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Nkechi Kanu

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Nkechi A. Kanu is a counsel in the Washington, D.C. office of Crowell & Moring, where she is a member of the firm’s Government Contracts Group.

Nkechi’s practice focuses on False Claims Act investigations and litigation. Nkechi has significant experience assisting companies with complex internal investigations and represents clients in government investigations involving allegations of fraud. She also focuses on assisting clients with investigations relating to cybersecurity and information security compliance. Her complementary litigation practice involves defending companies in government-facing litigation arising under the FCA, resulting in the dismissal of qui tam complaints and successful settlements of FCA claims with DOJ.

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On March 22, 2022, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued a final rule requiring contracting officers to consider supplier risk assessments in DoD’s Supplier Performance Risk System (SPRS) when evaluating offers. SPRS is a DoD enterprise system that collects contractor quality and delivery performance data from a variety of systems to develop three risk assessments:…

2022 was a busy year for the False Claims Act.  While recoveries were down, new cases reached a record mark, and settlements addressed multiple important and developing enforcement areas, from cybersecurity to small business fraud, bid rigging, Trade Agreements Act compliance, pandemic fraud, and more.  Of particular note, the U.S. Supreme Court held argument concerning…

2021 was another busy year in False Claims Act enforcement and litigation. Significant decisions were issued across the circuits, spanning government dismissal authority, materiality, scienter, Rule 9(b) pleading standards, the Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause, and more. The year also saw proposed amendments introduced by Senator Chuck Grassley aimed at strengthening the statute and overruling …

Like many other aspects of the legal landscape, 2020 was defined by COVID-19 and emerging areas of exposure and enforcement to come related to pandemic relief funding. But 2020 also saw many other important FCA developments, from case law developments on materiality, causation, pleading requirements, bars to qui tam actions, and the government’s authority to…

Fresh off the heels of the DFARS Interim Rule, the Department of Defense (DoD) released Assessment Guides for Levels 1 – 3 of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC). These Guides will be used by Certified Assessors to determine whether contractors have satisfied the practices and processes required to attain CMMC certifications at…

This week’s episode covers Section 889, federal network security, and COVID fraud news and is hosted by partner Peter Eyre and counsel Nkechi Kanu. Crowell & Moring’s “Fastest 5 Minutes” is a biweekly podcast that provides a brief summary of significant government contracts legal and regulatory developments that no government contracts lawyer or executive should…

On April 21, 2020, the General Services Administration (GSA) Office of Governmentwide Policy, issued Class Deviation CD-2020-12, effective immediately, which sets forth implementation guidance for Section 3610 of the CARES Act and creates a new General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) contract clause.

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On April 8, 2020, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, Acting Principal Director, Defense Pricing and Contracting (DPC) issued Class Deviation 2020-O0013, effective immediately, establishing a new DFARS cost principle entitled DFARS 231.205-79, “CARES Act Section 3610 – Implementation,” which sets forth rules regarding applicability, allowability, and avoiding duplicate payments under Section…

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), passed by Congress today, offers relief specifically targeted to federal contractors whose employees (1) cannot perform work on a “site that has been approved by the Federal Government ” during the COVID-19 public health emergency due to facility closures or other restrictions and (2) cannot…

The third year of False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement under the Trump administration was defined by a number of notable settlements, the implementation of several policy changes announced last year concerning how the Department of Justice (DOJ) will pursue (and in some instances, dismiss) cases under the FCA, and a Supreme Court decision addressing the…