A flurry of federal prosecutorial activity in late 2024, as well as a statement from several institutional stakeholders in a key federal initiative to combat procurement fraud, provided a valuable reminder for government...more
The re-election of former President Donald J. Trump is poised to significantly alter the landscape of antitrust enforcement, particularly within the energy and chemical industries. While the incoming administration has yet to...more
The Department of Justice recently celebrated the fifth anniversary of its Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF), and all signs point to the PCSF continuing to be a Division priority into 2025 and beyond....more
The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruling that limits the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) ability to bring criminal charges for antitrust violations to stand. On November 12,...more
On January 17, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice announced that it had obtained another in a recent string of guilty pleas as a result of investigations into government contracting by the Procurement...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF, or Strike Force) celebrates its third anniversary this month. Formed in November 2019 as an interagency partnership consisting of DOJ’s antitrust...more
Continuing its prolific run of indictments, guilty pleas, and convictions, on July 13, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF or Strike Force) secured a guilty plea from a Texas...more
The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division has had a rough year in the criminal arena. While the Antitrust Division has aggressively blocked several proposed mergers, it has lost several significant criminal cases. ...more
Procurement Collusion Strike Force - The Procurement Collusion Strike Force, formed by the Department of Justice in 2019, is ramping up enforcement pressures against government contractors. The Strike Force brings together...more
On June 7, 2021, as part of the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) continuing commitment to prosecuting cases where the government is a victim, a government contractor pleaded guilty to one count of bid-rigging and one count of...more
The Antitrust Division has pushed bid-rigging and price-fixing prosecutions of government contractors. It is long overdue – fraud enforcement has uncovered a number of bid-rigging and price-fixing schemes among government...more
Compliance Today (February 2021) - The U.S. Department of Justice announced the addition of 11 new members to the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF), created to combat collusion, antitrust crimes, and related...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has a renewed focus on government contracting and, more specifically, anti-competitive behavior in federal procurement. As mentioned in a prior blog post, the DOJ's Antitrust Division...more
As if over-reaching under the False Claims Act wasn’t bad enough, government contractors will now be subject to a new area of investigation. On November 5, 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice announced its new Procurement...more
On Nov. 5, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it is forming a government procurement collusion strike force (Strike Force). ...more
Government contractors should be aware that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is taking new steps to scrutinize public procurement. The DOJ Antitrust Division’s creation of the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF) means...more
The Justice Department announced this week the formation of a new Procurement Collusion Strike Force, which will focus on “deterring, detecting, investigating and prosecuting antitrust crimes, such as bid-rigging conspiracies...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division announced three new investigations and several developments in its other investigations, including new investigations in the commercial flooring industry, online auctions for...more
Companies involved in the government contracting industry should take note that the government is honing in on anticompetitive conduct affecting government procurements. The federal government has demonstrated an increased...more