Compliance & Ethics

Williams-Sonoma Hit With Record $3.17M Fine for Deceptive 'Made in USA' Claims

Home retailer Williams-Sonoma Inc. has agreed to pay a record $3.17 million civil penalty to settle charges that it repeatedly violated a 2020 Federal Trade Commission order requiring truthful "Made in USA" product claims.

FCC Slams Wireless Carriers with Massive Fines for Illegal Location Data Sharing

The Federal Communications Commission has levied major fines totaling nearly $200 million against the nation's top wireless carriers for improperly sharing customers' real-time location data without consent.

TD Ameritrade Fined $600,000 by FINRA Over Flawed Options Trading Approval System

TD Ameritrade, the brokerage firm now owned by Charles Schwab, agreed to pay a $600,000 fine from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) over deficiencies in its automated system for approving customers for options trading.

Precious Metals Firm Red Rock Secured Hit with $56M Penalty for Fraud

A federal court has ordered Red Rock Secured LLC, CEO Sean L. Kelly and senior salesperson Anthony “Tony” Spencer to pay over $56 million after defrauding customers in a nationwide precious metals investment scam. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced that Judge R. Gary Klausner of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California entered a consent order on April 23rd finding the defendants liable for fraudulent misrepresentations and unlawful investment advice referenced to the sales of precious metals.

FinCEN Urges Vigilance Against Crimes Tied to Environmental Offenses

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued a timely reminder to financial institutions, urging them to maintain vigilance in identifying and reporting suspicious activities linked to environmental crimes.

Commerzbank Fined €1.45 Million for Lax Anti-Money Laundering Controls

Germany's financial regulator BaFin has imposed fines totaling €1.45 million on Commerzbank AG for violating anti-money laundering supervisory obligations. The penalties stem from the bank's failure to adequately monitor and prevent employees from breaching anti-money laundering (AML) requirements.

CNIL Releases 2023 Annual Report, Highlighting Record Complaints

The French data protection authority CNIL has published its annual report for 2023, shedding light on its activities over the past year across its four main missions. The report comes five years after the landmark EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) took effect, marking a pivotal juncture in data privacy enforcement.