Second, FIRREA allows the government to rely on a lower civil burden of proof for the predicate offenses. See United States ex rel. To establish liability under the civil-penalties provision of FIRREA based on the predicate offense of mail or wire fraud, the government was re-quired to prove that the bank defendants committed mail or wire fraud “af-fecting a federally insured financial institution.” 12 U.S.C. period. The predicate offenses for a FIRREA suit include bank fraud, false statements, mail fraud and wire fraud, and other offenses involving or affecting federally insured financial institutions. On November 8, 2013, Defendants filed their Motion to Dismiss, contending among Section 951 of FIRREA authorizes the Justice Department to seek civil money penalties against persons who violate one or more of 14 enumerated criminal statutes (predicate offenses) that involve or “affect” financial institutions or government agencies. For example, in predicate offenses requiring an “affect” on federally insured financial institutions (“FIFIs”), such as mail fraud (18 U.S.C. Act. “FIRREA authorizes the federal government to impose civil penalties against financial institutions that violate various predicate offenses, including wire and mail fraud,” according to DOJ officials. The Second Circuit declined to rule on the legal questions of whet… If the DOJ successfully proves a violation of one or more predicate offenses, then under FIRREA, a court can impose a civil penalty that is as much as $1 million for each violation. The $2.385 billion civil monetary penalty resolves claims under FIRREA, which authorizes the federal government to impose civil penalties against financial institutions that violate various predicate offenses, including wire and mail fraud. § 1001 (false statements) and 18 U.S.C. Section 951 of FIRREA, codified at 12 U.S.C. § 1833a(c)(2). Specifically, FIRREA provides that the DOJ may seek civil penalties for violations of 14 different federal criminal laws, including mail and wire fraud statutes, 18 U.S.C. § 1833a, authorizes the DOJ to bring a complaint seeking civil money penalties against persons who violate one or more of 14 enumerated criminal statutes (or predicate offenses) that involve or … The predicate offenses for FIRREA liability purposes were violations of 18 U.S.C. FIRREA authorizes the federal government to seek civil penalties against financial institutions that violate various predicate offenses, including wire and mail fraud. The Government seeks civil penalties under FIRREA based upon predicate criminal offenses under 18 U.S.C. The government intervened and added claims under FIRREA, which imposes civil liability—in the form of civil monetary penalties—for certain criminal offenses (including violations of the federal mail and wire fraud statutes) that affect a federally insured financial institution. § 1341) and wire fraud … FIRREA imposes liability for a series of predicate offenses including bank fraud, false statements, and mail or wire fraud affecting a financial institution. §§ 1341, 1343. In a nutshell, FIRREA authorizes the DOJ to impose civil financial penalties for violations of specifically penalize conduct injuring financial institutions; others sweep more broadly, but only become FIRREA predicates when the defendant’s conduct “affect[s] a federally insured financial institution.” As a necessary predicate offense for these FIRREA penalties, the government alleged that Countrywide violated the federal mail and wire fraud statutes when selling poor-quality mortgages to government-sponsored entities. A U.S. magistrate judge in North Carolina dealt a blow to government efforts to use the 1980s-era Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act to penalize big banks, but many experts say the decision which is not binding may just be a temporary glitch. The United States alleged that HSBC violated FIRREA by misrepresenting to investors the quality of its RMBS and the due diligence procedures it claimed it would use to ensure that quality. FIRREA modifies the predicate offenses by lowering the standard of proof from “beyond a reasonable doubt” to “preponderance of the evidence” and adds a lengthy 10-year statute of limitations, effectively doubling the period of limitations under otherwise applicable customs civil penalty laws. FIRREA modifies the predicate offenses by lowering the standard of proof from “beyond a reasonable doubt” to “preponderance of the evidence” and adds a lengthy 10-year statute of limitations, effectively doubling the period of limitations under otherwise applicable customs civil penalty laws. The government attempted to prove the predicate offense of fraud by showing that Countrywide executives knew that loans sold to the GSEs were of lower quality than its contracts guaranteed. The government intervened and added claims under FIRREA, which imposes civil liability—in the form of civil monetary penalties—for certain criminal offenses (including violations of the federal mail and wire fraud statutes) that affect a federally insured financial institution.4 The case proceeded to trial solely on the FIRREA claims. that end, FIRREA authorizes civil enforcement of enumerated criminal predicate offenses— Case 1:19-cv-00945-LY Document 1 Filed 09/25/19 Page 6 of 58 - 7 - O'Donnell v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., Nos. Inside A Closely Watched FCA and FIRREA Decision ... however, regarding how these penalties should be applied. The DOJ sought civil penalties under FIRREA for violations of various predicate criminal offenses, including wire and mail fraud, because the violations had affected a federally-insured financial institution. Countrywide appealed the district court’s judgment, arguing that: (i) FIRREA does not permit claims against federally insured financial institutions on the theory that they engaged in fraud “affecting” themselves; (ii) the claimed predicate offenses of mail and wire fraud may not be based exclusively on a breach of contract; (iii) the district court erred in certain evidentiary rulings; and (iv) the district court erred in its calculation of the civil penalties. 15-496, 15-499, 2016 WL 2956743 (2d Cir. of 1989 (FIRREA), in lieu of criminal prosecutions. (35) While a criminal case requires prosecutors to prove the commission of any of these offenses beyond a reasonable doubt, 12 U.S.C. 13-02-11, ... to establish the fraud necessary to support the predicate offenses of mail and wire fraud. [4] On appeal from the U.S. District Court for … Under the terms of the settlement agreement , Barclays will pay $2 billion in civil penalties–with no admission of wrongdoing–to settle the action. FIRREA also allows for whistleblower suits. § 3293(2) establishes that the statute of limitations for various criminal offenses is extended to 10 years in cases where the conduct at issue “affects a financial institution,” and permits the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) … (34) To trigger FIRREA, a defendant must commit one of fourteen predicate offenses. FIRREA can be a preferable enforcement mechanism for the government because of the more lenient burden of proof than in a criminal prosecution. § 1014 (fraud in “[l]oan and credit applications”). FIRREA in FraudMail Alert No. The court held that the Justice Department had failed to adduce trial evidence sufficient to establish the fraud necessary to support the predicate offenses of mail and wire fraud. But in the case of continuing violations a civil money penalty can be imposed that is the lesser of $1 million a day or a total of $5 million. 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