Pfizer got itself in trouble for the way it was marketing some of its drugs. Enough trouble that they need to cough up a $2.3 billion fine to the Department of Justice. (Yes, that is billion.) Under its settlement with the DOJ, Pfizer will pay a $1.3 billion criminal fine related to the company’s illegal … Read more »
Category: Compliance Programs
The SEC’s Madoff Report
The SEC decided to take a look at how it failed to uncover the Madoff fraud. The SEC’s Inspector General has been running an investigation and compiling information. The SEC Inspector General, H. David Kotz, released a public version of their report on August 31: Investigation of Failure of the SEC to Uncover Bernard Madoff’s … Read more »
Respondeat Superior and Compliance
Back in January, a company was found criminally liable for the action of its employees. (Second Circuit Affirms Ionia Management Case.) Under respondeat superior (Latin for “let the master answer”) a company can be held vicariously liable for crimes committed by employees acting within the scope of their employment. Ionia operates and manages shipping vessels … Read more »
Fired for Foiling a Bank Robbery
Jim Nicholson was working at a Key Bank branch when a man entered the bank and demanded money. Rather than comply with the robber’s demands, Nicholson tossed his bag to the floor, lunged at the suspect and demanded to see a weapon. The man ran, and Nicholson chased him for several blocks before knocking him … Read more »
Compliance, Van Halen and Brown M&M’s
You may have heard the story about Van Halen’s banning of brown M&M’s from its dressing room. I chalked it up to the pampered life of rock stars. (Especially, when compared to the more mundane life of a chief compliance officer.) I just listened to the latest episode of This American Life which revealed that … Read more »
To Lead, Create a Shared Vision
In the January 2009 issue of the Harvard Business Review is a short Forethought piece on the importance of leaders creating vision: To Lead, Create a Shared Vision. James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner emphasize the important of leaders creating vision for their organization and develop a forward-looking capacity. But rather than leaders thinking … Read more »
CCOutreach
The SEC formed the CCOutreach (yes, that is how they spell it) to promote open communications and coordination among securities regulators and the industry on mutual fund, investment adviser, and broker-dealer compliance issues. In addition to the national seminar in November of each year, they host regional seminars to enable Chief Compliance Officers to interact … Read more »
Principles of Federal Prosecution of Business Organizations
At last week’s Compliance Week Conference, I saw a paradigm shift in thinking about the factors to be included in a compliance program. Most compliance programs have placed a lot of emphasis on the federal sentencing guidelines. After all, those guidelines give credit for having an effective compliance program. So you want to have an … Read more »
Wrap Up of Compliance Week Conference
It was a great few days in Washington D.C. at my first Compliance Week Conference. The conference was packed with great presentations and discussions over its three days. In particular, it was great to spend time with Bruce Carton, Francine McKenna, Scott Cohen, Matty Kelly and Alex Howard. Below are links to some stories from … Read more »
Conversation with Harvey Pitt
This was another “dark session” with about 30 compliance professionals sitting down for an informal discussion with former SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt. I am not going to share detailed notes, just some general issues that were discussed, with no attribution to any individual. Compliance is really about non-compliance. The only reason compliance is relevant is … Read more »