White Collar Litigation and Investigations

White Collar Defense

• currently representing a leading pharmaceutical manufacturer in criminal and civil investigations by a U.S. Attorney’s Office relating to the manufacturing quality of certain products and whether the company complied with current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs), following highly publicized product recalls and national media attention
• obtained a declination of prosecution by a U.S. Attorney's office of a leading health insurance company following an investigation into its billing practices related to Medicare regulations
• represented a government contractor in criminal and civil investigations related to allegations involving the company's contracts to supply the U.S. military
• defended a diversified holding company and its chairman in three-year SEC investigation
• obtained defense verdict on behalf of former CFO in trial against claims of accounting fraud brought by the SEC
• represented a medical device company in a FINRA and SEC inquiry into insider trading; no charges filed
• represented numerous payment processors and lenders in probe by Department of Justice, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, state Attorneys General, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and other agencies involving allegations of consumer fraud.

Corporate Investigations

• conducted an internal investigation on behalf of an international defense and aerospace company related to allegations of improper payments to procurement officials in certain countries. Pepper also is representing this client before the U.S. Department of Justice in connection with this matter.
• conducted internal investigations for and defended financial services firms regarding the conduct of merchant banking business and other issues
• conducted internal investigations for domestic and international companies regarding alleged fraudulent billings and embezzlements
• conducted internal investigations for hospitals and doctors of drug diversion activities and coordinated cooperation with police and prosecutors
• conducted internal investigations for colleges/universities and advised on numerous compliance issues.

 Business Integrity

• advised international industrial and financial institutions in OFAC compliance and related regulatory issues
• currently advising a multinational agribusiness on anti-corruption compliance issues in Brazil
• engaged in FCPA investigations and due diligence reviews for international companies facing compliance issues
• supervised an internal investigation for a pharmaceutical company on an international data security issue involving alleged infiltration of company data by Russian organized crime, and helped implement revisions to the company’s compliance program
• conducted compliance reviews and risk assessment analysis for multinational companies operating in Latin America and Europe.

Monitorships

• guiding a medical device company through a multiyear federal monitorship related to a kickback scheme. As part of our engagement, we prepare every aspect of the company and its employees for interaction with, and inspection by, the monitor team and we serve as counsel to the company on all matters related to the monitorship. We previously negotiated a civil and criminal global resolution with the DOJ Fraud Section, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, all 50 states, OIG and the relator in a high-profile whistleblower case involving alleged violations of the U.S. Anti-Kickback Statute, the False Claims Act, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act. As part of the resolution, which included deferred prosecution agreements and a corporate integrity agreement, a monitor was appointed under the DPAs.
• advising a pharmaceutical company on preparations for a corporate monitorship under a deferred prosecution agreement for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Our engagement includes advising the company on best practices for corporate compliance to ensure compliance with the FCPA and conducting internal investigations where necessary.
• have served as monitor, or assisted the court-appointed monitor, in matters involving the New York City Department of Investigation, alleged misconduct in operations of the settlement fund for claims related to the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and FCPA compliance issues in the global operations of a Fortune 100 company subject to a DOJ consent decree.