Guest Post: Liu v. SEC: What Is “Disgorgement”?
In a guest post on D&O Diary, Wiley's David Topol discusses the Supreme Court's decision in Liu v SEC, in which the court held that...
Audit of GSA’s Controls to Prevent Contracting With Suspended and Debarred Contractors
GSA conducted an audit to determine whether: (1) it has established internal controls to ensure that its eTools are updated with exclusion information for suspended and debarred contractors in a timely manner and (2) there are adequate controls in the System for Award Management to prevent agencies from completing an exclusion entry for suspended and […]
California False Claims Expansion Bill Advances to the Senate
The California State Assembly has approved AB 2570, a bill that authorizes tax-based false claims actions. If passed, it would expand the California False Claims Act to allow private, profit-motivated parties to bring punitive civil enforcement tax-based lawsuits. The bill now heads to the state Senate, where its predecessor failed last year. There are two […]
Beware Rogue Employees with a Taste for Fraud
DOJ has entered into a non-prosecution agreement with Alutiiq International Solutions, which will pay over $1.25 million to resolve an investigation into a kickback and fraud scheme on a contract administered by the GSA. In addition, AIS and its parent company Afognak Native Corporation will cooperate with the ongoing investigation and prosecution of individuals and […]
Borrower Beware: Prepare Now to Defend your Company’s Paycheck Protection Program Loan from SBA...
The CARES Act’s Paycheck Protection Program was layered atop the SBA’s existing Section 7(a) loan program, with relaxed criteria, greatly expanding the availability of loans to a wider range of businesses. However, the criteria for eligibility and the implications of the “necessity” certification weren’t quite so clear. The prospect of “free money” by way of […]
Owners of Groveland Companies Sentenced for Defrauding Government Contracting Programs
Frank Apicella, Michael Sforza, and James Apicella have each been sentenced to two years of probation and two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay forfeiture of $300,000 each, for their roles in a conspiracy in which a front company run by James Apicella was used to bid on government contracts set aside for […]
SCOTUS: SEC Disgorgement Permissible Under Equitable Relief Doctrine; Supreme Court of the United States...
In an 8-1 decision, the Supreme Court held that disgorgement is a permissible remedy under the doctrine of equitable relief, provided the award does...
New DOJ Guidance Sheds Light on FARA’s Reach
The Department of Justice has, for the first time, released largely unredacted determinations regarding whether specific identified parties are subject to the Foreign Agents Registration Act. These “Letters of Determination” supplement the existing public repository of FARA advisory opinions, and provide a glimpse into DOJ’s application of the Act to detailed factual scenarios. DOJ has […]
Time to Revisit Your Company’s Compliance Culture: A Checklist for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs...
In a recent presentation ahead of the publication of the DOJ’s new guidelines for compliance programs, the Chief of DOJ’s Fraud Section noted that his prosecutors were using the time during the COVID-19 pandemic to evaluate their own compliance programs, and that he expected companies to be doing the same. Cadwalader describes the guidance updates […]
Internal Investigations in the Time of COVID-19: Preserving Attorney-Client Privilege, Work Product, and Confidentiality
The COVID-19 pandemic poses a number of challenges to internal investigations, by interfering with the natural social process of them, increasing the chances for careless breaches of confidentiality, and exposing communications to deliberate cyberattack. Snell & Wilmer advise companies and their counsel to devote time and energy “to develop, implement and make known an informed, […]