The Beggs & Lane Blog
What is a Civil Investigative Demand?
Federal government agencies have many tools to obtain private information from people and entities prior to the initiation of formal court proceedings. One tool is a Civil Investigative Demand (CID). This is an administrative subpoena that demands the production of documents, answers to interrogatories, and/or oral testimony under oath. For example, the False Claims Act expressly authorizes the government to use civil investigative demands in False Claims Act investigations and describes the process the government must follow, 31 U.S.C. § 3733. Failure to comply with the CID opens up the recipient to civil and criminal liability. The CID must be [...]
Physician Speaker Programs — Kickbacks, Healthcare Fraud, and Warnings
Physicians and other healthcare providers (HCPs) are often invited to participate in speaker programs that include presentations on pharmaceutical products, medical devices, and healthcare initiatives. These are frequently company-sponsored events where an HCP may be paid an honorarium and remuneration for costs including mileage and meals. These arrangements are not per se inappropriate under the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and False Claims Act (FCA). However, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) and Department of Justice (DOJ) have signaled an increasing skepticism about these programs. In the last several years, the government has investigated and resolved numerous fraud cases involving allegations [...]
IRS Investigations and Tax-Related Crimes
The arrival of tax season may be a stressful time for many business owners and individual filers. IRS criminal investigators continue to aggressively pursue tax evaders, and IRS efforts have increased with additional manpower and funding. These agents have particularly been focusing, in recent months, on investigations regarding tax evasion, cryptocurrency under-reporting, tax return preparer liability, and COVID-19/ERC fraud. Tax-related crimes take form in a variety of ways. These include: Underreporting income; Submitting false documents; Failing to pay tax liability or file tax returns; Refusing to properly account for cryptocurrency and other financial gains; Failing to accurately prepare tax returns [...]
What is a Target, Subject, and Witness in a White Collar Investigation?
White collar investigations necessarily impact many different people. Federal and state white collar authorities use three different labels to categorize the individuals and companies they interact with: target, subject, and witness. The Department of Justice’s policy is to inform individuals where they fall on the spectrum—target, subject, or witness. The differences are incredibly important. On one side of the spectrum is a target. An example of a target is the executive who orchestrated financial fraud, or the suspect who pulled the trigger. If you are a target, that means the government believes there is substantial evidence that you have committed [...]
Matthew P. Massey featured legal commenter in The New York Times
Matthew P. Massey was a featured legal commenter in The New York Times’ ongoing coverage of the Sam Bankman-Fried trial in article published on October 9, 2023. He analyzed Mr. Bankman-Fried’s strategy of advancing an advice of counsel defense and addressed some of the challenges with such a strategy. Click on the button below to read the article on the Times’ “DealBook” section. Read Article Matthew P. Massey is a Partner in the White Collar, Government Investigations, and Special Matters Group. He is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of [...]
Understanding the “Advice of Counsel” Defense in White Collar Criminal Cases
The “advice of counsel” defense can be an effective legal defense when used properly in white collar criminal cases. This defense will likely be used in the case of United States v. Bankman-Fried, 1:22-cr-00673, which is set for trial in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. This trial relates to the failed FTX cryptocurrency exchange and cryptocurrency hedge fund and its allegedly fraudulent relationship with Alameda Research. The “advice of counsel” defense is often used in high-profile cases such as the upcoming Bankman-Fried trial because, when used right, the defense team can use it [...]