On May 19, 2025, the US Department of Justice announced the establishment of the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, which 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.” Recipients of federal funds should take stock of their policies and practices relating to DEI and be prepared with a strategy to protect themselves from this new risk.
As explained in our May 22, 2025 LawFlash on the US Department of Justice’s establishment of the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, the False Claims Act (FCA) is the DOJ’s primary fraud enforcement tool. Per the May 19 memorandum announcing the new initiative, DOJ seeks to advance the use of the FCA as an enforcement tool to target “race- and sex- based preferences under the guise of so called ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (DEI) or ‘diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility’ (DEIA) that can violate the civil-rights laws of this Nation.”
The memo states that FCA liability “is implicated when a federal contractor or recipient of federal funds knowingly violates civil rights laws—including but not limited to Title IV, Title VI, and Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964—and falsely certifies compliance with such laws.” This statement is significant when considered in the light of President Trump’s Executive Order 14173 (Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity), which mandates that...
Norwalk dentist Nazneen Jaffri, DDS, resolved allegations she violated state/federal False Claims Act statutes by illegally paying a “patient recruiting” company. HARTFORD, Conn. — Norwalk dentist ...