A defendant’s knowledge of and subjective beliefs about the meaning of legal requirements—not what an objectively reasonable person may have believed—are what matters when determining whether a defendant “knowingly” submitted false claims for payment in violation of the False Claims Act, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 1, 2023.

As with past banking crises, the recent failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank will likely put the directors and officers of affected banking institutions in the proverbial crosshairs as regulators second-guess their decisions and look for potential sources of loss recovery.

The U.S. Department of Justice obtained more than $2.2 billion in civil False Claims Act judgments and settlements in fiscal year 2022, the lowest such annual total since 2008 and a significant drop from a jump in FCA recoveries in the prior year. But the DOJ’s announcement of its FY 2022 FYA recoveries also discloses that the DOJ is increasingly bringing FCA cases on its own, and the total number of settlements and judgments in FCA matters increased to near-record highs in FY 2022, signaling a robust enforcement climate ahead.

Perkins Coie partners Kevin Feldis, David Daniels, and Jamie Schafer offer environmental, social and governance corporate resolutions for the new year and highlight key action steps to take, starting with prioritizing ESG and conducting an assessment.

The financial institutions, thrust as emergency lenders into the middle of loan programs under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), will necessarily also be in the middle of government fraud investigations that Congress has made clear will follow.

The webinar examined recent events, beginning with the Terraform Labs cryptocurrency collapse and continuing to the downfall of various entities, including FTX Trading Ltd. and Silicon Valley Bank. Our panel of experts addressed key legal and regulatory issues relating to these events.

This presentation discusses the rules and requirements governing so-called “preliminary agreements” and provides practical advice on how to avoid traps for the unwary.