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
In the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in United States ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources, Inc., three justices expressed concern that the False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions violate Article II of the Constitution and called for a case presenting that question. Justice Clarence Thomas penned a dissent explaining that private relators wield
The phrase “no good deed goes unpunished” represents the figurative irony that results when one seeking to help gets penalized instead. United States v. Moore, a recent decision from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, reflects the court’s concern that the expression had been interpreted as a literal directive by a prosecutor in
On September 9, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced settlements with seven public companies relating to their use of separation agreements that the SEC says violate whistleblower protection rules by preventing the employees from claiming any monetary reward for future whistleblowing. The companies agreed to pay over $3 million combined to settle the
In August, the 11th Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision to dismiss relator Bruce Jacobs’ qui tam action against JPMorgan Chase Bank (“JP Morgan”), and in doing so, held that blog posts constitute “news media” for purposes of the public disclosure bar. The relator alleged that JP Morgan forged the endorsement of Washington Mutual
Companies who submit healthcare claims to private payors, provide financial services to customers, interact with domestic or foreign public officials, or otherwise operate in highly regulated industries should take note that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has taken another significant step in its ongoing effort to encourage new whistleblowers with information about potential corporate criminal
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
The federal wire fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1343, is one of the commonly used statutes in federal white-collar criminal cases. In our digital age, nearly any significant fraud or scheme could probably be charged as a wire fraud. But even expansive statutes have limits, as the Supreme Court held last year in an important
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
As part of implementing a robust cybersecurity standard, we must understand how bad actors are intentionally targeting our older colleagues and loved ones. On April 30, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced charges against 16 defendants in connection with a scam that defrauded hundreds of elderly Americans out of millions of dollars. Just