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Investigations Posts
Grassley’s Case Against DOJ Stance on Financial Fraud Is Vastly Overstated
Apr 9, 2012
Grassley’s Case Against DOJ Stance on Financial Fraud Is Vastly Overstated
In recent weeks, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) has criticized the Department of Justice’s handling of executives that some argue are responsible for the financial crisis. Sen. Grassley, the ranking minority member of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, held a hearing in February that looked at mortgage fraud, foreclosure abuse and lending discrimination practices. During…
DOJ Goes After Smaller Fraudsters, Lets Big Fish Escape
Mar 5, 2012
DOJ Goes After Smaller Fraudsters, Lets Big Fish Escape
Successful criminal prosecutions of mortgage fraud seem to have one thing in common: a fraud figure well below $10 million. One of the recent cases that generated a fair amount of press involved the convictions of co-conspirators in a mortgage scheme carried out by an ex-NFL player. That scheme, which took place during the housing…
Justice Would Be Served by an ‘Open File’ Policy for Prosecutors
Mar 2, 2012
Justice Would Be Served by an ‘Open File’ Policy for Prosecutors
A couple of years ago, the U.S. Department of Justice made an effort to systematize and improve its discovery obligations under Brady v. Maryland, the 1963 Supreme Court case that requires prosecutors to disclose information in their files that would tend to exculpate criminal defendants. A U.S. attorney, speaking at a conference of defense lawyers,…
Does 5th Amendment Protect Computer Files From Decryption?
Feb 9, 2012
Does 5th Amendment Protect Computer Files From Decryption?
A U.S. District Court in Colorado recently considered whether the constitutional privilege against self-incrimination extends to the compelled production of decrypted computer files. It is beyond dispute that the government may not force a suspect to provide an encryption password if the password would provide a necessary link in the chain of evidence leading to…
Private Suits Under FCPA — An Ill-Advised Idea
Jan 31, 2012
Private Suits Under FCPA — An Ill-Advised Idea
Late last year, Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that would amend the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) to permit private suits against certain foreign companies and individuals. The bill, entitled the “Foreign Business Bribery Prohibition Act of 2011,” would significantly alter the landscape of FCPA enforcement, and not…
New DOJ Opinion Paves Way to Legal Online Poker
Dec 26, 2011
New DOJ Opinion Paves Way to Legal Online Poker
On December 23, 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice revealed that it has reversed a long-held position by stating that the Wire Act applies only to sports betting. This marks a major change in policy for DOJ, which has long contended that the Wire Act prohibits all forms of Internet gambling, including poker. Late that…
Judge Dismisses Lindsey FCPA Case, Finding Prosecutorial Misconduct
Dec 12, 2011
Judge Dismisses Lindsey FCPA Case, Finding Prosecutorial Misconduct
In May 2011, a federal jury in Los Angeles convicted Lindsey Manufacturing Co., its president Keith Lindsey, and CFO Steve Lee, on foreign bribery charges for their dealings with Mexico’s state-owned electricity utility, Comision Federal de Electricidad. The prosecutors claimed that Lindsey Manufacturing retained Enrique Aguilar, a Mexican company representative, after repeatedly failing to win…
More Big Pharma Companies Cough Up Big Dollars in DOJ Settlements
Nov 30, 2011
More Big Pharma Companies Cough Up Big Dollars in DOJ Settlements
The parade of major drug companies coughing up nine-digit or ten-digit dollar amounts in settlements with the U.S. government is continuing. GlaxoSmithKline recently broke a record by agreeing to pay the federal government $3 billion to settle an illegal pharmaceutical marketing case. This surpasses the previous record of $2.3 billion paid by Pfizer in 2009…
Options for Suing the Federal Government Under Bivens Unlikely to Expand
Nov 7, 2011
Options for Suing the Federal Government Under Bivens Unlikely to Expand
In 2001, federal inmate Richard Lee Pollard sustained two broken elbows after tripping over a cart in a privately operated prison housing federal inmates. He sued five prison employees for their actions after his injuries. On Nov. 1, 2011, the Supreme Court held oral argument in Minneci v. Pollard and considered the possibility of creating…
Major FCPA Case in Jeopardy Because of Prosecutors’ Errors
Aug 5, 2011
Major FCPA Case in Jeopardy Because of Prosecutors’ Errors
In late June, U.S. District Court Judge Howard Matz of the Central District of California, the judge in the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) case against Lindsey Manufacturing Co. and two of its executives, invited both sides to submit briefs on the question of whether the defendants’ convictions should be dismissed. It had been revealed…
