Category Archives: Criminal Enforcement

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]  

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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.  

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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.

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Changes in Approach to Criminal Liability: Trump’s Executive Order Regarding Criminal Regulatory Offenses

by Greg L. Johnson, Clare M. Bienvenu, Sean Toomey, and Colin North

Photos of the authors

Greg L. Johnson, Clare M. Bienvenu, Sean Toomey & Colin North (photos courtesy of the authors)

On May 9, 2025, the Trump Administration published an executive order (“EO”), titled “Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations,” that targets criminal regulatory offenses subject to strict liability, or liability that attaches without a required criminal mindset. The EO states that strict liability offenses are “generally disfavored,” and encourages agencies to consider civil or administrative, rather than criminal, enforcement of strict liability offenses. The EO further explains that prosecution of criminal regulatory offenses is “most appropriate” when “a putative defendant is alleged to have known his conduct was unlawful.”

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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]

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DOJ Civil Division Prioritizes Illegal DEI

by Jennifer Loeb, Austin Evers, Grace Bruce, and Young Park

From left to right: Jennifer Loeb, Austin Evers, Grace Bruce, and Young Park (photos courtesy of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP)

Combatting “illegal” Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) remains a “Day One” priority in Washington. President Trump issued executive orders on DEI on his first day in office. Attorney General Bondi likewise issued her own memos on her first day at the Department of Justice. And now, the new head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division has followed suit and issued his own memo on his first day, marking DEI-related topics as two of the Division’s top five priorities. This is yet another indicator that the administration appears to be shifting into the enforcement phase of its DEI reset. Health care and life sciences companies have particular reason to take note.

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Experts Discuss the Implications of the Supreme Court’s Recent Expansion of Federal Fraud Liability

Editor’s Note: PCCE has been following the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Kousisis v. United States, which, unlike recent cases narrowing the scope of white collar crimes, appears to have expanded the reach of the federal mail and wire fraud statutes. In this post, PCCE invited leading white collar practitioners to discuss the implications of the Court’s decision.

Photos of the authors

Left to right: Robertston Park, Alexandra Marinzel, Helen Cantwell, Winston Paes, and Mark Krotoski (photos courtesy of the authors)

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

Editor’s Note: PCCE has been following the Trump Administration’s new approach to corporate criminal enforcement. In this post, which is the second in a 2-part series, 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

Left to right: Robertson Park, Elizabeth Roper, and Maria Piontkovska (photos courtesy of the authors)

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Evolution of AI Washing Enforcement: DOJ Enters the Picture

by Joel M. Cohen, Gabriella Margaux Pérez Klein, and Robert DeNault

Left to right: Joel M. Cohen, Gabriella Margaux Pérez Klein, and Robert DeNault (photos courtesy of White & Case LLP)

On April 9, the U.S. Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission announced parallel cases against the founder and former CEO of an artificial intelligence startup for allegedly misleading investors about his former company’s product capabilities.  The cases are the latest salvo in regulatory focus on AI companies and their public statements about the products they offer.

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DOJ Announces Policy Ending “Regulation by Prosecution” of Digital Assets

by Joel Cohen, Brent Wible, Ladan Stewart, Marietou Diouf, Robert Denault, and Elisha Mvundura 

Photos of the authors

Top left to right: Joel Cohen, Brent Wible and Ladan Stewart, Bottom left to right: Marietou Diouf, Robert Denault and Elisha Mvundura (Photos courtesy of White & Case LLP).

On April 7, 2025, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a memorandum instructing federal prosecutors to cease pursuing “litigation or enforcement actions that have the effect of superimposing regulatory frameworks on digital assets,” noting that regulators and not prosecutors will “do this work outside the punitive criminal justice framework.”[1]  Under the new policy, the Justice Department will prioritize investigations and prosecutions involving individuals who defraud investors in digital assets or who use digital assets in furtherance of other crimes, including offenses related to terrorism, narcotics trafficking, human trafficking, organized crime, hacking, and cartel and gang financing.  The memorandum indicates that the Justice Department plans to close all ongoing investigations that are inconsistent with the new policy.

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