And prosecutors have always had to grapple with evolutions in corporate fraud -whether that be the junk bond firms of the 1980s, the various fraud schemes created by the so-called “smartest guys in the room” at Enron, or the prolific mortgage fraud of the 2000s, or cryptocurrency schemes today.īut throughout, our mission must remain the same - enforce the criminal laws that govern corporations, executives, officers and others, in order to protect jobs, guard savings and maintain our collective faith in the economic engine that fuels this country. We have been using data to assist investigations for well over a decade. We have long had corporate criminal cases with national security implications. Third, criminals are taking advantage of emerging technological and financial industries to develop new schemes that exploit the investing public.Īt the same time, these developments are changes of degree and not of kind. Second, data analytics plays a larger and larger role in corporate criminal investigations, whether that be in healthcare fraud or insider trading or market manipulation.
Corporate crime has an increasing national security dimension - from the new role of sanctions and export control cases to cyber vulnerabilities that open companies up to foreign attacks. That landscape has evolved in some noticeable ways from my last tour. Since returning to the Justice Department this year, I’ve spent time considering the current enforcement landscape. Clear department guidance strengthens the case for these measures because it makes clear why taking steps to root out misconduct, and avoid the “edge case,” often can be the most valuable guidance a general counsel or trusted legal advisor can provide. Having served as a board member when I was out of government, I can appreciate the difficult conversations that arise surrounding compliance and measures designed to proactively stop misconduct, and the tradeoffs that may need to be considered when making investment decisions. As Deputy Attorney General, my goal is to set our investigators and attorneys up for continued success, so that they can enforce the criminal law fairly and vigorously, as the facts and law dictate.Īt the same time, I am focused on ensuring the department is clear with those of you who are counselors and voices in the C-Suite and Boardroom - so that you can provide well-informed advice to your clients. I’ve experienced how - when given the right resources and support including dedicated agents - prosecutors can uncover and prosecute the most sophisticated corporate criminals. When I started as a newly minted AUSA, it was an active time for enforcement against corporate crime - one that witnessed the prosecutions of executives at WorldCom, Qwest Communications, Adelphia, Tyco and Enron. We can all agree the department’s enforcement activities in the white-collar space ebb and flow due to a variety of factors - some internal to the department and some external. But before both of those, I want to set the scene by discussing trends, as well as the Attorney General’s and my enforcement priorities, when it comes to corporate crime.
Second, I want to look forward and tell you about some areas we will be studying over the next months, with an eye to making additional changes to help further invigorate the department’s efforts to combat corporate crime.
First, I want to describe three new actions that the department is taking today to strengthen the way we respond to corporate crime.
I have three priorities for my time with you. I’m sorry that I am not able to be there in person but appreciate the ability to join you virtually. Thank you, Ray, for that introduction, and thank you all for having me today.