Chicago partner Renato Mariotti is wrapping up a week of frenzied media coverage over the unusual raid of Caterpillar’s headquarters in Peoria, Illinois, by three federal agencies. As a former federal prosecutor with the Securities and Commodities Fraud Section of the U.S. Attorney's Office, Renato talked to regional and national media about the scope of the investigation — the nearest comparison is likely the 2002 raid on Enron’s headquarters — and the lessons all companies can learn from this turn of events.
As Renato wrote in a LinkedIn posting this week, “If your company is the subject of a criminal investigation, it is important to quickly investigate the issue yourself and cooperate fully with the government's investigation in order to minimize long-term damage to your company. The government will consider the extent and nature of your cooperation when determining what actions, if any, to take against the company.”
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