Other Federal Enforcement

May 3, 2021

Vivint Smart Home Inc., which sells “smart” home security and monitoring systems through a door-to-door sales force, has agreed to settle for $20 million in the largest civil penalty ever paid to resolve violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).  According to the DOJ, Vivint’s lack of an Identity Theft Prevention Program allowed its sales force to fraudulently obtain credit reports of unsuspecting consumers in order to complete sales to potential Vivint customers who failed required credit checks.  Vivint then allegedly sold debt from Vivint customers who defaulted to debt collectors who attempted to collect from the unsuspecting victims.  Vivint recently paid $3.2 million to settle charges involving a different scheme.  DOJ; FTC

April 29, 2021

Following a self-disclosure, software company SAP SE will pay penalties totaling over $8 million and disgorge over $5 million to resolve claims that it violated Export Administration Regulations and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations. Between 2010 and 2017, SAP and its partners and subsidiaries released U.S-origin software to users located in Iran and permitted Iranian users to access U.S.-based cloud services from Iran.  In both cases, SAP executives were aware of the issues but did not take steps to remedy or stop them.  SAP also entered into a non-prosecution agreement setting forth specific compliance procedures.  DOJ; USAO Mass; OFAC; Commerce

April 13, 2021

ExxonMobil Oil Corporation agreed to pay penalties of $1.5 million to the federal government and State of Illinois and undertake $10 million in specified physical and operational changes at its petroleum refinery in Joliet to reduce air emissions and resolve claims that the company violated the Clean Air Act and a 2005 Consent Decree applicable to the facility.  EPA

March 9, 2021

Aftermarket automotive parts seller Premier Performance, together with related companies JB Automotive, RallySportDirect, and Stage 3 Motorsports, will pay a $3 million penalty under the Clean Air Act to resolve allegations that they illegally sold emissions-control defeat devices to businesses and individuals throughout the U.S. EPA

February 9, 2021

American Zinc Recycling Corp. agreed to pay penalties of $3.3 million to the federal government and State of Pennsylvania and undertake $4.3 million in specified physical and operational changes at its Palmerton recycling facility to reduce lead dust exposure and resolve claims that the company violated a 1995 Consent Decree applicable to the facility, as well as its operating permit and environmental laws including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and the Emergency Preparedness and Community Right-to-Know Act. EPA

January 19, 2021

U.S. Magnesium will pay a civil penalty of $250,000 and undertake at least $37 million in modifications and upgrades to its Rowley, Utah facility to reduce the volume and toxicity of waste generated at the facility, treat all wastewater, and prevent leaks from the facility to the Great Salt Lake.  EPA

January 15, 2021

Capital One, N.A. will pay a $390 million civil penalty following its admission that it violated the Bank Secrecy Act including by failing to implement and maintain an effective anti-money laundering program, and failing to file thousands of suspicious activity reports (SARs) and currency transaction reports (CTRs) including transactions in its high-risk Check Cashing Group.  As a result, from at least 2008 to 2014, millions of dollars of transactions were unreported, allowing funds connected with organized crime, tax evasion, and other financial crimes to be laundered through the U.S. financial system.  FINCEN

January 14, 2021

Indonesia-based paper products manufacturer PT Bukit Muria Jaya will pay $1.6 million and enter into a deferred prosecution agreement with a compliance program to resolve charges that the company illegally shipped products to North Korea in violation of U.S. sanctions law, and took steps to conceal the true nature of the transactions from U.S. banks.  DOJ; OFAC

January 4, 2021

French bank Union de Banques Arabes et Françaises will pay $8.6 million to resolve an investigation into its operation of U.S. dollar accounts on behalf of Syrian financial institutions subject to U.S. sanctions.  UBAF’s practices allowed the sanctioned entities to conduct transactions through a U.S. bank following internal transfers between the sanctioned entities and non-sanctioned entities that were also UBAF customers.  OFAC

December 10, 2020

Complete Merchant Solutions, LLC (CMS), a payment processor, and its former CEO, Jack Wilson, have agreed to pay $1.5 million in refunds to harmed consumers in order to settle FTC charges of illegally processing millions of dollars in credit card payments that they knew or should have known were fraudulent.  According to the FTC, CMS and Wilson ignored clear red flags while processing payments, including high rates of consumer chargebacks, the use of multiple merchant accounts to avoid chargeback rates, and the submission of sham chargeback reduction plans.  As part of the order, CMS and Wilson are required to conduct enhanced screening and monitoring of certain merchants, and are prohibited from acting as a payment processor for certain companies.  FTC