Company Pays Nearly $15 Million to Settle SEC Charges of FCPA
Violations

In prior posts, I have addressed a question raised by many
potential SEC whistleblowers and new SEC whistleblower
attorneys, namely whether the SEC will be interested in the
kind of information that they have.

Sometimes the answer may be fairly obvious, such as where the
information concerns insider trading or stock market
manipulation.

Other times it may be a bit more confusing, as with money
laundering.  Most people have a general understanding of what
“money laundering” means.  What they may not realize is that
public companies and financial institutions also may have
“anti-money laundering” obligations.  For example, they may be
required to maintain certain records, or file reports in
particular circumstances, like suspicious activity reports or
“SARs”.  The SEC can and does bring “anti-money laundering”
cases when public companies and financial institutions fail to
maintain those records or file those reports.  As I wrote
about last month, the SEC recently brought its first case
against a firm solely for
failing to file SARs.

Another area that is not as well understood is the Foreign
Corrupt Practices Act, also known as the FCPA.  In broad
terms, companies are not allowed to pay foreign government
officials money, i.e., bribes, in order to obtain a
business advantage in the foreign country.  Whether the FCPA
has been violated is not always obvious.  For example, for
FCPA purposes, a “government official” might include the
official’s close relatives.  Making a payment or providing
gifts to the spouse or child of a foreign government official
for the purpose of gaining an advantage in doing business in
that country could violate the FCPA and lead to an SEC action.

Sometimes a foreign government actually owns a type of
business in the foreign country that is typically a private
business in the United States.  For example, in the U.S., many
hospitals are privately owned.  But in a foreign country, if a
foreign government owns the hospitals, giving the doctors in
those  hospitals free pharmaceutical samples or medical
devices might violate the FCPA and lead to an SEC action.

Just recently, the SEC charged a medical device manufacturer
and its wholly-owned subsidiary with FCPA violations.  The
company and its subsidiary agreed to pay nearly
$15 million
to settle the SEC’s case and a related criminal case.

FCPA violations, anti-money laundering violations, insider
trading, and market manipulation are just a few of the many
types of cases that the SEC may be interested in hearing about
from SEC whistleblowers.  If you are thinking about becoming
an SEC whistleblower, or are an SEC whistleblower attorney, my
post from last week titled “SEC Chief of Staff Identifies Areas of Heightened
Attention” lists many other kinds of frauds and violations that the
SEC also investigates.

* * *

About the Pickholz Law Offices LLC

The Pickholz Law Offices LLC is a law firm that focuses on
representing clients involved with investigations conducted by
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, FINRA, and other
securities regulators.

The Pickholz Law Offices has represented employees, officers,
and others in SEC whistleblower cases involving financial
institutions and public companies listed in the Fortune Top
10, Top 20, Top 50, Top 100, Top 500, and the Forbes Global
2000. We were the first law firm ever to win an SEC
whistleblower award for a client on appeal to the full
Commission in Washington. Inside Counsel magazine named this
achievement one of the five key events of the SEC
whistleblower program. Examples of the
Firm’s SEC whistleblower cases are available here.

In addition to representing SEC whistleblowers, since 1995 the
Firm’s founder, Jason R. Pickholz, has also represented many
clients in securities enforcement investigations conducted by
the SEC, FINRA, the U.S. Department of Justice and US
Attorney’s Offices, State authorities, and more. Examples of
some of the many
securities enforcement cases that Mr. Pickholz has been
involved with are available here.

You can see what actual clients have had to say about The
Pickholz Law Offices by going to the
Client Reviews page on our website or by clicking here.

How to Contact the Pickholz Law Offices LLC

If you would like to speak with a securities lawyer or SEC
whistleblower attorney, please feel free to call Jason R.
Pickholz at 347-746-1222.

The Pickholz Law Offices remains open and will be fully
operational through teleworking while we all grapple with this
terrible pandemic. We hope that all of our clients,
colleagues, friends, and their families remain safe and
healthy. Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who has
been affected by COVID-19.