Attorney General Gonzales Resigns
August 27, 2007
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales ' the nation's troubled top law enforcement officer ' ended speculation Monday and resigned after a months-long standoff with the Democratic-controlled Congress over his candor on several major issues, most notably the handling of the firing of at least eight U.S. attorneys.
Procurement Fraud Enforcement
July 30, 2007
In Part One of this article, we discussed the fact that each year, the federal government spends several hundred billion dollars to obtain goods and services from corporations and other non-governmental agencies. And we warned that, via new national legislation and investigative initiatives, the attention of Capitol Hill and federal law enforcement offices nationwide is keenly focused on the prevention, detection and punishment of procurement fraud. We discussed recent scandals and prosecutions, the increase in Civil False Claims Act Qui Tam cases, and other things that can take an unwary governmental contractor unawares. We conclude herein with other areas of concern.
Compliance Lessons from the Chiquita Case
July 30, 2007
In March of this year, Chiquita Brands agreed to pay a $25 million criminal fine for payments it made to a paramilitary group in Colombia. The payments were made by the Colombian subsidiary of Chiquita in order to protect the company's employees from threatened violence. Unfavorable press coverage emphasized payments by Chiquita to a 'terrorist group' and downplayed the threats made to Chiquita, which prompted it to make the payments in the first place.
New Standards for Brady and Giglio Disclosures
July 30, 2007
For the past five years, the white-collar criminal-defense bar has been working to enhance the obligations of federal prosecutors to disclose exculpatory and impeaching information under <i>Brady v. Maryland</i>, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), <i>Giglio v. United States</i>, 405 U.S. 150 (1972), and their progeny. In the past few months, those efforts have begun to bear significant fruit.
New IRS Whistleblower Program
July 30, 2007
Caution ' an employee of your company may go to work for the IRS. Well, not in the traditional way. In the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 ('the Act'), effective Oct. 20, 2006, Congress amended ' 7623 of the Internal Revenue Code, substantially enhancing the IRS's informant or whistleblower program.
Whistleblowing with a French Twist
June 28, 2007
In Part One of this article, we discussed the fact that whistleblowing in France is a rather unwelcome legal obligation. France's total opposition to whistleblowing has softened over time and has been accompanied by a greater understanding and appreciation of its implications. Nevertheless, strong pervasive principles of French law continue to govern this domain. We referred out readers to a recent report on Whistleblowing and Ethical Charters, which was commissioned by the French Minister of State for Employment and Professional Insertion. The Antonmatt'i-Vivien report was aimed at encouraging the analysis and clarification of this grey area of French law. We continue this month with a look at how whistleblowing is implemented in France.
Procurement Fraud Enforcement
June 28, 2007
Each year, the federal government spends several hundred billion dollars to obtain goods and services from corporations and other nongovernmental entities. Under the critical eye of the nation's taxpayers, the federal government has amplified its own scrutiny of the ethics and integrity of its procurement officers and those companies with which it contracts. Via new national legislation and investigative initiatives, the attention of Capitol Hill and federal law enforcement offices across the nation is keenly focused on the prevention, detection and punishment of procurement fraud. It is a brand new day ' and a potentially dark one for the unwary governmental contractor.
Fraud Sentence Enhanced for Abuse of Trust
June 28, 2007
The Federal Sentencing Guidelines establish factors that a court is authorized to consider in imposing a sentence upon a criminal defendant, and assign numeric values to those factors in an effort to achieve some consistency in sentencing. Though the factors mostly stay the same, their precise parameters are constantly evolving. One evolving factor is the 'abuse of trust' or 'use of special skill' enhancement, described in the Guidelines under ' 3B1.3.
