Uncertainty was a prominent theme at last week’s ABA White Collar Crime Institute. The Trump administration has issued a series of directives that seem to shift and narrow the scope of (if not entirely abandon) a host of traditional investigative and enforcement priorities. This has left companies and their counsel in the unfortunate position of trying to divine where they face the most risk of regulatory action with little clear guidance. However, the administration’s recent comments and priorities suggest that one federal statute in particular, the False Claims Act (“FCA”), is viewed as fertile ground for increased enforcement activity. In a shifting and murky regulatory landscape, the FCA might be the one statute whose increased enforcement is all but assured.
Shifting Enforcement Priorities
President Trump and his administration have taken several steps in recent months to shift or pause the efforts of the federal government’s regulatory agencies. These actions signal an attempt to roll back various enforcement priorities in the spirit of deregulation and instead get “back to basics” by focusing on fraud schemes that harm investors.1
On February 10, President Trump issued an executive order that mandated a 180-day pause on all Department of Justice investigations and enforcement actions under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), as well as a review of all existing investigations and actions to determine if they are outside the “proper bounds” of the statute.2...
Date: April 19, 2025 As Richmond County authorities continue to defend jailing a woman who was shot in the face, new details are emerging about the alleged violence and lies that put her behind ba...