We make fun of places like Mexico, Italy, India, and Russia for their endemic corruption. It’s true, theirs tends to be at a more cultural level and “in your face” as it can be in day-to-day processes (ie: when you’re pulled over), but I think:
- We tend to filter a lot because it’s “our corruption” and we’re the best country in the world.
- We institutionalize corruption, that is, make it legal (eg: political “donations”, tax loopholes, etc.).
- We ignore massive white collar corruption because it’s “good but gone awry” (usually white) gentrified people like ourselves.
I see it daily in reports I read, so I thought it time try to just collect the litany as it passes…
Via DHS Daily Open Source Infrastructure Report 2016-09-30:
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission – (International) SEC charges UBS with supervisory failures in sale of complex products to retail investors. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced September 28 that UBS Financial Services agreed to pay more than $15 million to settle charges alleging that the company failed to create and institute policies and procedures intended to properly educate and train sales representatives on the $548 million in reverse convertible notes (RCNs) it sold to over 8,700 inexperienced retail investors, which caused representatives to make unfit recommendations on RCN sales to certain retail clients regarding their investment profiles. As part of the settlement, the company will be censured by the SEC.
https://www.sec.gov/news/pressrelease/2016-197.html
U.S. Department of Justice – (International) American living in Australia charged in securities fraud case involving scheme to fraudulently inflate by nearly $100 million the cost of Santa Monica software company being purchased by Computer Sciences Corp. A former executive at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) was charged September 26 after he and several co-conspirators in Australia and the U.S. allegedly defrauded Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) out of $98 million by inflating revenues for ServiceMesh, Inc., a Santa Monica, Californa-based cloud computer management software company that CSC planned to purchase from 2013 – 2014. The charges also allege that CBA employees received more than $630,000 in undisclosed kickbacks from a senior executive of ServiceMesh, Inc. involved in the scheme.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/american-living-australia-charged-securities-fraud-case-involving-scheme-fraudulently
Via DHS Daily Open Source Infrastructure Report 2016-09-15:
U.S. Department of Justice – (National) Regions bank agrees to pay $52.4 million to resolve alleged False Claims Act liability arising from FHA-insured mortgage lending. The U.S. Department of Justice announced September 13 that Regions Bank agreed to pay $52.4 million to settle allegations that the bank violated the False Claims Act by originating and underwriting mortgage loans insured by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Federal Housing Administration (FHA) that did not meet HUD underwriting requirements regarding borrower creditworthiness from January 2006 – December 2011. The charges also allege that Regions failed to maintain a quality control program in compliance with HUD requirements, failed to consistently review samples of FHA-insured loans, and failed to review Early Payment Default (EPD) loans per HUD guidelines, among other violations.
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/regions-bank-agrees-pay-524-million-resolve-alleged-false-claims-act-liability-arising-fha
Via DHS Daily Open Source Infrastructure Report 2016-09-14:
U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey – (Nevada) Nevada stock promoter admits role in $33 million microcap stock manipulation scheme. A Henderson, Nevada resident pleaded guilty September 12 to his role in a $33 million pump-and-dump stock market manipulation scheme where he and co-conspirators fraudulently inflated the prices of shares of 4 public companies by distributing promotional information about the shares and engaging in manipulative trading in order to sell the stocks at inflated rates before dumping large volumes of the shares, causing investors millions of dollars in losses. Officials also stated the group paid cash kickbacks to a Las Vegas-based investment adviser who purchased the stock of the target companies on behalf of his clients.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/pr/nevada-stock-promoter-admits-role-33-million-microcap-stock-manipulation-scheme
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Texas – (Texas) Federal grand jury indicts three in $6.5 million diamond investment fraud scheme. The chief compliance officer of Stonebridge Advisers, LLC, the principal partner of Worldwide Diamond Ventures, L.P., and another Dallas, Texas resident were indicted September 9 for their roles in a $6.5 million diamond investment scheme where the group allegedly defrauded 77 Worldwide Diamond Ventures investors by fraudulently concealing material information, including how the group used investor funds from March 2011 – November 2011 and February 2012 – May 2013. The charges also allege that the trio failed to disclose to investors that nearly $2.5 million in investor funds were used to make unauthorized loans to third parties.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndtx/pr/federal-grand-jury-indicts-three-65-million-diamond-investment-fraud-scheme
Via DHS Daily Open Source Infrastructure Report 2016-09-12:
Wells Fargo fined $185M on phony accounts, fires 5,300 staff. California and Federal regulators fined Wells Fargo & Company a total of $185 million September 8 after the bank’s employees allegedly opened more than 2 million bank and credit card accounts and transferred money into those accounts without the authorization of its customers in order to meet projected sales goals. Officials reported that 5,300 Wells Fargo employees were fired in connection with the fraudulent activities.
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/wells-fargo-fined-185-million-improper-account-openings-n645031