The following remarks were delivered by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer at the American Health Layers Association and Health Care Compliance Association’s 2011 Fraud and Compliance Forum. This excerpt is from the Department of Justice website:
“Baltimore ~ Monday, September 26, 2011
Remarks as prepared for delivery:Thank you, Kathleen, for that kind introduction. I am delighted to be here today, and to join you and your colleagues in the health care regulatory and compliance profession on the occasion of this important conference. Fraud is a significant problem in the health care industry, as it is in many other sectors. So coming together, as you are doing this week, to discuss compliance and share best practices, is, I believe, important work, and an essential piece of ensuring that you and your organizations do not run afoul of the many rules that govern your industry.
As the Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, I am privileged to lead nearly 600 lawyers who enforce the nation’s federal criminal laws and help to develop and implement our criminal law policy. Prosecutors in the Criminal Division face an extremely broad array of threats – from violence along the Southwest Border and cybercrime, to financial fraud, international narcotics trafficking, and child exploitation. We work hand-in-hand with the 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country, including here in Baltimore. My friend, Rod Rosenstein, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, is a tremendous public servant and prosecutor, and I’m honored that our offices collaborate as frequently as they do on investigations and prosecutions. Just last week, for example, the last defendant in a multi-defendant investigation of the Latin Kings gang in Maryland was sentenced to 22-and-a-half years in prison in one of our joint cases.
As health care compliance professionals, you are fortunate not to have to face the Latin Kings or other violent organizations in your work. At least I hope you don’t have to. But you do face the no less important foe of health care fraud.
In the Criminal Division, and throughout the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, we devote substantial resources to investigating and prosecuting fraud of all kinds – investment fraud, bank fraud, mortgage fraud, procurement fraud, and, of course, fraud in the health care industry.
As you know, certainly as well as any other group I have had the privilege of speaking with, health care fraud is a significant law enforcement problem. Most doctors, nurses, pharmaceutical companies, and other health care providers are, like you, diligent about complying with the rules and following the law. As we in the Justice Department see every day, however, many others go to extraordinary lengths to commit fraud on government and other health care programs, or on consumers. In every way, we are aggressively fighting back.
In May 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder and Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the creation of the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team, or HEAT. With HEAT, the fight against health care fraud has become a Cabinet-level priority. And the results have been extremely strong – both in terms of financial recoveries and criminal convictions. In Fiscal Year 2010, we collectively recovered a record $4 billion on behalf of taxpayers. That amount represented an approximately 57 percent increase over the amount recovered in Fiscal Year 2009, which was itself a record at the time. Also in Fiscal Year 2010, we brought criminal health care fraud charges against 931 defendants – the most ever in a single fiscal year – and we secured 726 convictions, also a record.
At the Justice Department, we have many tools available to us for holding companies and individuals to account in the fight against health care fraud. Together with the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, the Civil Division, the Civil Rights Division, and the Criminal Division bring dozens of important health care fraud cases every year. And, through its hundreds of personnel dedicated solely to health care fraud investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation provides our prosecutors with critical investigative support.
The Civil Division aggressively pursues civil enforcement actions aimed at rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in the health care industry, often, by its Fraud Section, through use of the False Claims Act. Through its Consumer Protection Branch, or CPB, the Civil Division also frequently invokes the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, which authorizes both civil and criminal actions. CPB pursues, among other violations, the unlawful marketing of drugs and medical devices, fraud on the Food & Drug Administration, and the distribution of adulterated products. As one example of the Civil Division’s work, the Department reached settlements last December with multiple pharmaceutical manufacturers, who agreed to pay more than $700 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations that they had reported false and inflated prices for many of their products, knowing that federal health care programs such as Medicare and Medicaid relied on those reported prices to set payment rates. As another example, the pharmaceutical manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline agreed last year to pay $750 million in criminal penalties and civil recoveries to resolve an investigation concerning a GSK subsidiary. The subsidiary, SB Pharmco Puerto Rico Inc., pleaded guilty to charges relating to the manufacture and distribution of certain adulterated drugs made in GSK’s now-closed plant in Cidra, Puerto Rico.
The Civil Rights Division is responsible for enforcing the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act, or CRIPA. CRIPA authorizes the investigation of conditions of confinement at state and local residential institutions and the initiation of civil actions for injunctive relief to remedy a pattern or practice of constitutional or federal statutory violations at such institutions. In Fiscal Year 2010, the Civil Rights Division’s Special Litigation Section opened or continued formal investigations, entered remedial agreements, or monitored existing remedial agreements, in connection with 71 health care facilities in 25 states, the District of Columbia, the Territory of Guam, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Both the Civil and Civil Rights Divisions, which are doing such important work in this area, have the benefit of being led by extraordinarily talented lawyers and leaders – my friends Tony West in the Civil Division and Tom Perez in the Civil Rights Division.
Finally, the Criminal Division is primarily responsible for the Department’s Medicare fraud prosecutions, which have been extraordinarily aggressive in recent years. In 2007, the Criminal Division, together with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami and the Miami Divisions of the FBI and HHS’s Office of Inspector General, launched the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, to root out fraud and abuse among durable medical equipment suppliers and HIV infusion therapy providers in South Florida. The Strike Force uses data analysis techniques to identify aberrational billing patterns in Strike Force cities, permitting law enforcement teams to target emerging or migrating schemes, along with chronic fraud by criminals operating as health care providers or suppliers. In 2008, the Strike Force expanded to Los Angeles; and in 2009, when Attorney General Holder and Secretary Sebelius announced the HEAT initiative, we expanded the Strike Force to Houston and Detroit. Today, we have Strike Force teams in nine cities around the country.
The Strike Force has been relentless in its efforts. Over the past 14 months, we have carried out the three largest Medicare fraud takedowns in history. In July 2010, we announced criminal charges against 94 defendants, in five Strike Force cities. These defendants were charged with submitting more than $251 million in false claims to the Medicare program.
In February of this year, we announced charges against more than 110 defendants, in all nine Strike Force cities. These defendants were charged with defrauding Medicare of over $240 million.
And, earlier this month, we announced charges against 91 defendants in eight Strike Force cities; we alleged that these defendants collectively submitted approximately $295 million in fraudulent billings to the Medicare program. This was the largest Medicare fraud takedown ever, as measured by the amount of fraudulent billings.
You might like to think that the defendants in these cases are unsophisticated criminals. But, as we have found time and again, they cover nearly the entire spectrum of healthcare providers. For example, in connection with this month’s takedown, we charged a doctor in Detroit with allegedly billing Medicare for performing psychotherapy treatments more than 24 hours per day. He is also charged with billing the Medicare program for services provided to dead beneficiaries. We also charged a supervisor at a community mental health center in Miami with threatening to evict residents of a boarding house he also managed, unless they attended the center. A registered nurse, mental health counselors, and other healthcare professionals were charged with participating in the same scheme, which allegedly resulted in the submission of over $50 million in fraudulent billings to Medicare.
These are serious crimes. People who defraud Medicare and other government health care programs are not only stealing from American taxpayers, but they are also often jeopardizing the health of patients in need. As we have increased our enforcement, courts have begun to respond in kind. Ten days ago, for example, the owner of a mental health care company in Miami, who pleaded guilty to orchestrating a $205 million Medicare fraud scheme, was sentenced to 50 years in prison. Fifty years. Three days later, the company’s co-owner was sentenced to 35 years in prison. In June, a Miami doctor was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison for his participation in a multi-million dollar HIV injection and infusion Medicare fraud scheme. In that case, the physician ordered unnecessary tests, signed medical analysis and diagnosis forms, and authorized treatments to make it appear that patients were receiving services reimbursable by Medicare when, in fact, they were not. He signed patient charts indicating that infusion treatments were medically necessary, when, in fact, they were not. In many cases, he had not even seen the patient whose chart he was signing. For his efforts to cheat Medicare out of millions of dollars in this way, he received $3,000 per week from one of his co-conspirators.
The criminal sanction is not appropriate in every circumstance. Every time that we decide to indict someone – and therefore potentially take away his or her liberty – we must be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed a crime. In Medicare fraud cases, we must be able to prove that the defendant intended to defraud the Medicare program. Negligence, and even recklessness, are not enough. Our system of justice does not permit us to bring criminal charges against a defendant whom we do not like, or because we believe that he or she exhibited excessive greed or took excessive risks. But – and this you can be sure of – in the area of Medicare fraud, as in every other area to which we devote prosecutorial resources, if we have the evidence, we will bring the charges.
To take just the most recent example, you can see this in our relentless efforts to eliminate traditional organized crime. This past Friday, I was in Rhode Island, where I announced, along with the U.S. Attorney in Providence, charges against four members and associates of the New England La Cosa Nostra – what people more commonly refer to as the mafia. That announcement followed several earlier indictments this year, including the largest enforcement action ever taken against La Cosa Nostra in the United States, in January, when we arrested over 125 people in four districts on charges ranging from racketeering and murder to extortion and drug trafficking. You can also see it in our financial fraud prosecutions, which have resulted in hundreds, if not thousands of people going to prison for defrauding investors, mortgagees, banks, and others.
And, of course, you can see it in the Medicare fraud context. Indeed, if there is one message I want to leave you with today, it is that the era of getting away with Medicare fraud is over. With the HEAT initiative, we have adopted an inter-agency approach that calls upon the expertise of HHS, including the investigative strengths of its Inspector General’s Office, and on the civil and criminal prosecutorial abilities of the Justice Department. The government as a whole is coordinating like never before to take on the problem of health care fraud. I know that Attorney General Holder and Secretary Sebelius are committed to rooting out health care fraud wherever it lurks. As the head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, I am personally committed to holding individuals and institutions that defraud the Medicare program to account for their crimes. By your presence here, I know that you, too, are committed to minimizing fraud in the health care industry. I commend you for that, and urge us to continue this important fight together. Thank you.”
Friday, September 30, 2011
WAR CONTRACTOR TO PAY FOR STEALING FROM THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES
The following is an excerpt from the Department of Justice website:
Thursday, September 29, 2011
“SAIC and Others to Pay U.S. More Than $22.6 Million to Resolve False Claims Allegations
Case Involved The National Center for Critical Information Processing and Storage at Mississippi’s Stennis Space Center
WASHINGTON – Science Applications International Inc. (SAIC); its subcontractor, Applied Enterprise Solutions LLC (AES); AES CEO Dale Galloway; and former government employees Stephen Adamec and Robert Knesel will pay the United States $22,676,000 to resolve allegations of false claims in a whistleblower suit, the Justice Department announced today. SAIC will pay $20,400,000 and AES and Dale Galloway will pay $2,166,000. Adamec and Knesel are paying $110,000.
The False Claims Act (FCA) suit, filed in June 2009 in the Southern District of Mississippi, alleges that the defendants knowingly violated the FCA when they submitted or caused the submission of false claims and conspired to submit such claims under a contract with the General Services Administration (GSA) in support of the Naval Oceanographic Major Shared Resource Center (NAVO MSRC). That contract was to provide support services for the National Center for Critical Information Processing and Storage (NCCIPS) at the NAVO MSRC. GSA awarded the NCCIPS task order in April 2004 to SAIC, which teamed with Lockheed Martin and AES to perform under the task order. SAIC was paid a total of $116 million under the contract.
The qui tam, or whistleblower, suit alleges that prior to the issuance, and once the NCCIPS solicitation had been publicized, Adamec and Knesel, then government employees, conspired with SAIC, AES, Galloway and Lockheed Martin to ensure that SAIC and its teaming partners were awarded the task order by sharing non-public, advance procurement information with the SAIC team that was not provided to other potential bidders; sharing information about the solicitation with the SAIC team before providing that information to other bidders; and choosing a type of contract and putting language in the solicitation in order to bias the selection process to favor the SAIC team.
“We expect those who contract for the privilege of doing the public’s business to act fairly and abide by the rules, not game the system to get undeserved taxpayer dollars for themselves and their friends," said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will pursue stiff penalties for contractors and federal employees whose illegal conduct defrauds the public and makes it harder for companies that play by the rules to compete.”
The qui tam suit, United States ex rel. Magee v. Lockheed Martin, et al., 1:09cv324 HSO (JMR) (S.D. MS.), was filed by David Magee, a former employee at the NAVO MSRC. The United States intervened in Magee’s action as to all defendants except for Lockheed Martin. The United States previously settled with Lockheed Martin for $2 million.
The investigation was conducted by the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the GSA Office of Inspector General.
The Justice Department’s total recoveries in False Claims Act cases since January 2009 exceed $7.8 billion.”
Thursday, September 29, 2011
“SAIC and Others to Pay U.S. More Than $22.6 Million to Resolve False Claims Allegations
Case Involved The National Center for Critical Information Processing and Storage at Mississippi’s Stennis Space Center
WASHINGTON – Science Applications International Inc. (SAIC); its subcontractor, Applied Enterprise Solutions LLC (AES); AES CEO Dale Galloway; and former government employees Stephen Adamec and Robert Knesel will pay the United States $22,676,000 to resolve allegations of false claims in a whistleblower suit, the Justice Department announced today. SAIC will pay $20,400,000 and AES and Dale Galloway will pay $2,166,000. Adamec and Knesel are paying $110,000.
The False Claims Act (FCA) suit, filed in June 2009 in the Southern District of Mississippi, alleges that the defendants knowingly violated the FCA when they submitted or caused the submission of false claims and conspired to submit such claims under a contract with the General Services Administration (GSA) in support of the Naval Oceanographic Major Shared Resource Center (NAVO MSRC). That contract was to provide support services for the National Center for Critical Information Processing and Storage (NCCIPS) at the NAVO MSRC. GSA awarded the NCCIPS task order in April 2004 to SAIC, which teamed with Lockheed Martin and AES to perform under the task order. SAIC was paid a total of $116 million under the contract.
The qui tam, or whistleblower, suit alleges that prior to the issuance, and once the NCCIPS solicitation had been publicized, Adamec and Knesel, then government employees, conspired with SAIC, AES, Galloway and Lockheed Martin to ensure that SAIC and its teaming partners were awarded the task order by sharing non-public, advance procurement information with the SAIC team that was not provided to other potential bidders; sharing information about the solicitation with the SAIC team before providing that information to other bidders; and choosing a type of contract and putting language in the solicitation in order to bias the selection process to favor the SAIC team.
“We expect those who contract for the privilege of doing the public’s business to act fairly and abide by the rules, not game the system to get undeserved taxpayer dollars for themselves and their friends," said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will pursue stiff penalties for contractors and federal employees whose illegal conduct defrauds the public and makes it harder for companies that play by the rules to compete.”
The qui tam suit, United States ex rel. Magee v. Lockheed Martin, et al., 1:09cv324 HSO (JMR) (S.D. MS.), was filed by David Magee, a former employee at the NAVO MSRC. The United States intervened in Magee’s action as to all defendants except for Lockheed Martin. The United States previously settled with Lockheed Martin for $2 million.
The investigation was conducted by the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the GSA Office of Inspector General.
The Justice Department’s total recoveries in False Claims Act cases since January 2009 exceed $7.8 billion.”
JAPANESE PRICE FIXERS IN DETROIT PLEAD GUILTY AND THEIR COMPANY PAYS $200 MILLION DOLLAR FINE
The following excerpt is from the SEC website:
“WASHINGTON — Furukawa Electric Co. Ltd., a supplier of automotive wire harnesses and related products, headquartered in Tokyo, has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $200 million fine for its role in a criminal price-fixing and bid-rigging conspiracy involving the sale of parts to automobile manufacturers, the Department of Justice announced. Three executives, who are Japanese nationals, have also agreed to plead guilty and to serve prison time in the United States ranging from a year and a day to 18 months. These are the department’s first charges as a result of its ongoing international cartel investigation of price fixing and bid rigging in the auto parts industry.
According to four separate one-count felony charges filed today in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit, Furukawa and its executives – Junichi Funo, Hirotsugu Nagata and Tetsuya Ukai – engaged in a conspiracy to rig bids for and to fix, stabilize and maintain the prices of automotive wire harnesses and related products sold to customers in the United States and elsewhere. Automotive wire harnesses are automotive electrical distribution systems used to direct and control electronic components, wiring and circuit boards in cars.
“As a result of this international price-fixing and bid-rigging conspiracy, automobile manufacturers paid noncompetitive and higher prices for parts in cars sold to U.S. consumers,” said Sharis A. Pozen, Acting Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “This cartel harmed an important industry in our nation’s economy, and the Antitrust Division with the Federal Bureau of Investigation will continue to work together to ensure that these kinds of conspiracies are stopped.”
“When companies partner to control and price fix bids or contracts, it undermines the foundation of the United States’ economic system,” said FBI’s Special Agent in Charge Andrew G. Arena. “The FBI is committed to aggressively pursuing any company involved in antitrust crimes.”
According to the plea agreements, which are subject to court approval, Furukawa, Funo, Nagata and Ukai have all agreed to assist the department in its ongoing investigation into the automotive parts industry.
Furukawa has agreed to plead guilty for its role in a conspiracy to rig bids for and to fix the prices of the sale of automotive wire harnesses and related products sold to automobile manufacturers in the United States and elsewhere. The department said that Furukawa participated in the conspiracy from at least as early as January 2000, until at least January 2010.
According to the plea agreements, Funo, Nagata and Ukai have agreed to plead guilty for their roles in the conspiracy and to serve prison time in the United States of a year and a day, 15 months and 18 months, respectively. The department said that Funo, Nagata and Ukai participated in the conspiracy at various times from at least as early as April 2003, until at least July 2009. Funo worked in the Honda sales division of Furukawa in Japan and in the United States as a sales representative, assistant general manager and manager. Nagata was employed by a Furukawa subsidiary in the United States as a general manager of sales and chief financial officer, and by a related joint venture as marketing manager. Ukai worked in Japan in the Honda sales division of Furukawa as a manager, unit chief and general manager.
During at least part of the conspiracy period, Funo and Nagata were employed and engaged in price fixing in the Detroit area.
According to court documents, Furukawa, Nagata, Funo, Ukai and their co-conspirators carried out the conspiracy by agreeing, during meetings and conversations, to allocate the supply of wire harnesses and related products on a model-by-model basis and to coordinate price adjustments requested by automobile manufacturers in the United States and elsewhere. They sold automotive wire harnesses and related products to automobile manufacturers at noncompetitive prices and engaged in meetings and conversations for the purpose of monitoring and enforcing adherence to the agreed-upon bid-rigging and price-fixing scheme.
Furukawa is charged with price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum $100 million criminal fine for a corporation. Funo, Nagata and Ukai are also charged with a violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine for an individual. The maximum fine for both a company and an individual may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.
Today’s charges are the first to arise from an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into bid rigging, price fixing and other anticompetitive conduct in the automotive parts industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section, and the FBI’s Detroit Field Office. “
“WASHINGTON — Furukawa Electric Co. Ltd., a supplier of automotive wire harnesses and related products, headquartered in Tokyo, has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $200 million fine for its role in a criminal price-fixing and bid-rigging conspiracy involving the sale of parts to automobile manufacturers, the Department of Justice announced. Three executives, who are Japanese nationals, have also agreed to plead guilty and to serve prison time in the United States ranging from a year and a day to 18 months. These are the department’s first charges as a result of its ongoing international cartel investigation of price fixing and bid rigging in the auto parts industry.
According to four separate one-count felony charges filed today in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit, Furukawa and its executives – Junichi Funo, Hirotsugu Nagata and Tetsuya Ukai – engaged in a conspiracy to rig bids for and to fix, stabilize and maintain the prices of automotive wire harnesses and related products sold to customers in the United States and elsewhere. Automotive wire harnesses are automotive electrical distribution systems used to direct and control electronic components, wiring and circuit boards in cars.
“As a result of this international price-fixing and bid-rigging conspiracy, automobile manufacturers paid noncompetitive and higher prices for parts in cars sold to U.S. consumers,” said Sharis A. Pozen, Acting Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “This cartel harmed an important industry in our nation’s economy, and the Antitrust Division with the Federal Bureau of Investigation will continue to work together to ensure that these kinds of conspiracies are stopped.”
“When companies partner to control and price fix bids or contracts, it undermines the foundation of the United States’ economic system,” said FBI’s Special Agent in Charge Andrew G. Arena. “The FBI is committed to aggressively pursuing any company involved in antitrust crimes.”
According to the plea agreements, which are subject to court approval, Furukawa, Funo, Nagata and Ukai have all agreed to assist the department in its ongoing investigation into the automotive parts industry.
Furukawa has agreed to plead guilty for its role in a conspiracy to rig bids for and to fix the prices of the sale of automotive wire harnesses and related products sold to automobile manufacturers in the United States and elsewhere. The department said that Furukawa participated in the conspiracy from at least as early as January 2000, until at least January 2010.
According to the plea agreements, Funo, Nagata and Ukai have agreed to plead guilty for their roles in the conspiracy and to serve prison time in the United States of a year and a day, 15 months and 18 months, respectively. The department said that Funo, Nagata and Ukai participated in the conspiracy at various times from at least as early as April 2003, until at least July 2009. Funo worked in the Honda sales division of Furukawa in Japan and in the United States as a sales representative, assistant general manager and manager. Nagata was employed by a Furukawa subsidiary in the United States as a general manager of sales and chief financial officer, and by a related joint venture as marketing manager. Ukai worked in Japan in the Honda sales division of Furukawa as a manager, unit chief and general manager.
During at least part of the conspiracy period, Funo and Nagata were employed and engaged in price fixing in the Detroit area.
According to court documents, Furukawa, Nagata, Funo, Ukai and their co-conspirators carried out the conspiracy by agreeing, during meetings and conversations, to allocate the supply of wire harnesses and related products on a model-by-model basis and to coordinate price adjustments requested by automobile manufacturers in the United States and elsewhere. They sold automotive wire harnesses and related products to automobile manufacturers at noncompetitive prices and engaged in meetings and conversations for the purpose of monitoring and enforcing adherence to the agreed-upon bid-rigging and price-fixing scheme.
Furukawa is charged with price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum $100 million criminal fine for a corporation. Funo, Nagata and Ukai are also charged with a violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine for an individual. The maximum fine for both a company and an individual may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.
Today’s charges are the first to arise from an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into bid rigging, price fixing and other anticompetitive conduct in the automotive parts industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section, and the FBI’s Detroit Field Office. “
Thursday, September 29, 2011
MAKING A STINK WITH IMPORTED CARS: EPA SAYS NO! NO!
The following excerpt is from an e-mail sent out by the EPA:
“WASHINGTON – The United States, on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), today filed a civil complaint against MotorScience, Inc. and the owner of the company, in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, for allegedly causing the importation of more than 24,000 uncertified vehicles that do not comply with the Clean Air Act’s requirements, the EPA announced. Engines operating without proper emissions controls can emit excess carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen which can cause respiratory illnesses, aggravate asthma and contribute to the formation of ground level ozone, or smog.
The complaint alleges that MotorScience, an engine certification services consulting firm located in California, used false or incomplete information to obtain Clean Air Act certificates of conformity for four of its clients. The certificates allowed the importation and sale of more than 24,000 recreational vehicles in the United States. EPA previously voided 12 certificates submitted by MotorScience on behalf of the four clients. The complaint alleges that vehicles imported under these voided certificates violate the Clean Air Act. The complaint further alleges that MotorScience caused its clients to fail to create and maintain records, which its clients were required to keep under the Clean Air Act.
The Clean Air Act prohibits any vehicle or engine from being imported and sold in the United States unless it is covered by an EPA-issued certificate of conformity indicating that the vehicle or engine meets applicable emission standards. The certificate of conformity is the primary way EPA ensures that imported vehicles and engines meet emission standards.
The complaint seeks civil penalties and actions by the company to remedy the violations and mitigate any excess pollutant emissions caused by the violations. This enforcement action is part of an ongoing effort by EPA to ensure that all imported vehicles and equipment comply with the Clean Air Act’s requirements.”
“WASHINGTON – The United States, on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), today filed a civil complaint against MotorScience, Inc. and the owner of the company, in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, for allegedly causing the importation of more than 24,000 uncertified vehicles that do not comply with the Clean Air Act’s requirements, the EPA announced. Engines operating without proper emissions controls can emit excess carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen which can cause respiratory illnesses, aggravate asthma and contribute to the formation of ground level ozone, or smog.
The complaint alleges that MotorScience, an engine certification services consulting firm located in California, used false or incomplete information to obtain Clean Air Act certificates of conformity for four of its clients. The certificates allowed the importation and sale of more than 24,000 recreational vehicles in the United States. EPA previously voided 12 certificates submitted by MotorScience on behalf of the four clients. The complaint alleges that vehicles imported under these voided certificates violate the Clean Air Act. The complaint further alleges that MotorScience caused its clients to fail to create and maintain records, which its clients were required to keep under the Clean Air Act.
The Clean Air Act prohibits any vehicle or engine from being imported and sold in the United States unless it is covered by an EPA-issued certificate of conformity indicating that the vehicle or engine meets applicable emission standards. The certificate of conformity is the primary way EPA ensures that imported vehicles and engines meet emission standards.
The complaint seeks civil penalties and actions by the company to remedy the violations and mitigate any excess pollutant emissions caused by the violations. This enforcement action is part of an ongoing effort by EPA to ensure that all imported vehicles and equipment comply with the Clean Air Act’s requirements.”
SIX JAPANESE COMPANIES AGREE TO PLEAD GUILTY TO PRICE-FIXING
The following excerpt is from the Department of Justice website:
"Companies Agree to Pay a Total of $46.8 Million in Criminal FinesWASHINGTON — Six Japanese freight forwarders have agreed to plead guilty and to pay criminal fines totaling $46.8 million for their roles in a conspiracy to fix certain fees in connection with the provision of freight forwarding services for air cargo shipments from Japan to the United States, the Department of Justice announced today. These are the second round of charges filed as a result of the department's antitrust investigation of the freight forwarding industry.
According to charges filed separately today in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, six companies - Kintetsu World Express Inc.; Hankyu Hanshin Express Co. Ltd.; Nippon Express Co. Ltd.; Nissin Corporation; Nishi-Nippon Railroad Co. Ltd.; and Vantec Corporation - engaged in a conspiracy to fix and impose certain freight forwarding service fees, including fuel surcharges and various security fees, charged to customers for services provided in connection with air freight forwarding shipments of cargo shipped by air from Japan to the United States from about September 2002 until at least November 2007.
Under the plea agreements, which are subject to court approval, the six companies have agreed to pay the following criminal fines: Kintetsu World Express, $10,465,677; Hankyu Hanshin Express, $4,522,065; Nippon Express, $21,115,396; Nissin Corporation, $2,644,779; Nishi-Nippon Railroad, $4,673,114; and Vantec Corporation, $3,339,648. Each company has also agreed to cooperate with the department's ongoing antitrust investigation.
"Including today's charges, 12 companies have agreed to plead guilty and nearly $100 million in criminal fines have been obtained as a result of the Antitrust Division's ongoing freight forwarding investigation," said Sharis A. Pozen, Acting Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division. "Prosecuting these kinds of global price fixing conspiracies, that are harmful to the economy and consumers, has been and will continue to be a top priority of the Antitrust Division."
Freight forwarders manage the domestic and international delivery of cargo for customers by receiving, packaging, preparing and warehousing cargo freight, arranging for cargo shipment through transportation providers such as air carriers, preparing shipment documentation, and providing related ancillary services.
According to the charges, the companies carried out the conspiracy by, among other things, agreeing during meetings and discussions to coordinate and impose certain freight forwarding service fees and charges on customers purchasing freight forwarding services for cargo shipped by air from Japan to the United States. The department said that the companies levied freight forwarding service fees in accordance with the agreements reached and engaged in meetings and discussions for the purpose of monitoring and enforcing adherence to the agreed-upon freight forwarding service fees.
As a result of the department's investigation into the freight forwarding industry, on Sept. 30, 2010, six international freight forwarders - EGL Inc.; Kühne + Nagel International AG; Geologistics International Management (Bermuda) Limited; Panalpina World Transport (Holding) Ltd.; Schenker AG; and BAX Global Inc. - agreed to plead guilty and to pay criminal fines totaling $50.27 million for their roles in several conspiracies to impose certain charges or fees on customers purchasing international freight forwarding services for cargo freight destined for air shipment to the United States during various periods between 2002 and 2007.
Each company is charged with price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum $100 million fine for corporations. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.”
"Companies Agree to Pay a Total of $46.8 Million in Criminal FinesWASHINGTON — Six Japanese freight forwarders have agreed to plead guilty and to pay criminal fines totaling $46.8 million for their roles in a conspiracy to fix certain fees in connection with the provision of freight forwarding services for air cargo shipments from Japan to the United States, the Department of Justice announced today. These are the second round of charges filed as a result of the department's antitrust investigation of the freight forwarding industry.
According to charges filed separately today in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, six companies - Kintetsu World Express Inc.; Hankyu Hanshin Express Co. Ltd.; Nippon Express Co. Ltd.; Nissin Corporation; Nishi-Nippon Railroad Co. Ltd.; and Vantec Corporation - engaged in a conspiracy to fix and impose certain freight forwarding service fees, including fuel surcharges and various security fees, charged to customers for services provided in connection with air freight forwarding shipments of cargo shipped by air from Japan to the United States from about September 2002 until at least November 2007.
Under the plea agreements, which are subject to court approval, the six companies have agreed to pay the following criminal fines: Kintetsu World Express, $10,465,677; Hankyu Hanshin Express, $4,522,065; Nippon Express, $21,115,396; Nissin Corporation, $2,644,779; Nishi-Nippon Railroad, $4,673,114; and Vantec Corporation, $3,339,648. Each company has also agreed to cooperate with the department's ongoing antitrust investigation.
"Including today's charges, 12 companies have agreed to plead guilty and nearly $100 million in criminal fines have been obtained as a result of the Antitrust Division's ongoing freight forwarding investigation," said Sharis A. Pozen, Acting Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division. "Prosecuting these kinds of global price fixing conspiracies, that are harmful to the economy and consumers, has been and will continue to be a top priority of the Antitrust Division."
Freight forwarders manage the domestic and international delivery of cargo for customers by receiving, packaging, preparing and warehousing cargo freight, arranging for cargo shipment through transportation providers such as air carriers, preparing shipment documentation, and providing related ancillary services.
According to the charges, the companies carried out the conspiracy by, among other things, agreeing during meetings and discussions to coordinate and impose certain freight forwarding service fees and charges on customers purchasing freight forwarding services for cargo shipped by air from Japan to the United States. The department said that the companies levied freight forwarding service fees in accordance with the agreements reached and engaged in meetings and discussions for the purpose of monitoring and enforcing adherence to the agreed-upon freight forwarding service fees.
As a result of the department's investigation into the freight forwarding industry, on Sept. 30, 2010, six international freight forwarders - EGL Inc.; Kühne + Nagel International AG; Geologistics International Management (Bermuda) Limited; Panalpina World Transport (Holding) Ltd.; Schenker AG; and BAX Global Inc. - agreed to plead guilty and to pay criminal fines totaling $50.27 million for their roles in several conspiracies to impose certain charges or fees on customers purchasing international freight forwarding services for cargo freight destined for air shipment to the United States during various periods between 2002 and 2007.
Each company is charged with price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum $100 million fine for corporations. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.”
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
SEAFOOD PROCESSOR AGREES TO $2.5 MILLION PENALTY
The following an excerpt from the EPA website:
September 28, 2011
“WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) today announced that Trident Seafoods Corp., one of the world’s largest seafood processors, has agreed to pay a $2.5 million civil penalty and invest millions in seafood processing waste controls to settle alleged violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA). Unauthorized discharges of seafood processing waste lead to large seafood waste piles on the seafloor, creating anoxic, or oxygen-depleted, conditions that result in unsuitable habitats for fish and other living organisms.
“Today’s settlement signals an important change in how seafood processing is managed in Alaska,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Trident’s investment in fishmeal facilities and commitment to improving its waste management practices will help protect our nation’s waters and set the standard for Alaska’s seafood processing industry.”
“This agreement will benefit the quality of Alaskan waters, which host a critical habitat for the seafood industry,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The upgrades will enable Trident to achieve and maintain compliance with the Clean Water Act, and will protect Alaskan waters, eliminate waste and create efficiencies that will serve as a model of best business practices for the seafood processing industry.”
The agreement requires Trident to invest an estimated $30-40 million, and potentially more, in source control and waste pile remediation measures. The source control measures include building a fishmeal plant in Naknek, Alaska, that will have the capacity to handle at least 30 million pounds of seafood processing waste annually, taking in both its own fish waste and potentially that of other local processors. Trident has also agreed to reduce the amount of seafood processing waste discharged from the Akutan, Cordova, St. Paul and Ketchikan, Alaska, facilities and monitor the amount of seafood processing waste discharged into Starrigavan Bay in Sitka, Alaska. The actions taken will reduce Trident’s fish processing discharges by a total of more than 105 million pounds annually.
The company has also agreed to remediation measures including studying seafloor waste piles at Trident’s facilities in Akutan, Ketchikan and Cordova. Based on the results of these studies, Trident will remove or partially remediate the piles. One seafood processing waste pile in Akutan Harbor is currently estimated to be more than 50 acres in size.
The EPA complaint, also filed as part of this legal action, alleges that Trident had more than 480 CWA violations at 14 of its on-shore and off-shore Alaskan seafood processing facilities. The alleged violations include discharging without a necessary permit, exceeding discharge limits, failing to comply with permit restrictions on discharge locations (including discharges into at least two National Wildlife Refuges), creating oxygen-depleting “zones of deposit” or underwater piles of fish processing waste occupying more than the allowed one acre of seafloor. The company also allegedly failed to conduct required monitoring and implement required best management practices.
Over the past decade, Trident has been a party to multiple administrative enforcement agreements and judicial consent decrees resolving similar violations at many of the same facilities.
The settlement was lodged in federal court in Seattle, Wash. and is subject to a 30-day public comment period.”
September 28, 2011
“WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) today announced that Trident Seafoods Corp., one of the world’s largest seafood processors, has agreed to pay a $2.5 million civil penalty and invest millions in seafood processing waste controls to settle alleged violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA). Unauthorized discharges of seafood processing waste lead to large seafood waste piles on the seafloor, creating anoxic, or oxygen-depleted, conditions that result in unsuitable habitats for fish and other living organisms.
“Today’s settlement signals an important change in how seafood processing is managed in Alaska,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Trident’s investment in fishmeal facilities and commitment to improving its waste management practices will help protect our nation’s waters and set the standard for Alaska’s seafood processing industry.”
“This agreement will benefit the quality of Alaskan waters, which host a critical habitat for the seafood industry,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The upgrades will enable Trident to achieve and maintain compliance with the Clean Water Act, and will protect Alaskan waters, eliminate waste and create efficiencies that will serve as a model of best business practices for the seafood processing industry.”
The agreement requires Trident to invest an estimated $30-40 million, and potentially more, in source control and waste pile remediation measures. The source control measures include building a fishmeal plant in Naknek, Alaska, that will have the capacity to handle at least 30 million pounds of seafood processing waste annually, taking in both its own fish waste and potentially that of other local processors. Trident has also agreed to reduce the amount of seafood processing waste discharged from the Akutan, Cordova, St. Paul and Ketchikan, Alaska, facilities and monitor the amount of seafood processing waste discharged into Starrigavan Bay in Sitka, Alaska. The actions taken will reduce Trident’s fish processing discharges by a total of more than 105 million pounds annually.
The company has also agreed to remediation measures including studying seafloor waste piles at Trident’s facilities in Akutan, Ketchikan and Cordova. Based on the results of these studies, Trident will remove or partially remediate the piles. One seafood processing waste pile in Akutan Harbor is currently estimated to be more than 50 acres in size.
The EPA complaint, also filed as part of this legal action, alleges that Trident had more than 480 CWA violations at 14 of its on-shore and off-shore Alaskan seafood processing facilities. The alleged violations include discharging without a necessary permit, exceeding discharge limits, failing to comply with permit restrictions on discharge locations (including discharges into at least two National Wildlife Refuges), creating oxygen-depleting “zones of deposit” or underwater piles of fish processing waste occupying more than the allowed one acre of seafloor. The company also allegedly failed to conduct required monitoring and implement required best management practices.
Over the past decade, Trident has been a party to multiple administrative enforcement agreements and judicial consent decrees resolving similar violations at many of the same facilities.
The settlement was lodged in federal court in Seattle, Wash. and is subject to a 30-day public comment period.”
OWNER OF ASBESTOS ABATEMENT SCHOOL GOES TO PRISON FOR SELLING UNEARNED CERTIFICATES TO ILLEGAL ALIENS AND OTHERS
The following excerpt is from the EPA website:
September 13, 2011
“WASHINGTON – The former owner of the country’s largest asbestos abatement training school was sentenced to prison today, after having fled the United States after her trial in November 2008. U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton sentenced Albania Deleon, 41, formerly of Andover, Mass., to 87 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay more than $1.2 million in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service and $369,015 to AIM Mutual Insurance Company. No level of exposure to asbestos is safe, so removal by untrained workers, performed without the necessary safeguards, threatens the health of those workers and the public.
“Today’s sentence marks the final chapter in bringing Albania Deleon to justice,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Committing environmental crimes to make a profit that put workers and our communities at risk carry serious consequences.”
“Today, justice was served, and Albania Deleon has finally faced the consequences of her crimes. I hope that this sentence sends a strong message to anyone who might contemplate fleeing to avoid punishment, that we do not give up on fugitives, and we will take all necessary means and resources to apprehend and prosecute them,” said United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz.
In November 2008, following a three-week trial, Deleon was convicted of a broad range of charges including that she sold training certificates to thousands of illegal aliens who had not taken the mandatory training course. Deleon then placed these unqualified individuals in temporary employment positions as certified asbestos abatement workers in public buildings throughout Massachusetts and New England. Deleon was also convicted of encouraging illegal aliens to reside in the United States, making false statements about matters within the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); procuring false payroll tax returns, and mail fraud.
From approximately 2001 to 2006, Deleon owned and operated Environmental Compliance Training (ECT), a certified asbestos training school located in Methuen. ECT normally offered training courses on a weekly basis at its Methuen offices, however, many of the recipients of the certificates never took the required course. Instead, with Deleon’s knowledge and approval, ECT’s office employees issued certificates of course completion to thousands of individuals who did not take the course. These individuals filed the certificates with the Massachusetts Division of Occupational Safety in order to be authorized to work in the asbestos removal industry. Many of the recipients were illegal aliens who wished to skip the four-daylong course so that they would not forego a week’s pay.
Since ECT’s training course records were subject to inspection, Deleon sought to cover up ECT’s practice of issuing certificates to untrained applicants by having the applicants sign final examination answer sheets that already had been completed and graded, which she maintained in ECT’s files. Based on the evidence at trial and information supplied by the Division of Occupation Safety, ECT issued training certificates to over 2,000 untrained individuals.
Deleon is the fifth environmental criminal captured since the EPA fugitive website was launched in December 2008.
U.S. Attorney Ortiz; Michael E. Hubbard, Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division in Boston; Bruce M. Foucart, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; William Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation; Scott Antolik, Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Social Security Administration, Office of Investigations – Boston Field Division; James Ennis, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service; John Gibbons, United States Marshall for the
District of Massachusetts; Anthony DiPaolo, Chief of Investigations for the Massachusetts Insurance Fraud Bureau; and Heather E. Rowe, Acting Commissioner of the Massachusetts Division of Occupational Safety made the announcement today.”
September 13, 2011
“WASHINGTON – The former owner of the country’s largest asbestos abatement training school was sentenced to prison today, after having fled the United States after her trial in November 2008. U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton sentenced Albania Deleon, 41, formerly of Andover, Mass., to 87 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay more than $1.2 million in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service and $369,015 to AIM Mutual Insurance Company. No level of exposure to asbestos is safe, so removal by untrained workers, performed without the necessary safeguards, threatens the health of those workers and the public.
“Today’s sentence marks the final chapter in bringing Albania Deleon to justice,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Committing environmental crimes to make a profit that put workers and our communities at risk carry serious consequences.”
“Today, justice was served, and Albania Deleon has finally faced the consequences of her crimes. I hope that this sentence sends a strong message to anyone who might contemplate fleeing to avoid punishment, that we do not give up on fugitives, and we will take all necessary means and resources to apprehend and prosecute them,” said United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz.
In November 2008, following a three-week trial, Deleon was convicted of a broad range of charges including that she sold training certificates to thousands of illegal aliens who had not taken the mandatory training course. Deleon then placed these unqualified individuals in temporary employment positions as certified asbestos abatement workers in public buildings throughout Massachusetts and New England. Deleon was also convicted of encouraging illegal aliens to reside in the United States, making false statements about matters within the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); procuring false payroll tax returns, and mail fraud.
From approximately 2001 to 2006, Deleon owned and operated Environmental Compliance Training (ECT), a certified asbestos training school located in Methuen. ECT normally offered training courses on a weekly basis at its Methuen offices, however, many of the recipients of the certificates never took the required course. Instead, with Deleon’s knowledge and approval, ECT’s office employees issued certificates of course completion to thousands of individuals who did not take the course. These individuals filed the certificates with the Massachusetts Division of Occupational Safety in order to be authorized to work in the asbestos removal industry. Many of the recipients were illegal aliens who wished to skip the four-daylong course so that they would not forego a week’s pay.
Since ECT’s training course records were subject to inspection, Deleon sought to cover up ECT’s practice of issuing certificates to untrained applicants by having the applicants sign final examination answer sheets that already had been completed and graded, which she maintained in ECT’s files. Based on the evidence at trial and information supplied by the Division of Occupation Safety, ECT issued training certificates to over 2,000 untrained individuals.
Deleon is the fifth environmental criminal captured since the EPA fugitive website was launched in December 2008.
U.S. Attorney Ortiz; Michael E. Hubbard, Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division in Boston; Bruce M. Foucart, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; William Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation; Scott Antolik, Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Social Security Administration, Office of Investigations – Boston Field Division; James Ennis, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service; John Gibbons, United States Marshall for the
District of Massachusetts; Anthony DiPaolo, Chief of Investigations for the Massachusetts Insurance Fraud Bureau; and Heather E. Rowe, Acting Commissioner of the Massachusetts Division of Occupational Safety made the announcement today.”
IS DESIGNING ASSETS TO FAIL LIKE DESIGNING A CAR TO FAIL?
The following is from a speech given by SEC Commissioner Luis A. Aguilar at an open meeting of the SEC on “Prohibiting Firms from Designing Transactions to Fail”. This speech is an excerpt from the SEC website:
September 19, 2011
Today, the Commission considers a proposed rule designed to address the serious conflict of interest that results from a financial firm designing an asset-backed security, selling it to customers, and then betting on its failure.
In the aftermath of the financial crisis, it became clear that firms were creating financial products, selling those same products to their customers, and then turning around and making bets against those same products they just sold. Senator Levin explained it well when he said this practice is like “selling someone a car with no brakes and then taking out a life insurance policy on the purchaser. In the asset-back securities context the sponsors and underwriters of the asset-backed securities are the parties who select and understand the underlying assets, and who are best positioned to design a security to succeed or fail.”1 Senator Levin went on to say they [the ABS sponsors and issuers], like the mechanic servicing a car, would know if the vehicle has been designed to fail. And so they must be prevented from securing handsome rewards for designing and selling malfunctioning vehicles that undermine the asset-backed securities markets.”2
The proposal under consideration is an important step forward to prohibit this practice and to protect investors from being persuaded to invest in products designed to fail. I look forward to receiving public comments on whether the proposed rule serves the public interest and meets the objective of prohibiting these material conflicts.
In closing, I thank the staff for their work on this set of rules and the work to come, and I support today’s proposal.”
Designing things to fail and/or wear out has long been a prominent tool for insuring future sustainability of profits. Afterall, it is far easier to rip-off old customers with products they must buy over and over again then it is to spend money on marketing to find new customers.
September 19, 2011
Today, the Commission considers a proposed rule designed to address the serious conflict of interest that results from a financial firm designing an asset-backed security, selling it to customers, and then betting on its failure.
In the aftermath of the financial crisis, it became clear that firms were creating financial products, selling those same products to their customers, and then turning around and making bets against those same products they just sold. Senator Levin explained it well when he said this practice is like “selling someone a car with no brakes and then taking out a life insurance policy on the purchaser. In the asset-back securities context the sponsors and underwriters of the asset-backed securities are the parties who select and understand the underlying assets, and who are best positioned to design a security to succeed or fail.”1 Senator Levin went on to say they [the ABS sponsors and issuers], like the mechanic servicing a car, would know if the vehicle has been designed to fail. And so they must be prevented from securing handsome rewards for designing and selling malfunctioning vehicles that undermine the asset-backed securities markets.”2
The proposal under consideration is an important step forward to prohibit this practice and to protect investors from being persuaded to invest in products designed to fail. I look forward to receiving public comments on whether the proposed rule serves the public interest and meets the objective of prohibiting these material conflicts.
In closing, I thank the staff for their work on this set of rules and the work to come, and I support today’s proposal.”
Designing things to fail and/or wear out has long been a prominent tool for insuring future sustainability of profits. Afterall, it is far easier to rip-off old customers with products they must buy over and over again then it is to spend money on marketing to find new customers.
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