Alston & Bird Government Contracts Blog

False Claims Act (FCA)

Department of Defense Suspends the CMMC Pilot Program And CMMC Requirements In DoD Solicitations Pending Major Changes For CMMC 2.0

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The Department of Defense (DoD) recently announced it will be revamping the nascent Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program pending two separate rulemaking processes.  As detailed below, the DoD will be updating “the program structure and the requirements to streamline and improve implementation of the CMMC program.”  We will be monitoring the rulemaking process for more details as they are known.  However, the primary short-term takeaway is that until the rulemaking process is complete, the DoD is suspending the CMMC Pilot Program and will not include CMMC requirements [...]Read more

In the Aftermath of the Granston Memo, the DOJ Addresses (Some of) Grassley’s Concerns

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As previously discussed in a Law360 article by Jeffrey Belkin, the DOJ’s Granston memo, dated January 10, 2018, “advised DOJ attorneys that, in tandem with their decisions to decline intervention in qui tam suits, they should consider proactively seeking dismissal under 31 U.S.C. § 3730(c)(2)(A).” On September 4, 2019, Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) wrote to Attorney General William Barr expressing his concerns about the DOJ’s implementation of the Granston memo, a topic that we noted Grassley had previewed during Barr’s confirmation hearing. While recognizing the government should [...]Read more

DOJ Antitrust “Strike Force” Will Crack Down on Collusive Bidding and Procurement Fraud

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On November 5, 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the formation of a new Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF) to prosecute collusive bidding and procurement fraud in government contracting. According to Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, the PCSF “will target bid-rigging and other antitrust crimes that can cost American taxpayers billions of dollars each year by undermining the federal government’s processes for purchasing goods and services and for money granted to states and municipalities to undertake large, high-dollar-figure public improvement projects.” The PCSF will [...]Read more

DOJ Affirms Cooperation Principles in Government Contract Fraud Investigations

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Those of us who have had more than a few discussions with the Civil Fraud Section of the Department of Justice (DOJ) over the years about federal procurement and grant fraud have come away with a clear enough understanding of a few basic principles of cooperation. First, while it is cliché to say that the “multiple” on single damages that the DOJ might demand in settlement of a civil False Claims Act (FCA) case varies depending on the circumstances, the general understanding is that if a defendant settles at or before the time the DOJ must file its complaint, then the DOJ may be more willing [...]Read more

Will DOJ’s False Claims Act ‘Voluntary’ Dismissals Accelerate Under Attorney General Barr?

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It has been a few months since the 2015 “Yates Memo” was updated by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s announcement in late November 2018, as reflected by our colleagues in our White Collar Group.  While the principles behind the earlier policy were laudable – objectionable behavior will be deterred better when individual managers are at risk of criminal liability and financial ruin – the revised policy may not have had a sufficient time “in force” to result in actual behavioral modification.  At least from our vantage point of the government contracts industry.  Keep in [...]Read more