FTC investigations require companies to act quickly. Failure to do so can have draconian consequences. Read more for recent case examples.
Continue Reading Spoliation and Failure to Disclose: What Gets Swept Under the Rug in FTC Investigations Lands in a Dangerous Pit
DOJ Signals Changes to Its Corporate Enforcement Policy
Deciding whether to voluntarily disclose information to the government is difficult. Any guidance from the government as to what it expects from organizations and how it will reward self-disclosures should thus be welcome.
In a recent appearance at a conference on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced several changes to DOJ’s corporate enforcement policy. Notably, his statements rolled back some of the requirements set forth in the eponymous “Yates Memo” from 2015. In this blog post, we’ll highlight two key policy differences between the Yates Memo and the updated DOJ policy.
First, DOJ is changing how companies may earn credit for cooperating with civil and criminal investigations. The Yates Memo advanced more of an “all or nothing” approach, where companies had to disclose the wrongdoing of all individuals involved in a corruption scheme. Failure to disclose information related to all individuals precluded companies from earning any cooperation credit.Continue Reading DOJ Signals Changes to Its Corporate Enforcement Policy
When the Cover Up Is Worse Than the Crime
Legal history is replete with stories of persons or companies turning a manageable legal problem into a more serious one by trying to hide or destroy evidence, see Watergate and Arthur Anderson/Enron for two notable examples. A recent case involving a bus company executive provides a good case study in what not to do when facing a government investigation and the consequences of trying to hide or destroy evidence in an investigation.
Ralph Groen worked as a VP for Information Technology for Coach USA, a tour bus company. Beginning in 2009, the NY AG and the US DOJ began investigating Coach USA and another company forming a joint venture to corner the tour bus market in New York City and thereby drive up prices. The DOJ and NY AG sued the companies in 2012 and the companies settled in 2015 by agreeing to pay $7.5 million and breaking up much of the joint venture.Continue Reading When the Cover Up Is Worse Than the Crime