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Consider another paradox of the post-COVID world: The pandemic that initially disrupted federal prosecution of corporations has now heightened potential exposure in a number of areas.

On Tuesday, April 5, 2022, a panel of former Securities and Exchange Commission officials and the current Director of the Fort Worth Regional Office share their thoughts on the SEC’s “unprecedented rulemaking”

As a strong signal that it intends to increase its focus on illicit crypto transactions, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced the creation of an enforcement team, the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (“NCET”), on October 6, 2021.

The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) recently announced a new Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative (the “Initiative”) that will use the False Claim Act (“FCA”) to pursue contractors and grant recipients that knowingly (1) provide deficient cybersecurity products or services, (2) misrepresent their cybersecurity practices or protocols, or (3) violate obligations to monitor and report cybersecurity incidents and breaches.

Nearly a year and a half after the passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”)¹ on March 27, 2020, the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (“SIGPR”) has ramped up and is investigating fraud related to the U.S. government’s pandemic relief efforts.

Two separate, recent lines of cases have continued to shape the circumstances under which insider trading prosecutions can be brought, and as a result, the insider trading compliance risks faced by companies. First, the Supreme Court recently denied certiorari in United States v. Kosinski, which held that it can be an insider trading violation for independent contractors to trade stocks based on information made available to them while subject to a confidentiality agreement.

A grand jury in Pennsylvania recently indicted the former Dean of Temple University’s business school, Dr. Moshe Porat, for wire fraud, alleging that he submitted false data to U.S. News & World Report in an effort to increase the ranking of Temple’s Fox Business School.

On May 28, 2021, President Biden submitted his Budget for Fiscal Year 2022 to Congress, including $35.3 billion for the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), which was an overall increase of almost $4 billion from the previous administration’s DOJ request for Fiscal Year 2021.

The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) was designed to stop hacking and other forms of cybercrime.

For federal contractors, the Contract Disputes Act (“CDA”)¹ can be a double-edged sword.

In his April 28, 2021 address, President Biden asked Congress to provide $80 billion of extra funding for the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) over the next decade.

On April 12, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Kenneth Polite Jr. as Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division at the Department of Justice (“DOJ”).