The recent implosion of FTX Trading leaves investors and their advisers wondering whether any crypto investment is safe. There have been dozens of cryptocurrency-related fraud schemes in recent years including Ponzi schemes and investment schemes using crypto and the blockchain to facilitate the fraud scheme.
Recent actions by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), together with certain statements by SEC commissioners, may indicate a shift in approach toward a rebuttable presumption that digital assets are securities, without deference to formal legal tests.
This article examines the impact of Hoskins on three issues of importance to white-collar practitioners: the scope of the FCPA; the interpretation of white-collar criminal statutes; and the authority of the district court to consider at the outset of a prosecution threshold questions of the reach of the law to foreign individuals.
Compliance leaders recognize that Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) is a growing concern for U.S. companies, but face challenges in determining how to embed compliance structures into their programs. One solution is to look to already existing anti-bribery and corruption (AB&C) compliance measures.
In two recent notable cases involving NFTs and cryptocurrency markets, the DOJ has brought insider trading charges under the wire fraud statute without claiming that any securities were involved. These cases demonstrate the substantial flexibility federal prosecutors have — or at least believe they have — in charging insider trading and underscore the oft-recognized need for a federal statute expressly addressing insider trading.
A rising tide of regulation is headed for corporate compliance officers and in-house lawyers. Corporate accountability is a key priority for the DOJ and SEC, and both agencies have renewed their focus on individual liability for gatekeepers, including lawyers, accountants, underwriters and auditors.
The Northern District of Illinois recently issued an opinion which criminalizes acting in the United States as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the attorney general.
Going back many decades, each Deputy Attorney General (DAG) has promulgated revisions to the DOJ's corporate criminal enforcement policies, leaving behind eponymous policy memos that were carefully studied by defense attorneys. Like her predecessors, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco has been quick to announce a series of revisions to DOJ's corporate criminal enforcement policies and practices.
In the COVID-19 era, there has been a heist of great value, but it has not gone undetected. Prosecutors have called the heist the largest fraud in U.S. history, with the thieves stealing hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer money through fraudulently obtained Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.
Professional liability insurance policies may provide coverage for criminal proceedings, including defense costs incurred defending against criminal indictments. Corporate policyholders, and individuals covered under professional liability policies, should know exactly what type of claims are insured.
