Archive

Catch of the Week: Bank of Nova Scotia Fined for Commodities Fraud and False Statements to Investigators

Posted 08/21/20

Self-disclosure offers wrong-doing corporations a path to leniency: Fess up, the government says, and we’ll go easier on you. But as the Bank of Nova Scotia learned, you had better reveal the full extent of the problem, or you are just making your problem worse. The Bank had made a self-disclosure that secured it's leniency and an $800,000 deal for charges of commodities fraud. When the CFTC later determined...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, Fraud in CFTC-Regulated Markets, Market Manipulation and Trading Violations,

Catch of the Week: Interactive Brokers Pays $38 Million for Failures in Money-Laundering and Supervision

Posted 08/14/20

Brokerage firm Interactive Brokers LLC will pay $38 million in penalties to settle charges from multiple U.S. market regulators regarding its anti-money laundering practices, including alleged failures to file suspicious activity reports (SARs). The discount broker has paid an $11.5 million penalty to settle charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission over the deficiencies in its internal controls that...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, CFTC Whistleblower Reward Program, Financial and Investment Fraud, Financial Institution Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, Money Laundering, Regulatory Violations, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program,

The FCPA’s Accounting Provisions Get a Fresh Look from the SEC

Posted 08/13/20

In the New York Law Journal this week, we published an article discussing a heartening trend in the SEC’s enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a law that has yielded some of the largest SEC fines and recoveries: an increased willingness to ground enforcement actions in the accounting provisions of the FCPA. The FCPA broadly prohibits two different kinds of conduct. First, businesses may not bribe...

Tagged in: FCPA, Importance of Whistleblowers, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Whistleblower Eligibility, Whistleblower Protection Laws, Whistleblower Rewards,

What Potential Whistleblowers Need to Know About the Dodd-Frank Act

Posted 07/21/20

Topics Covered Here:

History of the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program
Understanding the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Provisions
The Differences Between Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Cases and False Claims Act Cases

Tagged in: CFTC Whistleblower Reward Program, Financial and Investment Fraud, Fraud in CFTC-Regulated Markets, Importance of Whistleblowers, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Securities Fraud, Whistleblower Answers,

COVID-19 Frauds of the Week: Fake Employees and Fake Treatments

Posted 07/17/20

handcuffs on a gavel with money scattered around

Taxpayers, rightfully upset about large companies such as Shake Shack and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse claiming large sums of Paycheck Protection Program money from the Small Business Administration, should consider shifting some of their ire to applicants posing as the original intended recipients—small businesses—who are getting in on the grift. And for fraudsters who prefer to market unproven products rather than...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, COVID-19, Government Procurement Fraud, Misrepresentations,

Constantine Cannon Attorneys Provide Comments on Model Whistleblower Award and Protection Act

Posted 07/2/20

Following in the footsteps of the hugely successful SEC Whistleblower Program, which recently announced its largest-ever reward of $50 million, the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) has proposed a Model Whistleblower Award and Protection Act that would serve as a guide for states across North America who wish to enact a compelling whistleblower program to bolster their securities...

Tagged in: Anonymity, Importance of Whistleblowers, Retaliation, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Eligibility, Whistleblower Rewards,

DOJ Charges Healthcare CEO with Criminal Securities and Healthcare Fraud

Posted 06/12/20

Hands in handcuffs behind back of white man in business suit

In 2008, Rahm Emanuel, then-President Obama’s chief of staff, famously said, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. I mean, it’s an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before.” However poorly phrased, generations of political and business leaders have understood the kernel of truth in his admonition. So have scammers and rip-off artists. We have been following the...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, COVID-19, Criminal Proceedings, Financial and Investment Fraud, Healthcare Fraud, Laboratory and IDTF, Lack of Medical Necessity, Market Manipulation and Trading Violations, Misrepresentations, Securities Fraud,

SEC Makes $50M Whistleblower Reward: LARGEST AWARD TO DATE

Posted 06/4/20

The SEC today announced a $50 million whistleblower award, the largest award to date to a single individual whistleblower under the SEC Whistleblower Program. This tops the $54 million award to two whistleblowers in September 2018 and the $50 million award to two whistleblowers in March 2018. It brings the total amount of awards under the program to more that a half-billion dollars. And it is just the latest in...

Tagged in: Importance of Whistleblowers, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Eligibility, Whistleblower Rewards,

COVID Frauds of the Week: Misrepresented Mask Inventories and Medicare Fraud

Posted 05/1/20

Amid COVID-19-induced fear and hardship, fraud is on the rise. Already, the FTC has received over 18,000 reports of COVID-19 related fraud. In response, the SEC, CFTC, and other regulators announced they are on the lookout for pandemic-related fraud, and the DOJ warned would-be wrongdoers that it will not tolerate profiting off of public panic. This week, we focus on three enforcement actions brought by the...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, COVID-19, Healthcare Fraud, Medicare, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Securities Fraud,

SEC Starts 2020 with Almost $12 million in Whistleblower Awards

Posted 04/9/20

Business sign saying "Come In We're Open" in white on blue background

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the SEC whistleblower program is very much open for business: the SEC has announced seven whistleblower awards in the past four months, including an award of over $7 million to a “tenacious” whistleblower who provided extensive and sustained assistance in connection with serious financial abuses despite suffering hardship. Under the program, whistleblowers – regardless of their...

Tagged in: Anonymity, Financial and Investment Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, International Whistleblowers, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program,

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Catch of the Week: Bank of Nova Scotia Fined for Commodities Fraud and False Statements to Investigators

Catch of the Week: Interactive Brokers Pays $38 Million for Failures in Money-Laundering and Supervision

The FCPA’s Accounting Provisions Get a Fresh Look from the SEC

What Potential Whistleblowers Need to Know About the Dodd-Frank Act

COVID-19 Frauds of the Week: Fake Employees and Fake Treatments

Constantine Cannon Attorneys Provide Comments on Model Whistleblower Award and Protection Act

DOJ Charges Healthcare CEO with Criminal Securities and Healthcare Fraud

SEC Makes $50M Whistleblower Reward: LARGEST AWARD TO DATE

COVID Frauds of the Week: Misrepresented Mask Inventories and Medicare Fraud

SEC Starts 2020 with Almost $12 million in Whistleblower Awards

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