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THE LATEST ON GOVERNMENT INQUIRIES AND ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

Government Investigations and White Collar Litigation Group

Government Investigations Group

Photo of Government Investigations Group Government investigations and related enforcement actions and litigation can take many forms, but they have one element in common: They require seasoned counsel to help clients navigate these difficult situations when their businesses and reputations are on the line. McGuireWoods’ national Government Investigations & White Collar Litigation Department has the experience and credibility clients have come to trust with their most sensitive matters.

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Webinar: OSHA ETS Employee COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Mandates

By Government Investigations Group on Compliance, Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Government Contracts
New Requirements, Tips and Traps for Large Employers November 10, 2021 Complimentary Webinar 1-2 p.m. (ET) | 12-1 p.m. (CT) | 10-11 a.m. (PT) REGISTER NOW On Nov. 4, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring employees of large employers either to get vaccinated or to test negative… Continue Reading

CFPB’s “Change of Direction” After One Month: New Goals, More Attorneys

By Government Investigations Group and McGuireWoods LLP on Compliance, Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Securities and Commodities
In the month since he became Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, David Uejio has implemented a “change of direction” at the agency, making sweeping announcements on a weekly basis. Read our complete commentary on McGuireWoods’ Consumer FinSights blog, which assesses where the CFPB stands after the Biden administration’s first month and the likely… Continue Reading

SEC Adopts Regulation Best Interest

By Emily P. Gordy and Government Investigations Group on Financial Institution Regulation
On June 5, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted, by a 3-1 vote, Regulation Best Interest (“Reg BI”) which, in the words of Chairman Clayton, would “substantially enhance the broker-dealer standard of conduct beyond existing suitability obligations.” The Chairman also noted: “the standard of conduct draws from key fiduciary principles and cannot be satisfied… Continue Reading

Recent New Jersey Rule Proposal Progresses State Efforts to Impose Fiduciary Duties on Brokers

By Alexander Madrid, Amanda J. Goldstein and Government Investigations Group on Financial Institution Regulation, Securities and Commodities
On April 15, the New Jersey Bureau of Securities (the “Bureau”) issued a rule proposal to establish a uniform fiduciary duty standard applicable to investment advisers, brokers-dealers and their registered representatives and agents.  Specifically, the proposed rule (N.J.A.C. 13:47A-6.4), which could take effect as early as the end of the year, will require all investment… Continue Reading

Key Lessons for Colleges and Universities from Operation Varsity Blues

By George J. Terwilliger III, Government Investigations Group and McGuireWoods LLP on Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Fraud, Deception and False Claims
On March 12, 2019, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced federal criminal charges in “Operation Varsity Blues,” the largest college admissions case ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice. Fifty people have been charged for their involvement in what prosecutors describe as a nationwide conspiracy to get the children of… Continue Reading

Congressional Investigations: Beyond Sensational Headlines — Incoming House Leaders Announce Broad Investigative Priorities Targeting Business Community

By John Adams, Ryan M. Bernstein, Robert J. Bittman, Frank J. Donatelli, Louis D. Greenstein, Charles Wm. McIntyre, Mona G. Mohib, Patrick Rowan, Todd R. Steggerda, Robert K. Wasinger, Government Investigations Group and McGuireWoods LLP on Election and Political Law, Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends
In the politically explosive atmosphere of Washington, the talk of the town is focused on congressional investigations: who will be called before Congress, and when. Newspaper headlines blare the latest controversy — from use of personal emails for government business, to numerous investigations alleging corruption of current and former government employees, including several cabinet secretaries,… Continue Reading

CFPB Signals Potential for Fair Lending Rulemaking

By Government Investigations Group and McGuireWoods LLP on Financial Institution Regulation
This post recently appeared in our sister publication, Consumer FinSights. In its recently published Fall 2018 Rulemaking Agenda, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection announced that it is considering future rulemaking activity regarding the requirements of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“ECOA”) – specifically, “concerning the disparate impact doctrine in light of recent Supreme Court… Continue Reading

Mulvaney’s First New Enforcement Action Continues Focus on Asset-Advance Firms

By Government Investigations Group on Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends
In the latest sign of regulatory scrutiny of asset-advance companies offering consumers what regulators believe are in fact regulated “credit” under federal law and “loans” under state law, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (BCFP) filed its first new lawsuit under Acting Director Mulvaney last Thursday. The complaint, filed in the Central District of California,… Continue Reading

Second Circuit Clarifies Limits of FCPA’s Extraterritorial Reach

By Patrick Rowan, Alex J. Brackett and Government Investigations Group on Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit narrowed the reach of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA” or “the Act”) in ruling that the government cannot use aiding and abetting or conspiracy statutes to charge a defendant with violating the FCPA if the defendant is not in the category of persons directly covered… Continue Reading

Implications of Judge Kavanaugh’s Nomination for Criminal Sentencing

By Government Investigations Group on Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends
Imagine an individual who is convicted of fraudulently obtaining $5,000 but simultaneously acquitted by a jury of conspiring to fraudulently obtain $1 million. Yet at sentencing, the court bases its sentence of the defendant not on the $5,000 fraud of which he was convicted but on the $1 million conspiracy for which the judge finds… Continue Reading

Supreme Court Narrows Ability to Recover Internal Investigation Costs

By Government Investigations Group on Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends
In January, this blog previewed the Supreme Court’s grant of certiorari in Lagos v. United States to resolve a circuit split regarding whether companies could recover costs of internal investigations under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act (MVRA). At the end of May, the Court issued a unanimous opinion sharply curtailing the ability to recover such… Continue Reading

State Regulators Announce Cryptocurrency Crackdown

By Government Investigations Group on Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends
On May 21, the North American Securities Administrators Association (“NASAA”) announced a massive and coordinated series of enforcement actions by U.S. state and Canadian provincial regulators to combat fraudulent practices involving cryptocurrency-related investment products. As cryptocurrencies have gained in popularity, companies have increasingly turned to a method known as an initial coin offering (“ICO”) to… Continue Reading

No Changes to CFPB This Year

By Government Investigations Group on Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Financial Institution Regulation
In a statement on Thursday, April 26, a key House Republican on CFPB issues effectively admitted that despite his own efforts and those of the Trump Administration including Acting CFPB Director, Mick Mulvaney, Congress will almost certainly make no changes to the structure of the CFPB this year.  As a result, there will probably be… Continue Reading

Senate Votes to Strike Down Key CFPB Bulletin on Lending Discrimination in the Indirect Auto Market

By Government Investigations Group on Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Financial Institution Regulation
On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate voted almost entirely along party lines to invalidate, under the Congressional Review Act, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) (in)famous 2013 Bulletin on lending discrimination in the indirect auto market via discretionary mark-ups and dealer compensation policies.  The 2013 Bulletin, construing the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and its implementing rule,… Continue Reading

Supreme Court Holds DOJ’s Feet to the Fire in Tax Crime Case

By Government Investigations Group on Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends
In Marinello v. United States, an opinion released yesterday, the Supreme Court adopted a narrowing interpretation of the tax code’s broadest criminal provision, the “tax obstruction” statute 26 U.S.C. § 7212(a).  The Court’s opinion is good news for taxpayers, their advisors, and the sound administration of the law. Marinello concerned whether the crime of “corruptly… Continue Reading

“White Hat” Ethical Hackers and Corporate Investigations

By Government Investigations Group on Fraud, Deception and False Claims
This post originally appeared in our sister publication, Password Protected. A “white hat” is an ethical computer hacker who specializes in penetration testing and other testing methodologies to ensure the security of an organization’s information systems. According to the Ethical Hacking Council, “The goal of the ethical hacker is to help the organization take pre-emptive measures against malicious… Continue Reading

SEC Launches Self-Reporting Initiative for Investment Advisers

By William E. Goydan, Louis D. Greenstein and Government Investigations Group on Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends
In line with Chairman Jay Clayton’s oft-stated priority of protecting the long-term interests of Main Street investors, on Feb. 12, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement announced the launch of a new self-reporting initiative for investment advisers. This new initiative — the Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative — aims to address undisclosed… Continue Reading

Full D.C. Circuit Court, Reversing Decision Below, Holds that CFPB’s Independent Structure is Constitutional; also Reinstates Important RESPA Rulings

By Government Investigations Group on Financial Institution Regulation
In a long-awaited constitutional decision regarding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”), the full D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals today in PHH v. CFPB reversed a prior ruling by a three-judge panel that the CFPB is unconstitutionally structured.  As we previously reported, that prior panel’s prior decision — stayed since its issuance in October 2016… Continue Reading

DOJ Memorandum Sets Out FCA Dismissal Factors

By Government Investigations Group on Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Fraud, Deception and False Claims
A January 10 internal memorandum from the director of the fraud section of the DOJ’s civil division commercial litigation branch, which has recently become public, sets out the factors the government should consider in dismissing False Claims Act (FCA) cases in which it has declined to intervene, and may suggest a greater possibility that the… Continue Reading

Supreme Court to Review Reimbursements for Internal Investigation Costs

By Government Investigations Group on Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court agreed to resolve a circuit split over when the costs of an internal investigation can be recovered under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act (MVRA). The MVRA, which requires convicted criminals to reimburse their victims, can play a meaningful role in helping corporations defray some of the costs incurred to… Continue Reading

Unexplained Wealth Orders

By Government Investigations Group on Anti-Bribery and Corruption
Background For some time there has been a perception that the UK is a safe refuge for corrupt individuals seeking to conceal their unlawfully acquired assets. This has particularly been the case with regard to persons from countries outside the UK. The Government has sought to address this by amending the Proceeds of Crime Act… Continue Reading

CFPB Announces Intent to Reconsider Disclosure Rule

By Government Investigations Group on Compliance, Financial Institution Regulation
On December 21, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a public statement regarding implementation of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), noting that it plans to reconsider aspects of the mortgage data rule. The HMDA, enacted in 1975, requires many lenders to report information concerning applications they receive for particular mortgage loans and… Continue Reading

Pending U.S. Supreme Court Case Could Impact Judicial Deference to Agency Rulemaking

By Government Investigations Group on Compliance
A petition for certiorari pending before the U.S. Supreme Court has the potential to narrow the application of Chevron deference to agency rulemaking.  Under Chevron U.S.A. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, a 1984 Supreme Court case that is widely considered a foundational case in administrative law, courts interpreting an ambiguous provision of a federal statute… Continue Reading

FINRA Continues to Prioritize Examinations of High-Risk and Recidivist Brokers

By Government Investigations Group and McGuireWoods LLP on Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends
In its 2017 Regulatory and Examination Priorities Letter, FINRA made clear that one of its top priorities is identifying high-risk brokers and ensuring that their firms properly monitor them. To assist it in doing so, FINRA has established a dedicated examination unit to identify and examine brokers who may pose a high risk to investors.… Continue Reading

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