Photo of Kip Randall

Kip Randall

A former Army officer, Kip now helps corporate and individual clients navigate government investigations. Kip counsels clients through investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); Internal Revenue Service (IRS); Department of Justice (DOJ), including allegations of antitrust and False Claims Act violations; and state attorneys general. As a member of the eDiscovery Solutions group, Kip works at the intersection of eDiscovery and Government Investigations.

Contact:Read more about Kip Randall
US Department of Justice Sign

The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) recently released its 2025 statistics for federal False Claims Act cases. With settlements and judgments exceeding $6.8 billion last year, DOJ’s report shows that the False Claims Act (“FCA”) remains one of DOJ’s most potent and frequently-used investigation tools. The annual report also suggests that, after a year of change and turnover that touched virtually every corner and level at DOJ, the coming year will most certainly feature a historically high volume of FCA cases. Recipients of federal funds in the healthcare industry, federal contractors, and grant recipients should pay careful attention to every claim for payment or compliance certification submitted to any federal authority.

2025 has been a landmark year for False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement, marked by record-breaking settlements, evolving legal theories, and a broadening scope of government priorities. The FCA remains one of the federal government’s most potent tools for combating fraud, with billions recovered annually and an ever-expanding reach into new sectors and compliance areas. This roundup synthesizes the year’s most significant developments—drawing on recent case law and shifting enforcement priorities—and provides actionable insights for businesses navigating the FCA landscape.

Stark cloudy weather over empty exterior view of the US Capitol

2025 marked another notable year in State Attorneys General (AG) enforcement, with both a sharp uptick in multistate AG actions filed against the federal government and significant actions targeting the private sector across industries. We will highlight two issue areas here—antitrust and consumer protection—and describe the escalating friction between State AGs and the federal government as well as distill this year’s trends into actionable takeaways for businesses as we enter 2026.

On December 11, Matt Diehr, Kyle Gilster, and Rebecca Furdek presented this month’s session in Husch Blackwell’s Government Enforcement, Compliance & Investigations webinar series. They highlighted the capabilities of the firm’s State Attorney’s General practice through a robust discussion about trends in multistate litigation. The presentation focused on enforcement trends in consumer…

US Department of Justice Sign

This year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) increased its focus on white-collar crime enforcement in some areas, prioritized new areas, and shifted resources away from others. Many of these changes are reflected in Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti’s May 12, 2025, memorandum to the DOJ’s Criminal Division (Galeotti Memo), which highlighted 10 high-impact areas of white-collar crime for enforcement:[1]

Columns at courthouse entrance

Recent Decisions Signal Growing Minority on Challenges to False Claims Act Constitutionality.

Background

The False Claims Act (“FCA”)’s qui tam provisions—which empower private litigants, known as “relators,” to prosecute claims on the Government’s behalf—continue to face constitutional scrutiny, with recent judicial opinions reviving concerns over whether the provisions violate Article II of the U.S. Constitution. As these challenges gain traction, qui tam defendants should be aware of the evolving legal landscape and the potential implications for FCA defense strategies.

On November 12, 2025, Wendy Arends and Mark Tobey presented the latest session in Husch Blackwell’s Government Enforcement, Compliance & Investigations webinar series. They discussed current updates in antitrust enforcement in detail. Covering federal and state merger enforcement first—one key takeaway at the federal level, the agencies continue to take HSR and Second Request compliance…

On October 2, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas stayed Commodity Futures Trading Commission, et al. v. TMTE Inc., et al., a case with potentially consequential implications for the commodities and derivatives markets. As we discussed in our prior update, this $185 million fraud suit was filed against two California precious metals dealers by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and 30 state regulators. In July, the Court denied summary judgment to both parties. The most significant holding from that order was the finding that gold and silver are not commodities under Section 1 of the CFTC’s enacting statute, the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA).

On October 16, 2025, Jonathan Porter and I presented the second webinar in our Government Enforcement, Compliance & Investigations series—our topic: the False Claims Act (FCA). To provide background, we explained the framework of the FCA, how investigations are triggered, and notable recent FCA decisions. Then, for the second half of the hour, we discussed…

Washington, D.C., USA- January13, 2020: Sign of The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) at its headquarters in Washington, an agency of the US government.

Within the Government Enforcement, Compliance & Investigations Report, we plan to bring you periodic updates from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). In this first one, we are excited to announce a new addition to our team (and co-author of this post)—Jeff Le Riche. Jeff joins us after 20 years with the CFTC. We are thrilled to have him on board.

Now on to our updates from the CFTC.