In white-collar criminal cases, forfeiture is one of the most consequential sentencing components, yet it remains overlooked and misunderstood by practitioners. The U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit’s recent decision in United States v. Ng Chong Hwa demonstrates why a thorough understanding of forfeiture is essential.
State Attorneys General 2025 Enforcement Landscape: What Companies Need to Know
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.
Are Qui Tams Unconstitutional? The Latest on the Zafirov Case
We just released Episode 34 of the False Claims Act Insights podcast where I had a great conversation with Jody Rudman about the new Zafirov oral argument into whether qui tams are unconstitutional. We discuss how the role of whistleblowers in the False Claims Act is unique among government whistleblower rewards programs, in that False
Government Enforcement, Compliance & Investigations Webinar Series: Trends in State Attorneys General Multistate Litigation
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
DOJ’s 2025 Enforcement Landscape: What Companies Need to Know
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]
Understanding HIPAA Disclosures When Responding to CIDs in FCA Investigations
In Episode 33 of False Claims Act Insights, Claire Postman and I tackle a critical challenge for healthcare providers: balancing HIPAA compliance with civil investigative demands (CIDs) in False Claims Act investigations. Claire explains HIPAA’s general prohibition on disclosing protected health information and the key exceptions that permit disclosure when required by law, such as
In a Pending District Court Case, the Definition of a Commodity is at Stake
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).
Unraveling the DOJ Tax Division: What Its Dissolution Means for Tax Enforcement
Since 1934, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) Tax Division has been responsible for handling both DOJ’s civil and criminal tax enforcement. The Tax Division works with the IRS to oversee criminal investigations and the prosecution of tax crimes (supervising and coordinating with local United States Attorneys) and engage in civil enforcement activities including
DOJ’s Revised Corporate Enforcement Policy in Action
On May 12, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced revisions to its Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy (CEP). As stated by Matthew Galeotti, head of the DOJ’s Criminal Division, the purpose of the revised CEP is to incentivize companies to “come forward, come clean, reform, and cooperate with the government in efficient investigations
Be Careful What You Search For
As two defendants in an alleged cryptocurrency fraud case are finding out, what you search for on the internet could find its way into the courtroom and be used against you. The use of internet search history as evidence in federal criminal cases is relatively new. In this case, prosecutors are seeking to introduce defendants’ post-trade internet searches as evidence of fraudulent intent. Their searches allegedly ranged from “top crypto law firms” and “wire fraud statute” to “can your device be searched without a lawyer” and “crypto theft deductible.”
The critical question: should internet search history be admissible as evidence at trial? The answer is far from simple. Defendants generally have moved to exclude them, and the arguments for and against exclusion highlight the complex interplay between relevance, prejudice, ambiguity, and privilege.