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Subject to Inquiry

THE LATEST ON GOVERNMENT INQUIRIES AND ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

Government Investigations and White Collar Litigation Group

Edwin O. Childs

Photo of Edwin O. Childs As a leader of the firm’s Defense, National Security and Government Contracting industry team, Ned Childs is a government contract and investigations and enforcement attorney who represents companies across a wide range of sectors, including the defense, services, technology, and aerospace industries.

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Analysis of DOJ’s 2021 FCA Statistics and the Trends Therein

By Michael J. Podberesky, David Pivnick, Edwin O. Childs, Laura Colombell Marshall and McGuireWoods LLP on Fraud, Deception and False Claims
Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ or Department) announced that it recovered over $5.6 billion under the False Claims Act (FCA) in Fiscal Year 2021.[1] That is a massive headline haul that is second only to the roughly $6 billion recovered under the FCA in FY 2014, when there were $3.1 billion in… Continue Reading

What Significant Russian Sanctions Could Look Like, and How to Prepare

By Alex J. Brackett, Patrick Rowan and Edwin O. Childs on Sanctions, Trade Embargo, and Export Controls
RELATED UPDATES: New Revelations in Ukraine Lead to Tightening Global Sanctions (April 8, 2022) Western Companies Starting to Feel Impact of Russian Sanctions (March 24, 2022) FinCEN Encourages “Increased Vigilance” and Highlights Red Flags for Evasion of Russian Sanctions including Use of Virtual Currency (March 16, 2022) DOJ Launches “Task Force KleptoCapture” in Response to… Continue Reading

CMMC 2.0: Department of Defense Revamps Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Program

By Edwin O. Childs, Abram J. Pafford, Todd R. Steggerda, Jason M. Vespoli and McGuireWoods LLP on Government Contracts
On November 4, 2021, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced significant changes to the strategic direction of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program.  Specifically, DoD stated that the goal of these changes is to simplify the CMMC standard and prioritize the protection of certain types of controlled defense information.  After a nine-month internal review by the… Continue Reading

Department of Justice Announces National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team

By Jason H. Cowley, Edwin O. Childs, R. Andrew Austria and McGuireWoods LLP on Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Financial Institution Regulation
On October 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its plans for increased scrutiny of the cryptocurrency market with the creation of a National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) to pursue criminal investigations and actions against cryptocurrency misuse. The NCET will focus on “crimes committed by virtual currency exchanges, mixing and tumbling services, and… Continue Reading

Department of Justice Announces Increased FCA Enforcement Through New Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative

By Abram J. Pafford, Jason M. Vespoli, Michael J. Podberesky, R. Andrew Austria, Andrew Konia, Edwin O. Childs and McGuireWoods LLP on Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Fraud, Deception and False Claims
On October 6, 2021, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a new Civil Fraud Cyber Initiative to “combine the department’s expertise in civil fraud enforcement, government procurement and cybersecurity to combat new and emerging cyber threats to the security of sensitive information and critical systems.”… Continue Reading

President Biden Announces Findings of Critical Supply Chain Assessment

By Edwin O. Childs, Abram J. Pafford, Todd R. Steggerda, Jason M. Vespoli and McGuireWoods LLP on Government Contracts
On June 8, the White House released the findings of a 100-day assessment of critical supply chains, identifying actions needed to bolster domestic manufacturing of critical goods, reduce dependence on foreign nations for supply chain needs, create jobs and address unfair trade practices. For highlights of the report detailing structural weaknesses in supply chains for… Continue Reading

Biden Administration Orders Improvements to Cybersecurity and Federal Networks Amid Cyberattacks

By Jason M. Vespoli, Abram J. Pafford, Edwin O. Childs, Anne S. Peterson and Andrew Konia on Government Contracts
On May 12, President Biden signed an executive order mandating that the federal government significantly improve cybersecurity within its networks and modernize federal cyber defenses. This move follows a series of cyberattacks on private companies and federal government networks over the past year, including a recent incident that resulted in gasoline shortages along the U.S.… Continue Reading

Biden Administration Orders $15 Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors

By Edwin O. Childs, David Greenspan, Abram J. Pafford, Todd R. Steggerda, Jason M. Vespoli and Daniel C. Masakayan on Government Contracts
On April 27, 2021, President Biden signed an Executive Order (EO) requiring federal contractors performing service, construction or concession contracts to pay a $15 minimum wage to those employees who are working on such contracts. As noted in the White House Fact Sheet, this EO will build on Executive Order 13658 (signed in February 2014), under which the government… Continue Reading

Biden Administration Orders Comprehensive Review of U.S. Supply Chain

By Edwin O. Childs, Alex J. Brackett, Patrick Rowan, Abram J. Pafford, Todd R. Steggerda and Jason M. Vespoli on Government Contracts
On Feb. 24, 2021, President Joe Biden signed an executive order (EO) triggering a comprehensive review of U.S. supply chains, ordering agencies to identify ways to secure the American economy against shortages of critical and essential goods. As noted by the White House, this EO requires federal agencies to conduct a two-phase review of U.S. supply chains. First,… Continue Reading

Ask Those Questions: Federal Circuit Highlights Required Step for GAO Protesters Seeking Relaxed Automatic Stay Deadline in DOD Procurements

By Abram J. Pafford, Todd R. Steggerda and Edwin O. Childs on Government Contracts
Disappointed government contractors and their legal counsel weigh the benefits of filing bid protests at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) versus the Court of Federal Claims (COFC). One of the key benefits to filing a protest with the GAO is that, under the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) automatic stay provision, a GAO protester who… Continue Reading

The DFARS Rule on Covered Telecommunications Equipment or Services Is Final

By Edwin O. Childs, Abram J. Pafford and Jason M. Vespoli on Compliance, Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Government Contracts
The Department of Defense (DoD) issued a final rule on Covered Telecommunications Equipment or Services that implements Section 1656 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 (Pub. L. 115-91). To read more of our analysis, please click here.… Continue Reading

Biden Administration to Strengthen “Buy American” Rules

By Edwin O. Childs, Abram J. Pafford and Jason M. Vespoli on Government Contracts
On Jan. 25, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden signed an executive order aimed at strengthening “Buy American” rules to increase the federal government’s procurement of American-made goods. According to the White House, this order makes several significant changes to the implementation of the laws requiring federal government agencies to procure materials and products domestically. Click here to continue… Continue Reading

Positive FCA Enforcement Trend for Defense Contractors: DOJ Reaffirms Commitment to Exercise Statutory Authority to Dismiss

By Edwin O. Childs, Christina Egan, Todd R. Steggerda and McGuireWoods LLP on Compliance
Following recent changes to Department of Justice policy regarding individual accountability in government investigations of corporate wrongdoing, DOJ has recently further demonstrated its willingness to consider a flexible approach in applying the False Claims Act. In a January 28, 2019 speech by Deputy Associate Attorney General Stephen Cox to the 2019 Advanced Forum on False Claims… Continue Reading

Effective November 3, 2016: Final DoD Cyber Incident Reporting Rule

By Edwin O. Childs and Government Investigations Group on Compliance
On Tuesday, October 4, 2016, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued a long-awaited final rule implementing statutory requirements (10 U.S.C. §§ 391, 393) as part of 32 C.F.R part 236 regarding the reporting, by defense contractors, of certain cyber incidents relating to the contractor’s electronic systems.  These reporting requirements are above and beyond what contractors… Continue Reading

Iran Sanctions and the Implementation of the JCPOA: Lots of Changes, but Little Impact on U.S. Businesses?

By Patrick Rowan, Alex J. Brackett and Edwin O. Childs on Compliance, Sanctions, Trade Embargo, and Export Controls
In recent days, the news has been full of stories referring to the “end” or “lifting” of U.S. sanctions against Iran, actions that were taken after the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed on January 16, 2016, that Iran has met its obligations under the July 14, 2015, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in connection… Continue Reading

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