Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a memo on May 19, 2025, announcing the DOJ’s establishment of the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative. The initiative will “utilize the False Claims Act to investigate and, as appropriate, pursue claims against any recipient of federal funds that knowingly violates federal civil rights laws.”
The memo discusses using the FCA specifically against recipients of federal funds including colleges, universities, and federal contractors that are “knowingly engaging in racist preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities, including through diversity, equity, and including (DEI) programs that assign benefits or burdens on race, ethnicity, or national origin.” As an example, the memo states that “a university that accepts federal funds could violate the False Claims Act when it encourages antisemitism, refuses to protect Jewish students, allows men to intrude into women’s bathrooms, or requires women to compete against men in athletic competitions.”
While the memo focuses primarily on colleges and universities, it also makes clear that federal contractors could become targets for investigation. Federal contractors should review their internal policies for compliance with civil rights laws as well as the Trump Administration’s recent Executive Orders, including Executive Order 14173 (Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity) which is specifically referenced in the memo.