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The Department of Justice (DOJ) suffered an unusual defeat when its motion for late intervention in a False Claims Act (FCA)[1] qui tam case, United States ex rel. Odom v. Southeast Eye Specialists, PLLC,[2] was rebuffed by the Middle District of Tennessee, rejecting the magistrate judge’s recommendations ...

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP | September 2020

A Florida district court recently dismissed without prejudice a False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam action, finding the action precluded by the first-to-file bar. See United States ex rel. Cho v. H.I.G. Capital, LLC, No. 8:17-cv-983-T-33AEP, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155373 (M.D. Fla. Aug. 26, 2020) ...

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP | September 2017

The District Court for the Southern District of New York recently rejected the notion of a “holistic” approach to materiality, instead zeroing in on the government’s continued payment of claims despite knowledge of non-compliances as proof positive those non-compliances were not material. In United States ex rel. Kolchinsky v. Moody’s Corp ...

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP | December 2021

On Nov. 10, 2021, the SEC Division of Examinations issued a Risk Alert regarding an advisory fees examination initiative (the Initiative). The Division of Examinations conducted 130 examinations of investment advisers focused on advisory fees, predominantly those charged to retail investors. This Risk Alert supplements the Advisory Fee Risk Alert issued by the Division of Examinations on April 12, 2018 ...

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP | December 2021

On Nov. 10, 2021, the SEC Division of Examinations issued a Risk Alert regarding an advisory fees examination initiative (the Initiative). The Division of Examinations conducted 130 examinations of investment advisers focused on advisory fees, predominantly those charged to retail investors. This Risk Alert supplements the Advisory Fee Risk Alert issued by the Division of Examinations on April 12, 2018 ...

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP | December 2022

The SEC Division of Examinations issued a Risk Alert on December 5, 2022 detailing observations from examinations of investment advisers and broker-dealers related to compliance with Regulation S-ID ...

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP | April 2023

The SEC Division of Examinations (the “Division”) issued a Risk Alert on March 27, 2023 detailing observations from examinations of newly-registered investment advisers.  The Risk Alert provides information about the typical focus areas reviewed during examinations of newly-registered investment advisers. It also provides observations regarding compliance policies and procedures, disclosures and marketing practices ...

On April 26, 2022 the Division of Examinations of the United States Securities & Exchange Commission published a Risk Alert detailing investment adviser deficiencies related to Section 204A of the Advisers Act and Rule 204A-1 under the Advisers Act ...

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP | February 2022

On Jan. 27, 2022 the SEC Division of Examinations issued a Risk Alert providing observations of examination staff relating to advisers to private funds. The Risk Alert provides additional observations in follow up to the Division of Examinations June 23, 2020 Private Fund Adviser Risk Alert. The Jan ...

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP | February 2022

On Feb. 9, 2022 the SEC proposed rules related to cybersecurity risk management for investment advisers and registered investment companies, as well as amendments to certain rules that govern adviser and fund disclosures ...

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP | March 2021

The SEC Division of Examinations issued a Risk Alert on Feb. 26, 2021, providing the Division’s observations made during examinations of investment advisers, broker-dealers and transfer agents regarding digital asset securities. For purposes of the Division, digital asset securities are those digital assets that are securities ...

On March 30, 2022 the Division of Examinations of the United States Securities & Exchange Commission published the 2022 Examination Priorities. As in other years, the 2022 Examination Priorities document provides certain data regarding the scope of the examination program and the growth of the investment adviser community ...

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP | February 2023

On February 7, 2023, the Division of Examinations of the United States Securities & Exchange Commission (“EXAMS”) published the 2023 Examination Priorities.  Like previous years, the 2023 Examination Priorities provides certain data regarding the scope of the examination program and the growth of the investment adviser community ...

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP | October 2023

On October 16, 2023, the Division of Examinations of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Division”) published the 2024 Examination Priorities.  Historically, the Examination Priorities have been published in the 1st quarter of the applicable calendar year.  For 2024, the Division revised the publication date to align with the start of the SEC’s fiscal year ...

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP | November 2017

A common question our Education Law Group receives is, “Can an employee rescind his or her written resignation that has been submitted to the superintendent and is waiting on approval from the board of education?” Unfortunately the question often arises frequently in situations where the employee is not the “best employee” and administration feels thankful upon receipt of the resignation ...

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP | July 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that every business—even traditional brick and mortar businesses—needs a presence on the internet. When people think of online commerce, they usually think about making purchases on Amazon. However, as contactless purchasing becomes more prevalent, restaurants, breweries, and distilleries are increasingly developing online options for their consumers ...

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP | January 2018

On November 27, 2017, at the 34th International Conference on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced a revised FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy, which purports to lend certainty for companies grappling with the question of whether to voluntarily disclose violations. This new policy comes on the heels of the year and-a-half long FCPA Pilot Program ...

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP | October 2020

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on October 29, 2020 it reached a more than $9.2 million settlement with Medtronic USA Inc. to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act (FCA) and Open Payment Program.[1] Specifically, Medtronic agreed to pay $8.1 million to resolve FCA allegations it paid kickbacks to induce a South Dakota neurosurgeon to use its SynchroMed II intrathecal infusion pumps ...

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP | March 2018

On March 1, 2018, at the American Bar Association’s National Institute on White Collar Crime, top Department of Justice (DOJ) officials signaled expansion of DOJ’s self-disclosure policy to non-Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) cases ...

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP | January 2023

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel recently released an advisory opinion[i] regarding Section 1461 of title 18 of the U.S. Code. In it, they write the “Comstock Act”[ii] does not prohibit the mailing of certain medications used to perform abortions where the sender does not believe the medications will be used unlawfully. This opinion comes in the wake of the U.S ...

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP | January 2020

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced that in Fiscal Year 2019 (FY2019),1 total settlements and judgments in False Claims Act (FCA) cases rebounded back over the $3 billion mark after dipping to $2.9 billion in FY2018. The Department’s annual statistical overview of FCA-related fraud actions2 showed nearly three-quarters of recovered funds, or $2 ...

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP | November 2023

The Department of Justice (DOJ) hopes to incentivize timely disclosure of misconduct uncovered during the mergers and acquisitions process with the October 2023 announcement of a department-wide safe harbor policy. The policy, which applies across the entire department, shields companies from criminal prosecution for misconduct they discover in companies they are acquiring or have recently acquired ...

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP | October 2021

It is imperative that companies with government contracts, or those receiving federal grant funding, ensure that they have adequate cybersecurity protocols in place. The announcement by the Department of Justice (DOJ) of the Cyber Fraud Initiative strongly signals its intent to be aggressive in holding government contractors with lax cybersecurity standards and controls accountable ...

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP | January 2021

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has just released its annual statistical overview[1] of False Claims Act (FCA) and other fraud actions for Fiscal Year 2020 (FY2020)[2], and the numbers tell a mixed story. The total of just over $2.2 billion in settlements and judgments represents a decline of more than one-quarter in recoveries from FY2019,[3] likely reflecting workforce, logistical, and judicial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic ...

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP | September 2022

Next week, the full Fourth Circuit will hear oral argument in US ex rel. Sheldon v. Allergan Sales, LLC to determine whether a defendant’s “objectively reasonable interpretation” of an ambiguous statute or regulation is sufficient to preclude a finding of intent under the FCA. Defendants and the entire FCA bar will be watching the case closely ...

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