budget talks last week did not result in a deal or hint at one in the near future. As the...more
Hurricane Supplemental Includes $29B for Disaster Aid and Flood Insurance: Of the $29B, the National Flood Insurance Program will receive $16B to pay flood claims. The House plans to pass the bill next week and the Senate the...more
On August 8, 2017, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that a national lender agreed to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act. The settlement resolves allegations that the lender originated and...more
Financial Industry Developments - Federal Reserve Board Announces Finalized Rule Adjusting the Board's Maximum Civil Money Penalties - On January 18, 2017, the Federal Reserve Board announced that it was adjusting...more
The IRS isn’t waiting around for virtual currency to gain wider acceptance. No, it’s more than happy to go after Bitcoin users who have sought to use the virtual currency as a means of evading taxes....more
When does a breach of contract amount to fraud? Last week the Second Circuit answered this question and reversed a $1.27 billion judgment against Bank of America and a $1 million judgment against a former executive for their...more
Tribune’s not only given a hard “no” to Gannett, but it’s got some new firepower (and capital) on its side thanks to a $70.5 million investment by Nant Capital—a group “founded by Patrick Soon-Shiong, a billionaire who has...more
Spotlight on the False Claims Act - Why it matters: This month we discuss two interesting court cases involving the False Claims Act (FCA). On April 19, 2016, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Universal Health...more
Liability under the False Claims Act (FCA) is premised on the submission of a claim for money or property either to a federal government “officer, employee, or agent” or, under certain circumstances, to a nongovernmental...more
Regulatory Developments - CFPB Announces Steps to Improve Checking Account Access - On Feb. 3, the CFPB announced that it was taking three steps to expand checking account access to the approximately 10 million...more
BofA’s “hustling” attempt to overturn a $1.27 billion judgment against it and Countrywide—along with the individual defendant identified in the next paragraph, the “Defendants”—in the U.S. District Court for the Southern...more
While Director Cordray’s appearance at the House Financial Services Committee’s hearing on the CFPB’s fifth Semi-Annual Report yesterday was accompanied by the usual dose of political theater, his testimony did yield the...more
A federal jury ruled yesterday that Countrywide, now owned by Bank of America, defrauded Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by selling them defective mortgages in advance of the great financial crisis of 2008. A former Countrywide...more
FHFA Input on Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae Multifamily Businesses - On August 9, the FHFA announced that it is seeking public input on strategies to reduce Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's presence in the multifamily housing...more