Compliance & Ethics

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has recently reached settlements in three significant False Claims Act (FCA) cases, securing substantial financial penalties against major organizations in healthcare and defense contracting. These cases not only highlight the government’s commitment to protecting taxpayer dollars but also underscore the importance of accountability in sectors that handle large sums of public funds.

Vault Medical Services has agreed to pay $8 million to resolve allegations that the company violated the False Claims Act by submitting fraudulent claims to the HRSA COVID-19 Uninsured Program. This program was meant to assist uninsured individuals with testing, treatment, and vaccines during the pandemic.

Three of the country’s major pork producers have agreed to settle a long-running class-action lawsuit over alleged price-fixing, contributing a combined $64 million to resolve claims that they conspired to inflate pork prices. The agreement, filed in federal court in Minnesota this week, brings the total recovery in the case to over $180 million and adds a new chapter to one of the largest antitrust battles in the food industry.

Two companies operating a wood treatment facility in Eugene, Oregon, along with their president, have been sentenced for repeated environmental violations, including boiling hazardous waste and venting the pollutants directly into the air. A federal judge ordered J.H. Baxter & Co. Inc., its California-based counterpart J.H. Baxter & Co., and their president Georgia Baxter-Krause to pay a combined $1.5 million in criminal fines.

The European Commission has hit two of the world’s biggest tech companies, Apple and Meta, with massive fines for failing to comply with key obligations under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a regulation designed to level the playing field in Europe’s digital landscape. Apple has been fined €500 million, while Meta faces a €200 million penalty, as the Commission accuses them of undermining fair competition and consumer choice in different ways.

In separate settlements with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), both J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and SpeedRoute LLC have agreed to pay fines for violations of FINRA rules and federal securities regulations. These settlements address deficiencies in supervisory systems, failure to adhere to reporting requirements, and lapses in financial and risk management controls.

The German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) imposed a series of regulatory measures on AKBANK AG following a special inspection of the institution’s business operations. BaFin’s findings revealed significant shortcomings across several critical areas, including anti-money laundering practices, internal audits, and business transaction documentation. The financial regulator has mandated that the bank address these issues promptly, and has levied a total of €432,500 in administrative fines.