Foreign and domestic corporations, non-profits, governmental entities, public utilities, and insurers have relied upon Cable Huston to investigate allegations of waste, fraud, compliance violations, abuse, and other wrongdoing in their organizations. In the current legal, media, and regulatory climate, the need to promptly, thoroughly, and discretely investigate potential misconduct is becoming increasingly imperative. Cable Huston’s Internal Investigations team brings decades of experience responding to potential wrongdoing arising out of governmental investigations, lawsuits, employee embezzlement, whistleblower complaints, media accounts, auditing irregularities, and other matters.
Internal investigations can often require prompt action, careful interaction with local, state, and/or federal criminal and regulatory agencies, and meticulous planning to preserve confidentiality and, if necessary, disclosure of wrongdoing. The costs of inadequate planning and staffing can be extreme, including litigation exposure, debarment, loss of licensure, increased risk of exposure to civil penalties or criminal liability, waiver of critical defenses and privileges in subsequent litigation, increased legal fees, and even corporate criminal prosecution.
The attorneys in Cable Huston’s Internal Investigations group have a wealth of experience to bear in conducting comprehensive internal investigations in a thorough, cost-effective, and discrete manner so that our clients can make informed decisions. Cable Huston’s team has substantial experience in forensically collecting email and other forms of electronic and hard-copy evidence in compliance with state, federal, and international law, conducting employee and third-party witness interviews, communicating investigation results through oral and/or written reports, and developing a plan of remedial action (if necessary) to address any findings of wrongdoing. Where applicable, Cable Huston also coordinates parallel investigations with local, state, and federal agencies, including city attorney offices, state attorney general offices, self-regulatory organizations, and federal criminal and other investigative agencies.
Cable Huston has also been retained by some of the largest companies in Oregon and the U.S. (or directly by their insurers) to investigate allegations of employee misconduct. Our team has investigated misconduct claims involving employees at Nike, the Portland Trailblazers, Tektronix, US Bank, Washington Mutual, Westin Hotels & Resorts, T-Mobile, AAA of Oregon, Union pension trust funds (e.g., Capital Consultants), Schnitzer Steel, and the Archdiocese of Portland, among many others.
Our experience covers a broad array of substantive areas, including:
- Accounting fraud and embezzlement
- Bank fraud and FDIC compliance
- Executive dishonesty and fiduciary duties
- Bribery, corruption, and money laundering
- Public contracting/procurement and False Claims Act
- Insurance fraud
- Environmental compliance
- Securities fraud
- Employment harassment and retaliation
Here are just a couple of examples of recent internal investigations handled by our skilled team at Cable Huston:
- Cable Huston recently represented the Bank of Oswego in connection with highly-publicized allegations of bank fraud and other wrongdoing by former Bank executives. The allegations ultimately resulted in claims against the Bank’s insurers, as well as various civil lawsuits and federal criminal prosecutions, requiring interaction between the Bank, its insurers, the FDIC, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
- Cable Huston recently represented the Special Committee of Cale Group AB, a Swedish corporation, in conducting a comprehensive, multi-national internal investigation into bribery allegations related to the procurement of parking meter contracts for the City of Portland and City of Chicago by a former independent Cale distributor. The investigation arose after several articles were published in The Oregonian during the sentencing phase of the bribery trial. This investigation required the careful collection and review of hundreds of thousands of pages of hard-copy and electronic evidence from three countries (the U.S., Canada, and Sweden), completion of numerous witness interviews, and development of a process of disclosing investigation results without waiver of important privileges.