Earlier this month, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) released its statistics on civil fraud enforcement actions for the 2021 fiscal year (which ended September 30, 2021). In total, DOJ hauled in more than $5.6 billion in judgments and settlements from
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The Defend Trade Secrets Act’s Five-Year Review
By Ben Sandlin & Steven Block
In the spirit of the new year, we offer a review of the first five years of the Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”). The DTSA, 18 U.S.C. § 1831 et seq., was signed into law on May 16, 2016. It…
SEC Signals Shift to Aggressive Enforcement Policy
In October, the annual “SEC Speaks” event took place, where the SEC Chair, Commissioners, senior leaders and other staff provided public remarks and updates on the initiatives and priorities of the agency. One of the speeches was given by Gurbir…
It’s All About Authorization Under The CFAA
On June 3, 2021, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Van Buren v. United States, Case No. 19-783. Van Buren is a former police sergeant from Georgia. Relevant to the case, Van Buren accepted money to use his patrol…
Seventh Circuit Holds A Search Warrant Is Not Needed for Government Surveillance of IP Addresses
On September 8, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit released an opinion that rejected a defendant’s Fourth Amendment challenge to the government’s use of pen registers to obtain data for a single internet protocol (“IP”) address…
Tainted Love: The Pull and Push Between the Government’s Use of Taint Teams and the Judiciary’s Restrictions on Them
On May 17, 2021, we discussed the reality that lawyers – namely, Rudy Giuliani – are not immune from searches by federal agents. In that post, we touched on the Department of Justice’s use of “taint teams,” lawyers and…
False Claims Act and PPP Fraud: When Will the Other Shoe Drop?
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic—and thus nearly a year and a half ago—the federal government implemented a massive stimulus program to prop up the economy. A key component of that stimulus was the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The…
The Best Defense is a Good Offense: FIFA Defendants Seek Cellphone Records from Star Government Cooperator
By Joe Barton & Steven Block
Two former television executives ensnared in the latest salvo of the long-running FIFA corruption scandal have petitioned the Eastern District of New York for an opportunity to review cellphone evidence from a government cooperating witness that might have been languishing…
The Corporate Transparency Act: Congress Attempts to Stop the Shell Game
On January 1, 2021, Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. Included among its provisions is the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), which, in short, requires qualifying businesses to disclose so-called “beneficial owners.” The purpose undoubtedly is…
Government Report Paints Bleak Picture of Impact of COVID-19 on Nursing Homes – and Portends Future Investigations
On June 22, 2021, the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (OIG-HHS) released a comprehensive report on the impact of COVID-19 on Medicare beneficiaries residing in nursing homes for 2020. While the…