The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has ordered Wells Fargo Bank to pay a total of $3.7 billion stemming from “widespread mismanagement” of its auto loans, mortgages, and deposit accounts, the CFPB announced. “Between at least 2011 and 2022, consumers were illegally assessed fees and interest charges on auto and Read More
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Jan. 27 that his office has begun an investigative sweep into businesses with mobile apps that are not in compliance with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Targeted businesses have received letters. Under the CCPA, California consumers have, among other rights, the right to Read More
Financial services firms, hospitals, food service companies, and critical infrastructures were among those that were spared millions of dollars in ransom payments and remediation costs, after the Department of Justice dismantled the international ransomware group known as “Hive,” the DoJ announced on Jan. 26. Since June 2021, the Hive ransomware Read More
A whistleblower complaint filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission alleges that Brazil-based meatpacking giant, JBS Foods, engaged in greenwashing so severe it is asking the SEC to investigate it for securities fraud. Mighty Earth, an environmental advocacy group, filed the complaint. It is alleging JBS in 2021 issued $3.2 Read More
The Department of Justice and the attorneys general of eight states filed a lawsuit on Jan. 24 against Google over allegations that the search giant’s dominance in the digital advertising marketplace harms competition. In addition to the DoJ, eight states joined the lawsuit, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, New Jersey, New Read More
Bloomberg Finance, a subsidiary of media company Bloomberg, agreed to cease and desist from future violations and to pay a $5 million penalty in a Jan. 23 settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission concerning misleading disclosures relating to its paid subscription service, BVAL, the SEC announced. BVAL provides daily Read More
The Department of Justice has made the first significant changes to the Criminal Division’s Corporate Enforcement Policy (CEP) since 2017, changes that offer companies “new, significant, and concrete incentives to self-disclose misconduct,” Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite announced in remarks delivered Jan. 17 at Georgetown University. On the other hand, Read More
Nihat Cardak, the former chief financial officer of email security company GigaMedia Access Corporation (GigaTrust), pled guilty for his alleged role in a scheme to defraud investors and lenders out of millions of dollars through, among other measures, impersonating an auditor, the Department of Justice announced. U.S. District Court Judge Read More
Online alcohol marketplace Drizly has been ordered to implement numerous data security measures following a data breach that exposed the personal information of about 2.5 million consumers in 2020, the Federal Trade Commission announced Jan. 10. Additionally, the FTC ordered Drizly CEO James Cory Rellas to “implement an information-security program Read More
The SEC on Jan. 9 charged McDonald’s Corporation with “shortcomings in its public disclosures” concerning its 2019 separation agreement with ousted CEO Stephen Easterbrook. McDonald’s was able to avoid a financial penalty, however, due, in part, to its remedial measures, which included “recovering the compensation Easterbrook received pursuant to the Read More
