UK Regulator Raps Schemes for Raising Fees and Concludes that Card-Acquiring Services Market “Does Not Work Well”

By Richard Pike, Simon Yeung and Andreas Killi[1] A comprehensive government review has concluded that the card-acquiring services that enable merchants in the UK to accept card payments is not working well for a significant number of merchants. The UK’s Payment Systems Regulator (PSR; the economic regulator of the payment systems industry in the UK) published its final report on its market review into card-acquiring services in the UK on...

Catch of the Week: Archdiocese of New Orleans pays $1 million to Resolve Katrina-Related Allegations, Highlighting Importance of Enforcement in Disaster Recovery Fraud

We’ve covered this before: natural disasters and fraud against the government often go hand in hand. The government, through agencies and programs such the FEMA and the federally-backed flood and crop insurance programs, can distribute enormous sums of money very quickly in the wake of hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, and the like. Distributing lots of money quickly after natural disasters gets immediate help to people affected by these phenomena. Their homes...

November 16, 2021

Richard Ayvazyan was sentence to 17 years in prison, his wife Marietta Terabelian to six years, and his brother Artur Ayvazyan to five years, following their convictions at trial on charges related to their scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $20 million in Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan COVID-19 relief funds.  The defendants used dozens of false identities to submit fraudulent applications for approximately 150 PPP and...

Recent Settlements Show Kickbacks are Always a DOJ Enforcement Priority

The Department of Justice regularly highlights the areas of fraudulent conduct it intends to target as enforcement priorities.  These identified enforcement priorities tend to cover burgeoning areas of fraud or particular misbehavior especially ripe or prevalent because of the particular times we live in.  As might be expected, DOJ's current listing of priorities includes fraud related to the pandemic, opioids, the elderly, electronic health records, telehealth services, and as most...

Next Up: Infrastructure Oversight Week?

More than four years after “Infrastructure Week” was first announced by President Trump back in June 2017, Congress has finally passed an infrastructure bill and President Biden will soon sign it into law.  A staggering $1.2 trillion in taxpayer money will soon start flowing from the U.S. Treasury to private contractors to upgrade the nation’s roads, bridges, power grid, and other public works.  Is it too soon to start talking...

Catch of the Week: Classic Medicare Fraud

For those like your correspondents who spend their days deep in the weeds of complex Medicare fraud, it’s a delight when something refreshingly simple comes along.  Thanks to Billy Joe Taylor of Arkansas, we can relax this Friday with a cool glass of straightforward Medicare fraud.  For allegedly making $100 million in claims to CMS for tests that were not ordered or ever performed, he is our Catch of the...

Three States Impose Profit Limits on Nursing Homes

New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts have just sent a clear message to nursing home operators: patient care must be prioritized over profits.  Each state is introducing rules requiring nursing homes to spend a specific portion of their total revenue on direct patient care.  In New York, it will be at least 70%, in Massachusetts at least 75%, and in New Jersey at least 90%.  The three states are also...

Payments News Update – October 29, 2021

Legal and Regulatory Developments SPOTLIGHT: Report: Apple ‘Very Likely’ to Face Antitrust Lawsuit From US Department of Justice 9to5Mac – October 25, 2021 A new report from The Information today indicates that Apple is “very likely” to face an antitrust lawsuit from the Department of Justice in the United States. The report explains that the US DOJ has “accelerated” the antitrust probe into Apple, which it first opened back in 2019. Citing people...

Payments News Update – October 15, 2021

Legal and Regulatory Developments SPOTLIGHT: European Banks Debate Rival to US Payment Giants Politico EU – September 30, 2021 Europe’s biggest banks will decide if it’s in their interests to take on the U.S. payment duopoly of Mastercard and Visa as soon as next month, as political pressure grows to break American dominance in this space. Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, BNP Paribas, ING, Santander, UniCredit and BBVA are among 22 backers...

The Five Developments You Should Follow if You Want to Know What Antitrust Enforcers Are Doing in the Fields of Agriculture

While you may have noticed how expensive your recent trips to the supermarket have become, have you thought about why?  Is it because of the pandemic? Shipping problems?  Is it due to problems with the food supply? The short answer is “all of the above,” but, according to the Biden administration, antitrust abuses—including consolidation in the agriculture industry—could also be playing a major role in the hefty price increases for...