Payments News Update – February 11, 2021

Legal and Regulatory Developments SPOTLIGHT: Big Banks, Big Tech Face off Over Swipe Fees American Banker – February 7, 2021 The fees generated from consumers’ debit card spending have long been a source of acrimony between big banks and retailers. But now the banks have a new adversary: Apple, PayPal and other fresh competitors from the tech industry. In recent months, banking heavyweights have sought to persuade the Federal Reserve...

The Antitrust Week In Review

Here are some of the developments in antitrust news this past week that we found interesting and are following. U.S. antitrust agencies temporarily suspend practice of early terminations.  The Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, which determine if mergers are legal, will temporarily suspend the practice of granting early terminations for mergers, the agency said Thursday. With the changeover to President Joe Biden’s administration and a jump...

February 4, 2021

Jessica T. Moore was quoted in the Barron’s article, Covid-Hit Nursing Homes Load Up on Debt. “A facility with a shaky financial foundation will almost certainly compromise patient care,” cutting back on staffing, equipment and other essentials, says Jessica Moore, an attorney specializing in health care fraud at Constantine Cannon.  Click here to read more.

Payments News Update – January 28, 2021

Legal and Regulatory Developments SPOTLIGHT: UK Merchants to Face Post-Brexit Fee Increase From Mastercard Business Insider – January 26, 2021 In response to Brexit, Mastercard is reportedly planning to increase fees for UK online card purchases. And this move could negatively affect cash-strapped merchants. Insider Intelligence publishes hundreds of insights, charts, and forecasts on the Payments & Commerce industry with the Payments & Commerce Briefing. You can learn more about...

Eastern District of CA Announces First Civil Settlement Related to CARES Act Fraud

The Eastern District of California announced the very first civil settlement to resolve allegations of fraud against the CARES Act Paycheck Protection Program. The agreement was entered into with SlideBelts, Inc., and its President, CFO and CEO, Brigham Taylor, for falsely certifying on its PPP applications to three financial institutions that they were not in bankruptcy when, in fact, they had been in the bankruptcy process since August 2019. Over...

Constantine Cannon and AARP Foundation Represent Advocacy Groups on behalf of Nursing-Home Patients to Ensure Facility Accountability

Constantine Cannon LLP proudly joins the AARP Foundation in representing the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care and California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform in a lawsuit seeking to roll back a directive undercutting accountability for nursing homes that violate federal standards.  The federal Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987 allows states to recommend to CMS that a non-compliant facility pay civil monetary penalties (CMPs) “for each day” that...

Payments News Update – January 21, 2021

Legal and Regulatory Developments SPOTLIGHT: CFPB Under Chopra Will Be Aggressive Consumer Watchdog, Experts Say Compliance Week – January 19, 2021 Rohit Chopra, currently a Democratic commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission, has been nominated by President-elect Joe Biden to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Unlike some Biden nominations (think Janet Yellen at the Treasury Department) that will be seen as compromises, Chopra’s nomination represents a full-throated return...

January 15, 2021

The Colonial Automotive Group, Inc., a chain of automobile dealerships, will pay $1 million to resolve allegations that they defrauded the Massachusetts state Department of Unemployment Assistance.  The dealership allegedly encouraged employees who were furloughed as a result of the state’s COVID-19 in-person business closures to sign up for unemployment benefits. and then requested those workers continue to perform dealership work, without pay, while they were collecting state benefits.  MA

DOJ Reports Decline in Total Fraud Recoveries in 2020, but Whistleblower Efforts and Rewards Continue

In its annual report of recoveries in fraud and False Claims Act cases, the Department of Justice reported total recoveries of $2.2 billion for the fiscal year ending September 2020.  These recoveries represent the lowest reported DOJ recoveries since 2008. While it is the decline in recoveries that stands out, the 2020 DOJ fraud statistics do share some things in common with prior years.  First, whistleblowers were again critical to...

Top Ten Non-Healthcare False Claims Act Recoveries of 2020

This year’s Top Ten Non-Healthcare False Claims Act Recoveries demonstrates the False Claims Act’s power to combat an array of corporate misconduct spanning diverse industries. In 2020, the United States recovered hundreds of millions in taxpayer funds obtained through claims rendered false by bribery and bid-rigging schemes, mortgage underwriting fraud, avoided import duties, fraudulent loan applications, and other garden-variety contracting fraud schemes like overbilling on government contracts or selling the...