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Erin Sullivan has years of experience representing corporate and individual clients involved in investigations, prosecutions, and civil enforcement actions by federal and state government entities. She routinely conducts internal investigations, whether prompted by an existing government investigation or initiated internally for business or compliance reasons.

In November 2023, during her keynote address at the American Conference Institute’s international conference on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division Nicole Argentieri announced that the Fraud Section of the Department of Justice (DOJ) intended to be more active in generating FCPA investigations and prosecutions. Rather than

The United States Sentencing Commission recently adopted amendments to its Guidelines Manual, and they include some noteworthy changes. The proposed amendments were submitted to Congress on April 27, 2023. Absent Congressional action to the contrary, they will become effective on November 1, 2023.

Of note, the proposed amendments include the addition of Section 4C1.1 –

On Friday, July 21, 2023, DOJ announced it has reached a $377,453,150 settlement with Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (Booz Allen), the parent company of Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc., the large government and military contractor that also has commercial and international customers. DOJ alleged that Booz Allen violated the False Claims Act by “improperly billing

We are less than one year out from the effective date (January 1, 2024) of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting rule, and key details about the rule remain unclear. The rule requires most domestic and foreign companies to report their beneficial owners to FinCEN, but the

Earlier this month, DOJ updated its Corporate Enforcement Policy (CEP). Aimed at encouraging companies to voluntarily disclose unlawful conduct, the updated CEP gives greater opportunities to companies to avoid charges altogether or to get more cooperation credit.

First Significant Changes in Over Five Years

On January 17, 2023, DOJ announced what Assistant Attorney General Kenneth

In what may lead to the biggest FCA opinion in recent history, the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this month agreed to consider two cases addressing the necessary state of mind (i.e., “scienter”) to violate the FCA.

Background

The FCA prohibits defendants from knowingly submitting false claims. That scienter standard is broader than just actual knowledge.

The Eighth Circuit split with the Third Circuit over the appropriate causation standard in False Claims Act (FCA) cases involving alleged violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS), holding that the 2010 amendments to the AKS created a “but-for causal requirement” (United States ex rel. Cairns v. D.S. Medical, LLC).

In 2010, Congress amended