Welcome to the seventh edition of the Revolving Door Project’s Corporate Crackdown Project newsletter! Presented by the people who infuriate the sponsors of other newsletters.
Every two weeks, we’ll be sending a summary of what the Biden administration has and hasn’t done to police and publicize white-collar crimes and big business abuses. Check out our reports on specific Cabinet departments and our piece for Democracy Journal on “What Biden’s Message Should Be”!
If you have any feedback, suggestions, criticisms, or what-have-you, get in touch any time by emailing ndiaye[at]therevolvingdoorproject.org.
This week we have…
8 Hits: The SEC, CFPB and OCC have been cracking down on corporations misleading investors and consumers. Corporations were not the only ones under scrutiny, the SEC charged former Indiana Rep. Stephen Buyer with insider trading.
4 Misses: Mishandled negotiations with Congress, lack of proactive executive actions, failure to participate in a congressional hearing about the impacts of leaded aviation fuel on people and the environment, and failure to implement mandates. Needless to say, the Biden administration could be doing more to crack down on wrongdoers. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies raised drug prices an astonishing 1,186 times since the beginning of the year.
5 New Cases: OSHA, FDA and FERC may have more work on their hands as heat-related work incidents rise, companies continue to jeopardize consumers’ health, and electricity problems persist.
HITS
Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company To Pay $50 Million Penalty To Settle SEC Charges That It Provided Misleading Account Statements to Investors. [Securities And Exchange Commision, Press Release, 7/18/22]
The SEC Charged Tampa-Based Health Insurance Distributor Health Insurance Innovations (HII) And Its Former CEO Gavin Southwell With Making False Statements To Investors. [Securities And Exchange Commision, Press Release, 7/20/22]
The SEC Charged Former Coinbase Manager And Two Others For Perpetrating A Crypto Asset Insider Trading Scheme. [Securities And Exchange Commision, Press Release, 7/21/22]
The SEC Charged Former Indiana Rep. Stephen Buyer With Insider Trading For Allegedly Using Inside Information To Buy $1.5 Million In Stocks. [Securities And Exchange Commision, Press Release, 7/25/22]
Federal Regulators Fined Bank of America $225 Million For The Botched Disbursement of State Unemployment Benefits At The Height Of Pandemic. [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Press Release, 7/14/22]
The CFPB Sued Payday Lender ACE Cash Express For Concealing Free Repayment Plans From Struggling Borrowers And Consequently Improperly Withdrawing Funds From Consumers’ Accounts. [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Press Release, 7/12/22]
The CFPB Issued An Advisory to Protect The Public’s Data Privacy When Companies Compile Personal Data. [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Press Release, 7/7/22]
The OCC Assessed A $125 Million Civil Money Penalty Against Bank Of America For Violations Of Law And Unsafe Or Unsound Practices, And Ordered The Bank To Provide Restitution To Consumers Harmed By Its Practices And Violations Of Law. [Office Of The Comptroller Of The Currency, Press Release, 7/14/22]
MISSES
TAP: Biden Problematically Delayed Fulfilling Climate-Related Executive Branch Responsibilities For Over A Year While Talks With Manchin Dragged On. [TAP, 7/21/22]
Rep. Ro Khanna Called Out The Biden Administration, Specifically The Epa And Faa For Not Participating In An Upcoming Congressional Hearing About Leaded Aviation Fuel Harming Human Health And The Environment. [Common Dreams, 7/25/22]
Analysis By Independent National Patient Organization Patients For Affordable Drugs Found That In The First Seven Months Of 2022 Pharmaceutical Companies In The U.S. Have Raised Drug Prices 1,186 Times. [Common Dreams, 7/20/22]
The American Economic Liberties Project Urged Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg To Carry Out A Six-Year-Old Congressional Mandate To Protect Children And Families Traveling On U.S. Airlines. [American Economic Liberties Project, Press Release, 7/13/22]
NEW CASES
Three Senators, Including Senator Warren And Two Members Of The Senate Subcommittee On Oceans, Fisheries, Climate Change, And Manufacturing, Called For Greater Federal Scrutiny Of Private Equity’s Incursion Into East Coast Commercial Fishing. [ProPublica, 7/22/22]
OSHA Had Yet To Establish National Safety Guidelines Even As Heat-Related Illness And Death Rose In Us Agriculture. [Mother Jones, 7/1/22]
Amazon Announced It Is Acquiring One Medical, A Private Equity-Backed Primary Care Provider That Generated Over Half Of Its Revenue From A For-Profit Medicare Program. [Lever News, 7/22/22]
The FDA Posted Warning Letters To Four Companies For Illegally Selling Honey-Based Products That May Pose A Significant Health Risk To Consumers. [Food and Drug Administration, Press Release, 7/12/22]
Utility Regulators Called On FERC To Address The Lack Of Interregional Transmission, Or Power Flow Between States And Sections Of The Electric Grid, Which They Said Could Make Electricity More Reliable And Unlock Low-Cost Solar And Wind Energy. [E&E News, 7/22/22]