FAT Brands Is Criminally And Civilly Charged
It is rare for a publicly traded company to force the Securities and Exchange Commission to prove a civil case in court. The vast majority of issuers opt to resolve a matter through – in recent years – nearly always an administrative order.
It is extremely rare for a publicly traded company to force the Department of Justice to prove a criminal case in court. The vast majority of issuers opt to resolve a matter through – in recent years – an alterative resolution vehicle such as a non-prosecution agreement, deferred prosecution, etc.
FAT Brands (a global franchising company which currently owns 18 restaurant brands including Johnny Rockets, Fazoli’s, Ponderosa, and Bonanza Steakhouses) appears to be that rare company as the company (and various current or former executives) were recently civilly charged by the SEC and criminally charged by the DOJ. (See here and here).
The SEC charges include alleged violations of the FCPA’s books and records and internal controls provisions in yet another so-called non-FCPA, FCPA enforcement action.