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  • Washington state Attorney General says debt buyers are collection agencies, files lawsuit for operating without a license

    State Issues

    On September 21, the Washington state Attorney General announced that it filed a lawsuit against several collection agencies and their owner (defendants) for allegedly purchasing and suing on charged-off consumer debts in violation of the Washington Collection Agency Act (WCAA) and the Washington Consumer Protection Act (WCPA). The complaint alleges that defendants bought and then obtained judgements on at least 3,500 consumer debts without first obtaining a collection agency license under the WCAA. Under the WCAA, a debt buyer is a collection agency and must therefore “be licensed as a collection agency if it enters into contracts with sellers of debt accounts or takes other affirmative steps to acquire accounts for collection, either directly or through an agent.” Failure to obtain a license as required under the WCAA  amounts to a per se violation of the WCPA. Because defendants bought and sued on consumer debts before obtaining a license in 2013, the Attorney General claimed that they violated the WCAA and the WCPA. The complaint seeks civil money penalties of up to $2,000 per violation for each violation of the WCPA, restitution for affected consumers, and reimbursement of legal costs and fees.

    State Issues State Attorney General Debt Buyer Licensing Consumer Finance

  • FCC seeks comments on interpretation of TCPA definition of autodialer following 9th Circuit decision

    Federal Issues

    On October 3, the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau released a notice seeking comment on the interpretation of the TCPA in light of a recent 9th Circuit decision, which broadened the definition of an automatic telephone dialing system (autodialer) under the TCPA. As previously covered in InfoBytes, on September 20, the 9th Circuit held that the TCPA’s definition of an autodialer includes equipment with the capacity to store numbers to be called and to automatically dial such numbers whether or not those numbers have been generated by a random or sequential number generator. The court, however, declared the statutory definition of an autodialer to be “ambiguous on its face” and, thus, it looked to the context and structure of the TCPA in reaching its conclusion regarding the scope of the definition.

    The FCC issued the notice “to supplement the record developed in response” to a prior notice issued last May, which sought comments on the interpretation of the TCPA following the D.C. Circuit’s decision in ACA International v. FCC. (See previous InfoBytes coverage on the May 2018 notice here.) Specifically, the FCC seeks comments on the following issues relevant to developing an interpretation of the TCPA’s definition of autodialer: (i) To the extent the definition of an autodialer is ambiguous, how should the FCC exercise its discretion to interpret such ambiguities? (ii) Does the 9th Circuit’s interpretation mean that any device with the capacity to dial stored numbers automatically qualifies as an autodialer? (iii) What devices have the capacity to store numbers, and do smartphones have such capacity? and (iv) What devices that have the capacity to dial stored numbers also have the capacity to automatically dial such numbers and do smartphones have such capacity?

    Comments are due October 17 with reply comments due October 24.

    Federal Issues FCC Autodialer TCPA Ninth Circuit Appellate ACA International

  • DOJ provides further guidance on FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy in speech

    Financial Crimes

    On September 27, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Matthew Miner gave a speech that provided clarification of DOJ enforcement policies, continuing to emphasize voluntary disclosure and underscoring the notion that companies should view DOJ “as partners, not adversaries.” In his speech, Miner announced that DOJ’s FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy is not limited to just FCPA violations, and that DOJ “will also look to these principles in the context of mergers and acquisitions that uncover other types of potential wrongdoing,” encouraging companies that discover such wrongdoing to voluntarily disclose it. Miner also pointed to recent published declinations, and noted that declinations under DOJ’s Policy can still be appropriate even when “aggravating circumstances” are present. Miner also referenced the increase in “global enforcement and cooperation with foreign authorities” and emphasized DOJ’s “Anti-Piling On Policy.”

    Financial Crimes FCPA DOJ Corporate Enforcement Policy

  • Oil services company CEO and executive sentenced to prison for conspiracy to bribe foreign officials

    Financial Crimes

    On September 28, the DOJ announced that a former CEO and a former executive of an oil services company had been sentenced to prison and fined for their roles in a scheme to bribe foreign government officials in Brazil, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea in exchange for oil-services contracts. In November 2017, the former CEO of the company and a former sales and marketing executive at the company each had pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA. The former CEO was sentenced to 36 months in prison and a fine of $150,000 for authorizing payments in furtherance of the bribery scheme, and the former executive was sentenced to 30 months in prison and a fine of $50,000 for using a third-party sales agent to pay bribes to Brazil officials.

    The company itself entered into a $238 million three-year deferred prosecution agreement and its subsidiary pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA.

    Prior Scorecard coverage of the company can be found here.

    Financial Crimes Bribery FCPA DOJ

  • DOJ reportedly investigating professional baseball organization for potential FCPA violations

    Financial Crimes

    Based on media reports, DOJ’s Fraud Section is reportedly investigating some part of a professional baseball organization for possible FCPA violations related to recruitment of international players, particularly related to immigration issues for players from Latin America. Reports indicate that the investigation was initiated when a whistleblower provided the FBI with information and documents last year during spring training. Since then, several witnesses have reportedly already been subpoenaed and testified before a federal grand jury in connection with the investigation.

    A spokesperson for the organization stated that they had not been contacted by federal authorities regarding an investigation, and the two franchises that appear to be most at issue declined to comment to the media on the matter.

    Financial Crimes FCPA Whistleblower DOJ

  • SEC settles FCPA accounting violations with medical device company

    Financial Crimes

    On September 28, the SEC announced a settlement with a Michigan-based medical device company to resolve the SEC’s charges of books and records and internal controls violations. According to the order, the company agreed to pay a $7.8 million penalty and accepted the imposition of an independent compliance consultant to resolve allegations that the company’s Indian subsidiary failed to maintain accurate books and records, and that the company’s internal controls were inadequate to identify possible improper payments related to the sale of its products in India, China, and Kuwait.

    This is the second enforcement action the SEC has brought against the company in recent years. In a prior action in October 2013, the company paid over $13.2 million in penalties, disgorgement, and interest to settle charges of FCPA violations for bribing doctors, health care professionals, and other government-employed officials in Argentina, Greece, Mexico, Poland, and Romania.

    Financial Crimes SEC

  • Lehman seeks to add indemnity claims against mortgage sellers

    Courts

    On October 1, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the firm’s plan administrator, and certain subsidiaries moved to increase the indemnification claims brought against mortgage sellers, seeking to include obligations resulting from more than $2.45 billion in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) trust claims. Lehman’s prior claims addressed indemnification claims held against roughly 3,000 counterparties involving more than 11,000 mortgage loans related to litigation settlements reached with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Lehman now seeks to increase the indemnification claims to include claims from additional settlements reached earlier this year for an additional $2.45 billion in RMBS allowed claims. The proposed amended order does not seek to materially change existing procedures, but only seeks to add claims which had not accrued when the original order was entered pursuant to Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9024. Lehman asserts the amendment is appropriate under Bankruptcy Rule 7015 and would benefit the creditors by “expediting the resolution and recovery on account of such claims and by increasing distributions to creditors.”

    Courts Bankruptcy Indemnity Claims Fannie Mae Freddie Mac Mortgages RMBS

  • CFPB announces settlement with companies that allegedly delayed transfer of consumer payments to debt buyers

    Consumer Finance

    On October 4, the CFPB announced a settlement with a group of Minnesota-based companies that allegedly violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act when consumers made payments on debts that the companies had already sold to third parties, and the companies improperly delayed the forwarding of some of those payments to debt buyers. According to the consent order, the companies—whose practices include the purchasing, servicing, collection, and furnishing consumer-report information on consumer loans—partnered with third-party banks to sell merchandise on closed-end or open-end revolving credit. Within a few days, banks originated the loans and sold the receivables to the companies. The companies subsequently serviced the debts and sold the receivables to a third party. For defaulted accounts, the companies charged off the accounts and sold them to third-party debt buyers. According to the Bureau, the companies allegedly failed to notify consumers when their accounts were sold, failed to inform them who now owned the debt, and continued to accept direct pays from consumers. The Bureau contends that between 2013 and 2016, the companies delayed forwarding direct pays for more than 31 days in 18,000 instances, and in 3,500 of those instances, the companies did not forward the payments for more than a year. Moreover, the Bureau asserts that these delays led to misleading collection efforts, including collection activity on accounts consumers had completely paid off. The order requires the companies to pay a civil money penalty of $200,000, and improve their policies and procedures to prevent further violations.

    Consumer Finance CFPB Enforcement Third-Party Debt Buying CFPA Settlement

  • Agencies permit bank resource sharing for Bank Secrecy Act compliance

    Agency Rule-Making & Guidance

    On October 3, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, Federal Reserve Board, FDIC, NCUA, and OCC (together, the agencies) issued an interagency statement outlining instances where banks and credit unions may choose to enter into collaborative arrangements to share resources in order to more efficiently and effectively manage their Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and anti-money laundering (AML) obligations. The statement noted that collaborative arrangements are most suitable for “banks with a community focus, less complex operations, and lower-risk profiles for money laundering or terrorist financing.” The agencies described several examples in which collaboration between banks may be beneficial, such as (i) conducting internal control functions, including reviewing and drafting BSA/AML policies and procedures and risk-based customer identification and account monitoring processes; (ii) sharing resources for BSA/AML independent testing; and (iii) conducting BSA/AML training on regulatory requirements and internal policies, procedures, and processes. Other potential benefits include cost reductions, increases in operational efficiencies, and the availability to leverage specialized expertise.

    However, the agencies cautioned that banks who choose to enter into collaborative agreements should carefully consider the associated risks “in relation to the bank’s risk profile, adequate documentation, consideration of legal restrictions, and the establishment of appropriate oversight mechanisms.” Moreover, banks should ensure that the collaborative arrangement is consistent with sound principles of corporate governance, have in place a contractual agreement, conduct periodic performance reviews, and consult their regulator’s guidance concerning third-party relationship to ensure compliance. The agencies further noted that “each bank is responsible for ensuring compliance with BSA requirements. Sharing resources in no way relieves a bank of this responsibility.” The interagency statement emphasizes that it is not applicable “to collaborative arrangements or consortia formed for the purpose of sharing information under Section 314(b) of the USA PATRIOT Act,” and “banks that form collaborative arrangements as described in this interagency statement are not an association for purposes of Section 314(b) of the USA PATRIOT Act.”

    (See also Federal Reserve Board press release, FDIC press release, NCUA press release, and OCC press release and Bulletin 2018-36.)

    Agency Rule-Making & Guidance Federal Reserve FDIC OCC FinCEN NCUA Bank Secrecy Act Anti-Money Laundering Bank Compliance

  • Federal Reserve seeks comments on proposals to facilitate faster payments

    Agency Rule-Making & Guidance

    On October 3, the Federal Reserve Board (Board) issued a request for comments on “potential actions the Federal Reserve could take to promote ubiquitous, safe, and efficient faster payments . . . by facilitating real-time interbank settlement of faster payments.” The Board indicated it would consider any alternative approaches to the specified potential actions that will achieve its goals. As previously covered in InfoBytes, the Board’s Faster Payments Task Force issued a report in 2017 making several recommendations, including the development of a round-the-clock settlement service to support faster payments. Among the potential actions that the Board is seeking feedback on is whether the Reserve Banks should consider developing such a 24/7/365 real-time gross settlement service, which would use banks’ balances in accounts at the Reserve Banks to facilitate interbank settlement of faster payments. The Board also seeks comments on the potential use of a liquidity management tool, which would support services for real-time interbank settlements by enabling transfers between Federal Reserve accounts on a 24/7/365 basis.

    Comments must be received by December 14.

    Agency Rule-Making & Guidance Federal Reserve Payments

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