Effective August 1, the penalty range for violations under the civil False Claims Act nearly doubled, pursuant to a Department of Justice interim final rule published on June 30th. In a “Feature Comment” published in The Government Contractor, C&M attorneys analyze how the dramatic increase in FCA penalties impacts the landscape of litigation. The article… Continue Reading
On April 12, the DOJ and FTC issued a joint statement titled “Preserving Competition in the Defense Industry,” which reiterates the analytical framework for reviewing defense industry mergers and acquisitions set forth in the DOJ/FTC 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines, and emphasizes that the antitrust agencies will continue to give substantial weight to the DOD’s own internal assessment of such… Continue Reading
In a series of posts (Part 1), I’m examining the Department of Justice’s annual Summary of False Claims Act cases and recoveries to see what these statistics might reveal about FCA enforcement trends. In the first post, we looked at the rising number of new FCA matters that were filed last year. But who gets… Continue Reading
Less than a week before most people departed for December holidays, the Department of Justice posted to its website its annual summary of False Claims Act matters and recoveries. Among other data points, the FY 2012 summary reports the number of new FCA “matters” that were filed or opened, both by qui tam relators and… Continue Reading
In a June 2012 audit report, the Department of Justice Inspector General notes widespread problems with DOJ’s administration of two types of statutory debarments. The lengthy report, along with the responses from various DOJ divisions, highlight the continued attention being paid to suspension and debarment by federal agencies and the significant efforts being made to… Continue Reading
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder recently issued a DOJ-wide memorandum urging federal government attorneys to coordinate when conducting parallel civil, criminal, regulatory and administrative proceedings. Holder wrote that parallel criminal and civil investigations would deter future offenses and maintain program integrity, while also acting to “secure the full range of the government’s remedies (including incarceration,… Continue Reading
