All Settlements articles

  • Blog

    EPA head demands an end to ‘regulation through litigation’

    2017-10-18T12:45:00Z

    EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has issued an agency-wide directive and memorandum intended to end “sue and settle” practices at the agency for consent decrees and settlement agreements.

  • Blog

    AG’s memo puts halt to third-party settlements

    2017-06-07T14:45:00Z

    Attorney General Jeff Sessions has ordered Department of Justice staff to no longer indirectly include charities and activist groups as part of corporate settlements.

  • Blog

    How did GSK obtain a declination?

    2016-11-22T10:30:00Z

    If GlaxoSmithKline deserved a declination to prosecute, then the Justice Department needs to provide a better explanation as to why. Tom Fox reports.

  • Blog

    Accounting class actions rise again in 2015, analysis shows

    2016-04-19T14:45:00Z

    Accounting-related class-action settlements jumped to $2.6 billion in 2015, with 86 percent of the cases involving allegations of internal control weaknesses, according to the latest analysis by Cornerstone Research. The largest increase in settled cases in 2015 involved cases where investors raised allegations of internal control weaknesses but the company ...

  • Blog

    Consumer Group Protests Post-Settlement Tax Breaks

    2016-01-19T12:45:00Z

    Goldman Sachs recently announced that it had reached an agreement in principle with the U.S. Department of Justice and others to resolve civil claims relating to the firm’s securitization, underwriting, and sale of residential mortgage-backed securities from 2005 to 2007. The $5 billion settlement has drawn the ire of U.S. ...

  • Article

    Working With External Compliance Monitors

    2015-12-01T11:00:00Z

    Image: So your company has just entered into a settlement with a U.S. government agency and must now install a compliance monitor. How do you respond? For many companies, working with an external compliance monitor is still an intimidating process tainted by misconceptions. “A monitorship was never designed to ...

  • Article

    Latest Review of False Claims Act Compliance

    2015-11-10T12:45:00Z

    Image: The Justice Department has settled a spate of False Claims Act cases with healthcare providers this fall, pointing to several important trends in FCA cases: increased scrutiny on physician payment arrangements, the broadening scope of whistleblowers, and an upsurge in FCA settlement amounts. “Enforcement agencies are aggressively using all ...

  • Article

    What the FBI Brings to an FCPA Investigation

    2015-10-14T10:45:00Z

    Image: Many of the agencies that investigate Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations are the ones you don’t hear about. They stand apart from the Justice Department, discreetly waiting to leap on the next FCPA violator that crosses their path. The best example is the FBI. “The FBI historically has been ...

  • Blog

    Legislation Seeks Transparency on Tax-Deductible Settlements

    2015-04-28T15:30:00Z

    A bill filed by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.) would require transparency on tax deductions that minimize the cost of an enforcement action. Any statement by a federal agency about the value of a settlement would need to explain how much of that agreement is tax deductible ...

  • Blog

    SEC's Lawsuit Against Freddie Mac Execs Fizzles Out in Unusual Settlement

    2015-04-15T13:45:00Z

    On Dec. 16, 2011, the SEC charged three former top executives of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) with securities fraud. The SEC alleged that the executives "knew and approved of misleading statements claiming the companies had minimal holdings of higher-risk mortgage loans, including subprime loans." Yesterday, however, ...

  • Blog

    BNY Mellon Settles FX Charges, Will Pay $714 Million

    2015-03-20T14:45:00Z

    Bank of New York Mellon has agreed to pay $714 million in a series of settlements related to accusations it fraudulently overcharged clients on foreign exchange currency transactions. The settlements stem from long-running lawsuits by Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and New York’s Attorney General.

  • Blog

    Google Will Pay $19M to Settle FTC Complaints

    2014-12-08T13:15:00Z

    The Federal Trade Commission has approved a final order resolving allegations that Google unfairly billed consumers for in-app charges that were made by children without their parents’ consent. Google will set aside $19 million in restitution and  contact all all affected consumers within 15 days.