Aaron Nicodemus
Aaron Nicodemus covers regulatory policy and compliance trends for Compliance Week. He previously worked as a reporter for Bloomberg Law and as business editor at the Telegram & Gazette in Worcester, Mass.
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ArticleDOJ-informed compliance guidance helps Home Depot prep for potential scrutiny
How can a company prove its compliance bona fides to a regulator, should one ever come knocking on its door? The Home Depot has prepared for such a scenario with detailed guidance pegged to the DOJ’s “Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs.”
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Benefytt to refund $100M to customers who paid for sham health plans
The Federal Trade Commission ordered Florida-based Benefytt Technologies to refund $100 million to consumers who received sham healthcare insurance plans bundled with services they did not order.
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Senators demand answers from U.S. Bank on fake accounts scandal
Democratic senators are calling on U.S. Bank to answer questions before a Senate committee regarding an alleged fake accounts scandal the bank recently paid $37.5 million to settle.
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Morgan Stanley reaches $200M agreement over unauthorized electronic messages
Morgan Stanley has reached agreements in principle totaling $200 million with the SEC and CFTC to settle charges its employees used messaging platforms not approved by the financial services company.
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Roundup: Goldman Sachs, Citi, Robinhood disclose regulatory investigations
Goldman Sachs Group, Citigroup, and Robinhood Markets each issued quarterly filings disclosing regulatory investigations they are respectively facing into varied business practices.
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Albemarle in settlement talks with SEC, DOJ over FCPA violations
Chemical company Albemarle Corp. has entered settlement talks with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice regarding potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
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Crypto regulation back in spotlight after SEC securities claims
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s move to classify nine cryptocurrencies as securities as part of insider trading charges it brought against a former Coinbase manager has touched a nerve with other regulators, particularly the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
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Surgalign to pay $2M to settle accounting fraud charges
Medical implant manufacturer Surgalign will pay a $2 million penalty handed down by the SEC and recoup nearly $600,000 in incentive-based compensation from four senior executives who allegedly manipulated the company’s financial statements.
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SEC: Adherence to Reg BI should be embedded in compliance culture
Staff at the Securities and Exchange Commission warned investment advisers and broker-dealers they must continually identify, mitigate, and disclose all conflicts of interest regarding advice they make to retail investors to remain in compliance with Regulation Best Interest.
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Robinhood Crypto fined $30M for AML, cybersecurity failures
Robinhood Crypto agreed to pay a $30 million fine to the New York State Department of Financial Services for “significant failures” in its Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering and cybersecurity compliance programs.
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Judge: Ex-JPMorgan compliance exec’s retaliation claims credible for trial
A jury could conclude allegations made by a former JPMorgan Chase compliance executive who said she was fired for blowing the whistle have merit, a federal judge ruled.
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U.S. Bank fined $37.5M over fake accounts scheme
U.S. Bank agreed to pay a $37.5 million fine and to return fees charged to customers related to the bank’s alleged opening of accounts and access of credit reports without their permission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced.
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Court: RBS whistleblower should not receive award
A federal appeals court has denied the whistleblower claims of a former Royal Bank of Scotland employee seeking compensation for a tip he said generated more than $10 billion worth of settlements.
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SEC touts data analytics in launching 3 insider trading cases
The Securities and Exchange Commission utilized data analytics to detect suspicious trading activity and form the basis of three separate insider trading cases.
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T-Mobile to create $350M fund to settle 2021 data breach claims
T-Mobile agreed to create a $350 million fund and spend an additional $150 million on improving its data security to settle a class-action lawsuit related to a 2021 hack that exposed the personal information of more than 76 million customers.
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Former Coinbase manager charged in first crypto insider trading case
The Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission charged a former product manager at Coinbase with insider trading for allegedly passing on tips to his brother and friend regarding when certain cryptocurrency assets would be made available on the platform.
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Dear SEC: The compliance community wants to be a partner, not a target
Communication between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the compliance community is not happening as robustly as compliance practitioners would like. The result is compliance officers are more concerned than ever the agency will target them in an enforcement action.
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Health Insurance Innovations, ex-CEO to pay $12M to settle fraud charges
Health Insurance Innovations and its former CEO Gavin Stockwell will pay a total of more than $12 million to settle SEC charges of misrepresenting the robustness of the company’s compliance program and misleading investors about customer complaints.
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Bank of America reserves $200M for enforcement over banker personal device use
Bank of America has set aside $200 million in anticipation of an enforcement action related to unauthorized use of personal devices—an area in which U.S. regulators are cracking down.
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American Express to pay $430K for violations of sanctions against drug kingpin
A subsidiary of American Express agreed to pay $430,500 to settle charges its network processed 214 transactions on behalf of a Venezuelan drug kingpin who was designated on the U.S. sanctions list, according to the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
