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FHA Loan Limits for Forward Mortgages to Increase in 2016
On December 9, FHA announced new maximum loan limits for forward mortgages for 2016 in 188 counties due to changes in housing prices. The new loan limits for forward mortgages are effective for case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2016 through the end of the year. FHA noted that no areas saw a decrease in the maximum loan limits for forward mortgages and that, as detailed in Mortgagee Letter 2015-30, the national standard loan limits for low cost and high cost areas remain unchanged at $271,050 and $625,500, respectively.
Lawsuits Alleging Digital Barriers on Websites Continue
Recently, a legally blind plaintiff filed a class action complaint against a leading home improvement and construction products and services retailer alleging that the company violated state law and the American Disabilities Act (ADA) by denying blind individuals equal access to products, services, and opportunities offered on its website. Diaz v. Home Depot, Inc., No. 15-cv-09178 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 20, 2015). The complaint asserts that the company’s website contains barriers that “make it impossible for blind users to even complete a transaction on the website . . . thus exclude[ing] the blind from the full and equal participation in the growing Internet economy that is increasingly a fundamental part of the common marketplace and daily living.” The complaint further alleges that the company chooses “to rely on an exclusively visual interface” despite having access to technology that could make the website more accessible, such as limiting the use of tables and javascript and making use of alternative text, descriptive links, and resizable text. The plaintiff seeks (i) a permanent injunction requiring the company to take the necessary steps to ensure its website fully complies with ADA requirements so that it is accessible and usable by blind individuals; and (ii) compensatory damages to the plaintiff and a proposed subclass of blind customers.
The lawsuit is one of a number filed in 2015 – including a November 6 complaint against the NBA – under the ADA against companies operating websites with alleged digital barriers preventing blind individuals from accessing the electronic marketplace. According to a DOJ statement regarding its regulatory plans, rulemaking initiatives regarding the accessibility of web information and services provided by public accommodations are not scheduled to be included in the agency’s long-term actions until fiscal years 2017 and 2018.
European Commission Announces Agreement on New Cybersecurity Rules
On December 8, the European Commission announced that European Union lawmakers reached an agreement regarding cybersecurity and breach reporting legislation. The rules are intended to improve cybersecurity capabilities in Member States as well as their cooperation on cybersecurity, and will “require operators of essential services in the energy, transport, banking and healthcare sectors, and providers of key digital services like search engines and cloud computing, to take appropriate security measures and report incidents to national authorities.” The text of the agreement is subject to formal approval by the European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers; once officially published in the EU Official Journal, Member States will have 21 months to adopt the directive into their national laws and an additional 6 months to identify which internet providers it will affect.
Massachusetts-Based Imaging Company Discloses Settlement Offer to End FCPA Investigations
In a quarterly securities filing made on December 9, a Massachusetts-based manufacturer of airport security equipment, disclosed that the SEC and DOJ have made separate proposals to end their FCPA investigations into the company that would include payments totaling approximately $15 million. The company had previously announced in a September 2015 press release that it had offered the SEC $1.6 million to settle the SEC’s FCPA investigation of the company. The company’s 10-Q disclosed that the SEC rejected that offer. The company stated that it remains in discussion with the SEC and DOJ about settlement and is also discussing a settlement with the Danish government concerning a resolution of these matters.
The company previously reported that the DOJ and SEC had “substantially” completed their investigations of potential bribery involving transactions by the company’s Danish subsidiary. The transactions at issue involved distributors paying the subsidiary more than was owed, and the subsidiary then allegedly transferring the excess money to third parties identified by the distributors. At the time of its 2011 disclosure of the potentially problematic transactions, the company stated that it had not ascertained the ultimate beneficiaries or purpose of the transfers.
FinCEN Extends Deadline for Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts Filings
On December 8, FinCEN issued a notice extending the deadline for certain filers to submit the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) because filers continue to submit questions to FinCEN that require additional consideration and possible regulatory changes. The notice extends the filing deadline for FinCEN Form 114 – FBAR from June 30, 2016 to April 15, 2017 for “certain individuals with signature authority over but no financial interest in one or more foreign financial accounts.” FinCEN issued notices announcing identical extensions the past four years, and the extension applies to the reporting of signature authority held during the 2015 calendar year, as well as to the reporting deadlines extended by previous notices.
FTC Settles with Hotel and Resort Chain Over Data Security Practices
On December 9, the FTC announced a settlement with a leading United States-based hotel and resort chain to resolve charges that the company’s data security practices were unfair and deceptive under Section 5 of the FTC Act. The settlement follows the Third Circuit’s August 24 ruling affirming the FTC’s authority to take action against companies with deficient cybersecurity practices that fail to protect consumer data against hackers. The settlement terms require the company for the next 20 years to establish, implement, and maintain a comprehensive information security program that is designed to protect the security, confidentiality, and integrity of cardholder data. In addition, the company must obtain annual written assessments of its information security program. The assessments must certify (i) the “untrusted” status of franchisee networks that may store, process, or transmit cardholder data; (ii) the extent of the company’s compliance with the risk management protocol; and (iii) that the assessments were completed by a qualified and independent auditor free from any conflicts of interest. The settlement also requires that in the event of another data breach affecting more than 10,000 consumers, the company must obtain an assessment of the breach within 180 days and report the findings of the assessment to the FTC within 10 days of its completion.
New York Attorney General Announces Joint Initiative to Protect Consumers from Foreclosure Rescue Scams
On December 7, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced a joint initiative with three New York media associations to curtail unlawful advertisements for foreclosure rescue scams. The three media associations sent letters to their members requesting that each member participate in the joint initiative and encouraged community media outlets “to review ads placed by foreclosure rescue companies to ensure that they comply with state disclosure laws.” Noting that scammed homeowners have frequently reported to the Attorney General’s office and local housing counseling partners that they were lured by ads placed in local media outlets, Schneiderman emphasized that foreclosure rescue ads often violate state and federal laws that “require individuals who advertise foreclosure prevention or loan modification services to include specific disclosures in their advertisements.”
OFAC Issues General License Authorizing Certain Exports to or from Burma
On December 7, OFAC issued a six-month general license authorizing trade transactions involving Specially Designated Nationals and SDN-owned entities that would otherwise be prohibited by the Burmese Sanctions Regulations. The general license authorizes certain transactions that are “ordinarily incident to an exportation to or from Burma of goods, technology, or non-financial services” and also permits U.S. financial institutions to “unblock and return transactions blocked on or after April 1, 2015 that would have qualified as authorized had they been engaged in pursuant to the authorization in the general license.” U.S. financial institutions that unblock transactions blocked on or after April 1, 2015 must submit to the Department of the Treasury a report to include the following: (i) a copy of the original blocking report filed with OFAC; (ii) the date the transaction was unblocked; (iii) the amount unblocked, if applicable; (iv) the name of the party to whom the blocked property was returned; and (v) a reference to the general license as the legal authority under which the transaction was unblocked and the blocked property was returned. The general license is effective through June 7, 2016.
DOJ Announces Sentencing of Former Secret Service Agent for Involvement in Silk Road Investigation
On December 7, the DOJ announced that a former Secret Service agent was sentenced to 71 months in prison on charges of money laundering and obstruction of justice. Between 2012 and 2014, the former agent conducted forensic computer investigations from the Northern District of California to locate, identify, and prosecute persons involved in operating Silk Road, a covert online marketplace for illicit goods, as part of the Baltimore Silk Road Task Force. As part of his guilty plea, the agent admitted to using account information from a January 2013 search and arrest of a Silk Road customer support representative to “reset passwords and pins of various accounts on Silk Road and move approximately 20,000 bitcoin, at the time worth approximately $350,000, from those accounts into a bitcoin ‘wallet’ [he] controlled.” The former agent also admitted to (i) moving stolen bitcoin money into an account on a Japan-based online digital currency exchange; (ii) liquidating the bitcoin into $820,000 in U.S. currency and transferring those funds into a personal investment account in the U.S.; (iii) using the customer support representative’s access to Silk Road to steal bitcoin, which limited the investigation of Silk Road; and (iv) making false and misleading statements to both prosecutors and investigators involved in the San Francisco grand jury investigation into his activity. In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered the former agent to forfeit more than $650,000. The Secret Service agent is the second federal agent to be sentenced this year in connection with the Baltimore Silk Road Task Force’s investigation into the Silk Road.
FinCEN Appoints Andrea Sharrin as Policy Division Associate Director, Replaces Jamal El-Hindi
On December 7, FinCEN announced the selection of Andrea Sharrin as Associate Director for its Policy Division, the division responsible for drafting BSA rules as well as addressing strategic policy issues surrounding anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing. Sharrin currently serves as the Director of the Office of Compliance and Enforcement in FinCEN’s Enforcement Division with responsibility for FinCEN's BSA compliance and enforcement program. In her new role, Sharrin will lead the team that “defines the framework for protecting the U.S. financial system from money laundering, terrorist financing, and other illicit finance,” and will oversee FinCEN’s regulatory functions, which include drafting guidance and issuing regulatory rulings related to BSA. Sharrin replaces Jamal El-Hindi who was named FinCEN’s Deputy Director earlier this year.