California Faults PG&E for Deadly Wildfire

The deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history was sparked by a malfunction of PG&E electrical equipment, a state investigation has concluded.The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spent six months investigating the Camp Fire, which killed 85 people, dest...

By Matthew Heller • May 16, 2019

Supreme Court Deals Antitrust Blow to Apple

iPhone users have cleared an initial hurdle in an antitrust lawsuit against Apple as the U.S. Supreme Court ruled they can sue the company for charging too much for apps sold in the App Store.Apple had sought to dismiss the class action, arguing it acted only as an intermediary between app develo...

By Matthew Heller • May 13, 2019

Huawei CFO Argues for Halt to Extradition Case

Attorneys for Huawei’s CFO previewed their arguments for halting U.S. efforts to extradite her from Canada, citing comments by President Donald Trump to support their view that the case is politically motivated.The U.S. is seeking Meng Wanzhou’s extradition on charges that she deceived banks as p...

By Matthew Heller • May 9, 2019

CFPB Proposes Limits on Debt Collection Calls

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed new debt collection rules on Tuesday that would restrict telephone contact between collectors and consumers but allow unlimited text messages.The CFPB’s proposal represents the first update to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) in more...

By Matthew Heller • May 7, 2019

SEC Freezes Assets in Anadarko Trading Probe

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has obtained a freeze on what it says are illicit proceeds from insider trading in Anadarko Petroleum ahead of the announcement of a takeover offer by Chevron.A New York judge on Monday granted the freeze on accounts linked to large purchases of call op...

By Matthew Heller • April 30, 2019

Don’t Break Up Big Tech Firms: Former Antitrust Regulator

The author is a former Commissioner of Competition for the Canadian Competition Bureau.“The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.” That Japanese proverb — typically used to teach conformity — seems similar to the approach advocated by U.S. Senator and Democratic presidential hopeful Elizabeth ...

By David McCann • April 22, 2019

Sears Accuses ex-CEO of Looting $2B in Assets

Sears Holdings has sued former CEO Eddie Lampert and his hedge fund investors, including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Sears Holdings alleges they looted the retailer of more than $2 billion in assets through five fraudulent transactions.The lawsuit was filed by Sears’ bankruptcy restructuri...

By Matthew Heller • April 19, 2019

Private Companies Grow Anxious Over Global Demand

Top executives at private companies are dramatically more concerned than they were a year ago about a potential lack of demand for their products and services.Almost half (45%) of the 300 CEOs and 300 CFOs surveyed by PricewaterhouseCoopers during the first quarter cited the issue as a top threat...

By David McCann • April 16, 2019

Judge Sides With United in Expedia Contract Case

A judge has declined to enjoin United Airlines from terminating Expedia’s access to data for flights scheduled after the ticketing agreement between the companies expires on Sept. 30.U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel said Expedia had shown a “likelihood of success” on the merits of its breach of c...

By Matthew Heller • April 8, 2019

U.S. Moves to Limit ‘Joint Employer’ Liability

The Trump administration has proposed rule changes that would make it harder to sue companies over labor law violations by their franchisees or contractors.Under the Labor Department proposal, a company would only be subject to “joint employer” liability if it exercises the power to hire or fire ...

By Matthew Heller • April 2, 2019

Fresenius Medical Fined $231M in Bribery Probe

German medical device company Fresenius Medical Care has agreed to a $231 million settlement of allegations that it paid nearly $30 million in bribes to government-employed doctors and public health officials in at least 17 countries.The allegations against the world’s largest provider of dialysi...

By Matthew Heller • April 1, 2019

How to Tell Which Patents Are Valuable

Companies spend billions of dollars developing potentially patentable intellectual property, but it can be hard to understand how much value individual patents within a large portfolio are providing.Patents that stop competitors from copying products can generate great profits or fast growth and ...

By David McCann • March 29, 2019

Salesforce Accused of Aiding Sex Trafficking

Fifty women who claim to be sex trafficking survivors are seeking to hold Salesforce liable for their injuries, alleging the software giant helped the now-shuttered Backpage website to facilitate prostitution and sexual exploitation.The “Jane Doe” plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed in San Francisco sa...

By Matthew Heller • March 27, 2019

Merrill Lynch Fined $8M Over ADR Trades

Merrill Lynch has become the latest bank to be reprimanded by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for improper handling of American Depositary Receipts.The SEC said Merrill had agreed to pay $8 million to settle allegations that it improperly borrowed “pre-released” ADRs from other broker...

By Matthew Heller • March 25, 2019

Vendor Risk: The Second-Class Citizen of Cybersecurity

Other than in the heavily regulated banking and health care industries, vendor risk management remains cybersecurity’s second-class citizen, getting far less attention than it deserves.Attacks originating from insecure vendors and other third parties generate more than half of reported breaches, ...

By Craig Callé • March 20, 2019

SEC Charges VW With $13B ‘Dieselgate’ Fraud

Volkswagen’s legal headaches from its “Dieselgate” scandal intensified as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accused the automaker and its former CEO of defrauding U.S. investors by failing to disclose that it was cheating on vehicle emissions tests.In a civil complaint filed on Thursday...

By Matthew Heller • March 15, 2019

Lumber Liquidators Settles Fraud Case for $33M

Lumber Liquidators Holdings has agreed to pay a $33 million criminal penalty to settle allegations it made fraudulent statements to investors that Chinese-made laminate flooring it sold in the U.S. complied with safety standards.The settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice is the latest leg...

By Matthew Heller • March 13, 2019

Warren Pledges Breakup of Big Tech Companies

Taking a page out of the book of Progressive Era reformers, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is going after what she sees as the 21st century version of “trusts” — tech giants such as Amazon, Google, and Facebook.The Democratic presidential candidate pledged in a Medium post that a Warren administ...

By Matthew Heller • March 11, 2019

Huawei CFO Alleges Illegal Detention in Canada

Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou has sued Canada over her arrest in December, alleging police illegally searched and questioned her for three hours at Vancouver International Airport before they executed an arrest warrant.Wanzhou’s claim for violations of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, filed...

By Matthew Heller • March 4, 2019

FTC Unveils Antitrust Task Force Targeting Tech

The Federal Trade Commission is beefing up its scrutiny of the technology industry through a new task force tasked with a broad mission to investigate anticompetitive behavior.The FTC said the Technology Task Force, consisting of about 17 staff attorneys, will enhance its focus on technology-rela...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 27, 2019

Confronting the Harsh Realities of ‘Cross-Industry’ Fraud

New research from LexisNexis Risk Solutions confirms that the pace of so-called “cross-industry fraud” is accelerating and becoming costlier for organizations of all kinds.This momentum is a growing concern for finance professionals — or at least it should be — because such crimes are increasingl...

By David McCann • Feb. 22, 2019

Two Firms Charged in Shell Factory Fraud

A broker-dealer, a transfer agent, and three individuals have been charged with failing to disclose at least 19 companies were shells so they could be publicly traded.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said broker-dealer Spartan Securities Group and transfer agent Island Capital Manageme...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 21, 2019

Exchanges Sue to Block SEC Trading Fee Plan

The three largest U.S. stock exchange operators have sued the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to stop a regulatory initiative that would limit fees they can charge for trading.Over the objections of the exchanges, the SEC in December approved a transaction fee pilot program in December as...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 18, 2019

Gaming Startup Founder Charged With $9M Fraud

A gaming entrepreneur has been charged with defrauding investors in his Kizzang digital sweepstakes startup of about $9 million, some of which he allegedly spent on his own gambling sprees.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Robert Alexander enticed more than 50 people to invest in K...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 8, 2019

Trading Firm Fined $1.3M Over VIX Misconduct

Options trading firm Akuna Securities has been fined nearly $1.3 million for submitting improper trades to an auction that is used to calculate the final settlement value of a popular gauge of stock market volatility.CBOE Global Markets’ Volatility Index, known as VIX, measures 30-day volatility ...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 4, 2019