The question of whether the False Claims Act (FCA) requires a showing of objective falsity will continue to divide the circuit courts following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision not to address the issue.
To establish liability under the FCA, which…
Continue Reading SCOTUS Declines to Decide Whether Objective Falsity is Required to Establish Liability Under FCA
On September 30, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law requiring publicly held corporations to further diversify their boards of directors. He also signed a bill requiring that corporations and limited liability companies make additional disclosures.
Assembly…
Continue Reading California Requires Board Diversity and Additional Company Disclosures
The Securities and Exchange Commission has voted to adopt numerous amendments to the rules governing its whistleblower program. See https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-219
The whistleblower program serves as a significant tool for the Commission to encourage individuals to come forward with information regarding…
Continue Reading SEC Adopts Amendments to Whistleblower Program Rules
The Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) announced a whistleblower award of more than $27 million, representing the largest SEC whistleblower award of 2020. This is the sixth largest award overall since the inception of the SEC whistleblower program in…
Continue Reading SEC Announces Largest Whistleblower Award of 2020 – Over $27 Million
With enactment of the CARES Act on March 27, Congress appropriated $2.2 trillion, the largest economic stimulus package in history, to combat COVID-19 and the serious economic damage it has wrought to all facets of the economy. Along with this…
Continue Reading CARES Act $2.2-Trillion Emergency Relief Fund Potential ‘Hotbed’ for Government Fraud, Abuse Investigations
The Special Agent in Charge of the Boston office of the FBI, Joseph Bonavolonta, has issued an advisory aimed at alerting and keeping individuals and companies safe in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. His memo reported on emerging schemes…
Continue Reading FBI Issues Warnings Regarding COVID-19 Fraud Schemes
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic impact on the management of organizations, including throwing managers at all levels into an “all-hands-on-deck” reactive mode. In large measure, the immediate focus of management-level employees has been on business continuity, particularly moving…
Continue Reading The Role of Company Directors During COVID-19
Several current and former federal officials recently sent letters to the President and the Attorney General urging action to protect persons in custody or facing arrest and detention during the COVID-19 crisis. In response, Attorney General Barr has issued separate…
Continue Reading AG Barr: Prosecutors, BOP Should Consider COVID-19 Crisis in Determining Bail, Early Release
As the country faces a wave of COVID-19 closure orders, individuals are being encouraged to report violations. Hypothetically, these reports could originate from just about anyone – employees, employees’ family members, customers, neighbors, the general public. Given the wide range…
Continue Reading Investigating Complaints Containing Second-Hand Information in the COVID-19 Era
Law enforcement is alerting businesses and the public that during the ongoing COVID-19 federal and state emergencies and stay-at-home orders to be extremely vigilant about email and internet scams being perpetrated by wrongdoers trying to capitalize on the scare.
According…
Continue Reading Beware! Internet Scammers Out to Capitalize on COVID-19 Scare
