Tag: Enforcement Actions

CohnReznick Logo

PCAOB Sanctions CohnReznick for Failing to Make Timely Disclosures

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) has hit audit firm CohnReznick with a censure and a $20,000 civil penalty for alleged failures to timely disclose disciplinary proceedings brought against the firm by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the PCAOB announced. According to the PCAOB’s disciplinary order, CohnReznick failed to Read More

Window maker View avoids SEC penalties

Window Maker Earns Reprieve by Cooperating with SEC Investigation

View, a California-based maker of “smart” windows for office buildings, has settled charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission for failing to disclose $28 million in projected warranty-related liabilities to address a particular defect in its windows, the SEC announced. The regulatory agency said it decided not to impose any Read More

Biggest Compliance failures

The Most Expensive Financial Compliance Failures of the Last Decade

Just as in any other industry, the financial industry has its fair share of questionable behavior, and then some. For this reason, an alphabet soup of regulatory oversight — and accompanying fines for non-compliance, violations, and even fraud — exist to keep financial institutions in line. Regulatory bodies like the Read More

Gerald Shaw

DoJ Charges Disbarred Attorney Posing as CCO

The Department of Justice announced the arrest of a convicted felon and disbarred attorney for his alleged involvement in a multi-million-dollar fraud scheme. According to the allegations in the complaint, from its formation around late 2015 until in or about July 2020, Dominion Bank and Trust Company operated as a Read More

Rabobank CCO goes free

Regulator ‘Reluctantly’ Dismisses Action Against Ex-Rabobank CCO

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced in a final decision that it has “reluctantly” terminated its enforcement action against the former chief compliance officer of Rabobank N.A., the U.S.-based subsidiary of Netherlands-based Rabobank. As CCO, Laura Akahoshi was responsible for overseeing Rabobank’s Bank Secrecy Act and Read More

Health Care Data Privacy

HHS Forms New Divisions in Crackdown on Data Leaks

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the formation of a new Enforcement Division, Policy Division, and Strategic Planning Division to better address growing enforcement trends, including a crackdown on data breaches and other privacy violations. In recent years, the caseload of the Office for Civil Rights Read More

EU Investigating Microsoft’s Proposed Acquisition of Activision Blizzard

The European Commission announced that it has opened an in-depth investigation into Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard over anticompetition concerns. Both Microsoft and Activision Blizzard develop and publish games for PC game consoles and mobile devices, as well as distribute games for PCs. In addition, Microsoft also distributes games Read More

Vonage to pay $100M in FTC Settlement

Vonage, a subsidiary of Ericsson, has been ordered by the Federal Trade Commission to pay a record $100 million settlement to be used to refund harmed consumers after the internet phone service provider imposed junk fees and created obstacles for consumers who tried to cancel their service. According to the Read More

SolarWinds Gets SEC ‘Wells Notice’ over Orion Software Platform Cyberattack

SolarWinds disclosed in a press release accompanying a recent regulatory filing that the Securities and Exchange Commission has issued it a “Wells Notice” concerning an investigation into SolarWind’s previously disclosed cyberattack on the company’s Orion Software Platform and internal systems. “The Wells Notice states that the SEC staff has made Read More

false claims act violation

Modernizing Medicine Settles False Claims Act Allegations for $45M

Modernizing Medicine (ModMed), an electronic health record (EHR) technology vendor, will pay $45 million over allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by soliciting and receiving kickbacks in exchange for referrals and by causing healthcare providers to submit false claims, the Department of Justice (DoJ) said. The Anti-Kickback Read More