Category Archives: Corporate Criminal Liability and Enforcement

New Criminal Tariff Evasion Charges Signal DOJ’s Escalating Trade Fraud Push

by Gina Parlovecchio, Hiral Mehta, Arun Rao and Xiamora Damour 

Left to Right: Gina Parlovecchio, Hiral Mehta, Arun Rao and Xiamora Damour (photos courtesy of Mayer Brown).

On November 17, 2025, the US Attorney’s Office in the District of New Jersey filed a criminal complaint alleging that Indonesian jewelry company UBS Gold, its Indonesian co-owner Michael Yahya, and two company employees engaged in a five-year-long conspiracy to evade duties and tariffs owed for shipments of jewelry to the United States. The complaint alleges that defendants avoided over $86 million in duties and tariffs on more than $1.2 billion in jewelry shipments. This is the second high-profile criminal tariff evasion case brought since the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced trade and customs fraud as one of its areas of focus in its white collar Enforcement Guidance earlier this year[1]—an area that likely will remain a priority, regardless of the outcome of ongoing litigation challenging President Donald Trump’s imposition of tariffs. Importers should monitor their current tariff programs and, if needed, develop compliant tariff strategies. 

Continue reading →

Deputy Attorney General Delivers Keynote at ACI FCPA Conference 

by Greg D. Andres, Martine M. Beamon, Daniel S. Kahn, and Neil H. MacBride

Left to right: Greg D. Andres, Martine M. Beamon, Daniel S. Kahn and Neil H. MacBride (photos courtesy of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP)

On December 4, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and other DOJ officials participated in the annual ACI FCPA conference in Washington DC, outlining key principles to corporate enforcement and FCPA investigations and prosecutions.  The remarks provide insight into how this DOJ is approaching FCPA enforcement and corporate enforcement more broadly.

Continue reading →

California Restricts Use of Common Pricing Algorithms, Reforms the Pleading Standard for Certain Antitrust Claims, and Increases Penalties

by Eyitayo “Tee” St. Matthew-Daniel, Joshua Hill Jr., Christopher M. Wilson, and Yoosun Koh

Photos of authors.

Eyitayo “Tee” St. Matthew-Daniel, Joshua Hill Jr., Christopher M. Wilson, and Yoosun Koh (Photos courtesy of Paul, Weiss)

On October 6, 2025, California enacted AB 325 and SB 763. These two laws amend the state’s primary antitrust statute, the Cartwright Act, which generally prohibits combinations or agreements between two or more entities in restraint of trade, such as agreements to fix prices or to limit production. These amendments are effective as of January 1, 2026.

Together, AB 325 and SB 763:

  • Add two new Cartwright Act violations related to the use or distribution of “common pricing algorithms.”
  • Lower the pleading standard for Cartwright Act claims.
  • Establish civil penalties for violations of the Cartwright Act and increase maximum criminal penalties.
  • Make remedies and penalties for Cartwright Act violations cumulative.

Below, we provide a high-level overview of the new laws and offer some observations.

Continue reading →

Beware the Tariff DDP Trap: Managing Hidden Import Liabilities Before They Bite

by Jonny Frank and Jerry McAdams 

Photos of authors

Left to right: Jonny Frank and Jerry McAdams  (photos courtesy of StoneTurn Group, LLP)

Looking to mitigate tariffs, companies are purchasing foreign products through Duty Paid (“DDP”) transactions marketed by foreign suppliers as turnkey solutions.  DDPs promise efficiency but often deliver exposure. Under U.S. law, the importer—not the supplier—remains legally responsible for accurate customs declarations, tariff payments, and regulatory compliance. When suppliers cut corners or game the system, the importer inherits the fallout, including potential Customs Border Protection (“CBP”) penalties, DOJ criminal prosecution and False Claim Act (“FCA”) exposure.

Continue reading →

DOJ Announces First FCPA Enforcement Activity After Months-Long Pause

by Kimberly A. Parker, Jay Holtmeier, Erin G.H. Sloane, and Christopher Cestaro

Left to Right: Kimberly A. Parker, Jay Holtmeier, Erin G.H. Sloane, and Christopher Cestaro (photos courtesy of WilmerHale)

Over the past week, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) unsealed its first Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) enforcement action and issued its first declination since the pause in FCPA enforcement mandated by President Donald Trump’s February 10, 2025 Executive Order (“February Executive Order”)[1] and the subsequent issuance of updated FCPA enforcement guidelines, the Guidelines for Investigations and Enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) (“June Guidelines”).[2]  

Continue reading →

DOJ Secures First Criminal Conviction in Wage-Fixing Case

by Christopher A. Miller and Nicole Jefferson

Left to right: Christopher A. Miller and Nicole Jefferson (photos courtesy of Miller Shah LLP)

On April 14, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division (“The Division”) secured its first wage-fixing criminal conviction in United States v. Lopez, after a federal jury found that Eduardo “Eddie” Lopez violated Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act (“Section 1”) by engaging in wire fraud and wage fixing. This decision signifies a shift in the DOJ’s approach to antitrust conduct in the labor market toward an expansion of criminal enforcement and deviates from the majority of antitrust litigation, which has largely been civilly prosecuted.  

Continue reading →

Italy under OECD Scrutiny: Foreign Bribery and the Rule of Law

by Simone Lonati 

Photo courtesy of the author

In order to respond to the phenomenon of the so-called “global crime”[1] in the last decades there has been a proliferation of multilateral international and regional treaties in criminal matters, together with executives and soft law measures in the field. International corruption is not an exception: starting from the 1990s, thanks to the pivotal role of the United States back in 1977 when it adopted the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, there has been a wave of conventions adopted by bodies such as the OECD, the UN, the Council of Europe and the European Union, each bringing different approaches and demands to domestic legal systems.

Continue reading →

Second Circuit Reinstates FIFA Bribery Convictions, Reviving Honest Services Fraud Prosecutions for Foreign Commercial Bribery

by David A. Last, Rahul Mukhi, Victor L. Hou, Lisa Vicens, Matthew M. Yelovich, and Sarah Pyun

From left to right:  David A. Last, Rahul Mukhi, Victor L. Hou, Lisa Vicens, Matthew M. Yelovich, and Sarah Pyun (photos courtesy of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP)

In a significant decision with broad implications for companies and individuals operating internationally, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has reversed the acquittal of a former media executive and a sports marketing company in the long-running FIFA bribery investigation.[1]  The ruling reinstates jury convictions for honest services wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy, holding that the federal honest services fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1346, can apply to foreign commercial bribery schemes.[2]

Continue reading →

Supreme Court Upholds Expansive Reading of Wire Fraud Statute

by David A. Last, Rahul Mukhi, Joon H. Kim, Matthew M. Yelovich, and Michael Cronin

From left to right: David A. Last, Rahul Mukhi, Joon H. Kim, Matthew M. Yelovich, and Michael Cronin (photos courtesy of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP)

On May 22, 2025, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the wire fraud conviction of a government contractor in Kousisis v. United States, rejecting the argument that federal wire fraud requires proof of economic loss to the victim. In so holding, the Court endorsed the “fraudulent inducement” theory of wire fraud, marking a victory for federal prosecutors after several recent decisions that narrowed the scope of federal fraud statutes. This decision takes on added significance given the current administration’s renewed emphasis on False Claims Act (“FCA”) enforcement, as companies now face heightened exposure under both criminal fraud and civil FCA theories for false representations to government agencies, even absent demonstrable financial harm.

Continue reading →

White Collar Experts Discuss New DOJ Criminal Enforcement Priorities (Part I)

Editor’s Note: PCCE has been following the Trump Administration’s new approach to corporate criminal enforcement. In this post, PCCE invited leading white collar practitioners to discuss the new enforcement priorities and revisions to the DOJ Criminal Division’s Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy (CEP) outlined by Matthew Galeotti, Head of the Criminal Division for the DOJ, in a speech at the SIFMA Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Conference on May 12, 2025.

Photos of the authors

Top left to right: Paul Krieger, Michael Chang-Frieden, Sharon Cohen Levin, and Andrew J. DeFilippis
Bottom left to right: David Massey, Jamie Schafer, Seetha Ramachandran, and William C. Komaroff
(photos courtesy of the authors)

Continue reading →