On May 22, the Supreme Court in Kousisis, et al., v. United States, affirmed the convictions of a painting subcontractor and its owner (defendants) under the federal wire fraud statute for conspiring to defraud the Department...more
6/9/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Construction Project ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
DBE Program ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Fraud ,
Government Investigations ,
Kousisis v United States ,
SCOTUS ,
Subcontractors ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wire Fraud
On May 19, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the launch of a Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, which will use the False Claims Act (FCA) as a basis for investigating the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)...more
5/23/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Colleges ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Funding ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Title IV ,
Universities ,
Whistleblowers
On May 12, 2025, the Head of the Criminal Division (the Criminal Division or Division) at the Department of Justice (DOJ), Matthew R. Galeotti, issued key memoranda to Criminal Division personnel on the Division’s new...more
5/15/2025
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Financial Crimes ,
Fraud ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Trump Administration ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
On April 25, Attorney General (AG) Pam Bondi issued an internal memorandum to Department of Justice (DOJ) employees, changing the DOJ’s policy on obtaining information from, or records of, members of the news media. Under...more
With the Trump administration’s new tariffs, some companies may be looking for ways to compensate for increased costs of imports. Companies operating in the international supply chain must be aware that any attempts to...more
4/22/2025
/ China ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Goods or Services ,
Imports ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
On February 10, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order and accompanying fact sheet directing U.S. Attorney General (AG) Pam Bondi to pause the initiation of new investigations and enforcement actions, and to...more
2/18/2025
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Cooperative Compliance Regime ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Freeze ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trump Administration ,
Whistleblowers
On October 24, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania issued a pivotal ruling regarding the public release of investigatory grand jury reports and the due process rights of individuals named in such reports but not charged with...more
United States ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources, Inc. (S. Ct. June 16, 2023) -
The vast majority of False Claims Act cases are initiated by private parties, known as relators, not the government. In fact,...more
6/28/2023
/ Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EHR ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
FRCP 41 ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Medicare ,
Qui Tam ,
Relators ,
SCOTUS ,
United States ex rel Polansky v Executive Health Resources Inc
On April 21, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the convictions of a painting subcontractor and its owner (defendants) under the federal wire fraud statute for conspiring to defraud the Department of Transportation...more
4/26/2023
/ Construction Industry ,
Construction Project ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
DBE Program ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Funding ,
Goods or Services ,
Infrastructure ,
Subcontractors ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wire Fraud
On the heels of a speech delivered by Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Lisa Monaco to NYU Law School on September 15, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a memorandum and announced further revisions to its existing corporate...more
There are many concerns that can keep private equity (PE) firms’ management teams up at night. Economic headwinds, geopolitical instability, and supply chain problems can change the fortunes of a PE firm and its portfolio...more
On March 2, Ericsson, the Swedish networking and telecommunications company, reported that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has accused the company of violating its 2019 Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) by failing to...more
In a highly watched case relating to the ability of pharmaceutical manufacturers to support patient copay assistance, the Southern District of New York recently denied Pfizer’s request for a declaratory judgment that two...more
A judge in the District of Massachusetts recently questioned whether Congress intended to criminalize off-label promotion through misbranding and adulteration statutes. In an order denying a Rule 29 motion brought by two...more
9/17/2020
/ Criminalization ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Medical Devices ,
Misbranding ,
Off-Label Promotion ,
Off-Label Use ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Strict Liability ,
White Collar Crimes
On May 21, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI’s) Cyber Division released an FBI Flash warning recipients that nation-state cyber actors are targeting domestic universities, research institutes and private companies...more
6/12/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Espionage ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
FBI ,
Homeland Security Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) ,
Life Sciences ,
Research and Development ,
Vulnerability Assessments
As restrictions tighten in counties and states across the country, many businesses are having to decide whether they can continue to operate. In New York, only “essential businesses” may remain open. In Pennsylvania, only...more
Before the government decides whether to intervene in a qui tam action, it is obligated by statute to investigate a whistleblower’s allegations. See 31 U.S.C §?3730(a). But, in the course of that investigation, may the...more
3/5/2020
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Audio Recording ,
Discovery ,
Distributors ,
Evidence ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Government Investigations ,
Internal Communications ,
Intervening Acts ,
Kickbacks ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Physicians ,
Qui Tam ,
Rules of Professional Conduct ,
Secret Recordings ,
Statutory Violations ,
Whistleblowers
On September 9, in a setback for AseraCare but an overall win for hospice providers, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a Northern District of Alabama decision to grant a new trial in a False Claims Act (FCA) case against...more
9/13/2019
/ Bifurcation ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Expert Witness ,
False Billing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Hospice ,
Insurance Fraud ,
Life Sciences ,
Medicare ,
Objective Falsity ,
Physician Medicare Reimbursements ,
Physicians ,
Professional Liability ,
Remand ,
Scienter ,
Statistical Analysis ,
Sua Sponte ,
Terminal Illness Treatments ,
Whistleblowers
On August 6, the U.K. Serious Fraud Office (SFO) issued new guidance formalizing its policy on corporate cooperation. Although the SFO makes no promises, the new policy serves as a useful road map for any company attempting...more
On June 18, the Third Circuit affirmed a District of Delaware decision dismissing a False Claims Act (FCA) case against Medco Health Solutions, Inc. because the relator was not an original source of the information underlying...more
In an unanimous decision in Cochise Consultancy, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Hunt, the U.S. Supreme Court settled a circuit split and gave qui tam relators more time to file actions alleging violations of the False Claims...more
6/11/2019
/ Appeals ,
Cochise Consultancy Inc v United States ex rel Hunt ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
First-to-File ,
Government Officials ,
Intervenors ,
Oral Argument ,
Qui Tam ,
Relators ,
SCOTUS ,
Split of Authority ,
Statute of Limitations
Bribery and corruption have long plagued the construction industry, particularly in emerging markets in Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. ...more
5/13/2019
/ Books & Records ,
Bribery ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Project ,
Contractors ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
FCPA Guidance ,
Internal Controls ,
Kickbacks ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
The Northern District of Illinois is the latest court to grant a defendant’s motion to dismiss in a False Claims Act (FCA) case, after the relator failed to meet the substantial pleading burden established in the U.S. Supreme...more
3/22/2019
/ False Billing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
FRCP 9(b) ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Hospira ,
Materiality ,
Medical Devices ,
Medicare ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Pfizer ,
Relators ,
Universal Health Services Inc v United States ex rel Escobar
Imagine you are representing an individual who has been subpoenaed for testimony as part of the government’s investigation of her employer. ...more
On December 17, the U.S. Department of Justice, in an unprecedented application of its statutory authority under section 3730(c)(2)(A) of the False Claims Act, moved to dismiss 11 qui tam complaints pending in district courts...more
12/20/2018
/ Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Government Investigations ,
Health Care Providers ,
Kickbacks ,
Medical Reimbursement ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Qui Tam ,
White Collar Crimes