President Trump Puts a “Pause” on FCPA Enforcement

President Trump Puts a “Pause” on FCPA Enforcement

On Monday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order (EO) pausing the enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). According to the EO, the pause will last 180 days. In that time, the EO directs Attorney General (AG) Pam Bondi to “review guidelines and policies governing investigations and enforcement actions under the FCPA.” As part of the pause, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) must “cease initiation of any new investigations or enforcement actions” pursuant to the FCPA. The EO also directs AG Bondi to review current investigations and enforcement actions and take “appropriate action” to “restore proper bounds on FCPA enforcement and preserve Presidential foreign policy prerogatives.” Finally, the EO directs AG Bondi to review and update the DOJ’s FCPA guidelines “to adequately promote the President’s Article II authority to conduct foreign affairs and prioritize American interests, American economic competitiveness with respect to other nations, and the efficient use of Federal law enforcement resources.” The order gives AG Bondi the option to extend the pause for another 180 days as she “determines appropriate.”

President Trump’s order comes on the heels of AG Bondi’s recent memorandum altering DOJ priorities in enforcing the FCPA. In the memorandum, AG Bondi directed officials to “prioritize investigations related to foreign bribery that facilitates the criminal operations” of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and “shift focus away from investigations and cases that do not involve such a connection.” The memorandum specifically encourages officials to investigate cases that involve the “bribery of foreign officials to facilitate human smuggling and the trafficking of narcotics and firearms.” The change in FCPA policy also allows US Attorneys’ Offices to prosecute FCPA claims against cartels and TCOs, eliminating the requirement that FCPA enforcement actions be initiated only by the DOJ’s Fraud Section.

According to the White House, the DOJ and the US Securities and Exchange Commission filed 26 FCPA-related enforcement actions against private companies in 2024, and 31 companies are currently under investigation for FCPA violations.

You may find the EO here, and review AG Bondi’s FCPA memo here.

Jury Convicts New York Doctor for $24 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

A jury convicted a doctor based out of Queens, New York City, for billing Medicare for $24 million in fraudulent claims. The jury found the doctor, Dr. Alexander Baldonado, guilty of 10 counts of health care fraud-related charges.

Dr. Baldonado allegedly received cash bribes and kickbacks in exchange for ordering laboratory tests that two related New York laboratories billed to Medicare. These tests included expensive cancer genetic tests. Dr. Baldonado allegedly ordered these tests for Medicare beneficiaries who attended COVID-19 testing events at assisted living facilities, adult day care centers, and retirement communities, even though he never treated the beneficiaries. According to the DOJ, many of the beneficiaries did not even speak to or meet with Dr. Baldonado before he ordered cancer genetic tests and other laboratory tests for them. The DOJ further alleges that Dr. Baldonado billed Medicare for lengthy office visits that he never provided to these patients. At trial, several patients for whom Dr. Baldonado ordered genetic tests and billed for office visits testified that they did not know Dr. Baldonado and had never met him. Even after ordering these tests, the DOJ states, Dr. Baldonado did not contact patients concerning the results and the patients never received the results.

Separately, the DOJ alleged that Dr. Baldonado received cash bribes and kickbacks from the owner of a durable medical equipment supply company in exchange for ordering medically unnecessary orthotic braces for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

The court has scheduled sentencing for Dr. Baldonado on June 26.

You can read the DOJ’s press release here.

North Carolina Fines UnitedHealthcare $3.4 Million Over Billing Shortfalls

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey fined UnitedHealthcare of North Carolina Inc. and its affiliate, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Co. (collectively, UHC), $3.4 million following a nearly four-year investigation of the companies’ claims-handling practices involving balance billing. The settlement requires UHC to provide the North Carolina Department of Insurance (NC DOI) with a corrective action plan to address violations uncovered in the investigation and submit to future compliance examinations. UHC did not admit to violating any statues, rules, or regulations.

The NC DOI investigated the ways in which UHC handled member grievances and claims processing involving non-contracted (also known as out-of-network) providers and facilities for anesthesia services and emergency room services. Specifically, the NC DOI investigated whether UHC followed its own procedures to protect members from balance billing — a practice that occurs when an out-of-network provider charges more than the insurer allows for a service and bills the member for the excess cost. The NC DOI allegedly found instances where UHC did not follow its own procedures in negotiating with providers as required by law. The NC DOI further alleged that UHC failed to change its decision as to the patients’ claims or intervene on the patient’s behalf even after policyholders filed grievances over the balance bills.

You can read the NC DOI’s press release here.