On May 27, 2026, Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division announced his issuance of a memorandum titled “Accelerating Review and Enhancing Enforcement in Benefits Fraud Matters,” which was issued in connection with the president’s March 16, 2026 Executive Order titled “Establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.” The memorandum (the “Shumate Memo”) directs DOJ attorneys and Assistant U.S. Attorneys handling False Claims Act (“FCA”) cases to dramatically compress the timeline for investigating and making intervention decisions in qui tam actions alleging fraud against federally funded, state-administered benefits programs (“benefits fraud” cases). Below, we summarize the key provisions of the Shumate Memo and provide our analysis of the practical implications for companies that participate in the kinds of benefits programs that are likely covered by this new effort, such as Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Community Development Block Grants, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), among others.
The Shumate Memo reflects the administration’s continued prioritization of FCA enforcement, which produced record-breaking recoveries exceeding $6.8 billion in fiscal year 2025, the highest amount in a single year. Assistant Attorney General Shumate frames the new directive as a response to the “rise in fraudulent schemes” targeting federal benefits programs,...
Mr. Neugebauer's Pattern of Falsehoods Reinforce that He Cannot be Trusted to Oversee Fermi; His Gaining Control of the Company Would Jeopardize Shareholder Value Fermi Urges Shareholders to Return...