On December 28, 2025, media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, reported that the Department of Justice (DOJ) had begun investigating large private sector entities for their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices. Companies, including Alphabet’s Google and Verizon Communications, have reportedly received civil investigative demands (CIDs) from DOJ relating to DEI practices. To
In an announcement made earlier this month, the U.S. Treasury Department unveiled “a comprehensive audit of all contracts and task orders awarded under preference-based contracting, totaling approximately $9 billion in contract value across Treasury and its bureaus.” The Treasury Department added that “[t]he audit will examine potential misuse of the Small Business Administration’s [SBA] 8(a)
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently obtained several cybersecurity-related False Claims Act (FCA) settlements totaling more than $50 million dollars. Collectively, these settlements reflect a clear message: Cybersecurity is an enforcement priority for the second Trump administration, and any organization that contracts with the federal government is a potential target.
On June 6, 2025
In United States v. Mims, No. 22-13215, 2025 WL 1934570 (11th Cir., July 15, 2025), the Eleventh Circuit addressed a relatively straightforward question of first impression: “whether a district court continues to have jurisdiction in a criminal case to order compliance with unsatisfied restitution obligations after the defendant completes her probationary sentence.” In
Mandatory disclosure obligations significantly changed for federal grant recipients, sub-recipients, and applicants on October 1, 2024. The amended federal regulation establishing these mandatory disclosures (2 C.F.R. § 200.113) not only expands the scope of conduct that must be reported but it also lowers the standard of evidence triggering the mandatory disclosure. The regulation, which is
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed its first major complaint-in-intervention under the False Claims Act (FCA) premised on a government contractor’s alleged cybersecurity deficiencies since the DOJ’s Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative was launched in 2021. Its complaint accuses the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) of violating cybersecurity regulations while fulfilling $31 million of
In the latest example of the Roberts court reining in the government’s use of broadly worded criminal statutes, on June 26, 2024, the Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Snyder that the federal bribery statute does not extend to after-the-fact gifts and gratuities. The Court held that 18 U.S.C. § 666 requires a corrupt
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
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.
The FCA prohibits defendants from knowingly submitting false claims. That scienter standard is broader than just actual knowledge.