Tag Archives: fraud

On July 13, 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled that the whistleblower protections contained in Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) do not apply to employees who report potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The ruling in Baker v. Smith & Wesson, Inc., 40 F.4th 43 (1st Cir. 2022) is the second recent decision narrowing the important whistleblower protections of the Act,… More

This is the third post in this year’s series examining important trends in white collar law and investigations. Our previous post discussed trends in anti-corruption. Up next: State AG enforcement trends.

• While the volume of IRS enforcement actions has waned, it may soon increase.
• Even at current relatively low audit and investigation levels, the IRS remains aggressive in the cases it does pursue.…

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This is the first post in this year’s series examining important trends in white collar law and investigations. Join us in the weeks ahead as we provide updates on new developments and emerging trends in a number of white collar spaces. Up next: trends in anti-corruption.

A perennial focus of regulators, health care fraud enforcement remained active in 2021 and is expected to continue in the year ahead.… More

In a long-awaited decision on January 27, 2022, a unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed the convictions of Deutsche Bank (DB) derivatives traders Matthew Connolly and Gavin Black in a fraud case arising from the alleged manipulation of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). In United States v. Connolly,[1] the two traders were charged with pressuring the DB department responsible for submitting estimates of interest rates used to calculate LIBOR to benefit the bank’s trading positions.… More

In the past two weeks, the federal government has charged several individuals in Paycheck Protection Program loan fraud schemes.  The allegations have ranged from applying for loans for non-operating businesses to using loan funds to buy cars and jewelry.  Charges announced this week showed a whole new level of creativity.  A Texas man, Samuel Yates, allegedly used an online name generator to make up the names of hundreds of employees in an effort to obtain a $5 million loan. … More

In yet another sign that the federal government is following through on its warnings about PPP loan fraud, the Department of Justice, according to reports from Reuters, has issued grand jury subpoenas to several Wall Street banks related to an investigation into PPP loans.  The subpoenas were reportedly issued by the DOJ’s Fraud Section.  The issuance of the subpoenas does not necessarily indicate wrongdoing by the banks. … More

Federal prosecutors continued to quickly respond to PPP loan fraud, bringing two additional cases that allege clear misuse of the funds intended for small businesses.  In one case, prosecutors in Georgia charged reality TV personality Maurice Fayne, aka “Arkansas Mo” of “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta” fame, with bank fraud for allegedly using $1.5 million of a $2 million PPP loan to maintain his luxury lifestyle. … More

On Tuesday, May 5, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed charges in the federal District Court of Rhode Island against David A. Staveley and David Butziger for conspiracy to make a false statement and conspiracy to commit bank fraud in connection with loan applications made under the federal government’s Payroll Protection Program (PPP).  The Complaint alleges that Staveley of Andover, Massachusetts, and Butziger of Warwick, Rhode Island,… More

The United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts is proactively seeking to find, investigate, and prosecute unlawful attempts to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic and is asking hospitals to assist.  U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling sent a letter to leaders of Massachusetts hospitals asking them to report any “individuals and companies that may have acquired vital medical supplies in excess of what they would reasonably use, or for the purpose of charging exorbitant prices.”  The Secretary of Health and Human Services has designated 15 categories of supplies as “scarce,” thereby enabling prosecutors to seek certain civil and criminal enforcement remedies against anyone accused of hoarding or gouging prices for those supplies.  … More

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a criminal complaint last Friday in the most significant COVID-19 fraud prosecution to date.  A complaint is a charging document usually submitted to a court to obtain an arrest warrant.  It is not an indictment, and, unless an early resolution is reached, in order to pursue the case further DOJ will have to present the case to a grand jury to vote on charges (whenever grand juries are once again in session).… More