The annual False Claims Act (FCA) recovery statistics issued by the U.S. Department of Justice for Fiscal Year 2024, coupled with the Trump administration’s focus on the elimination of waste, fraud, and abuse in government spending and apparent intentions to rely on the FCA to pursue other administration priorities, signal a likely increase in FCA investigations and actions throughout 2025 and beyond.

On February 25, 2025, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) released an Enforcement Advisory (The Advisory) outlining concrete guidelines for self-reporting, cooperation, and remediation. The Advisory provides explicit guidance to companies and individuals on how to receive credits against civil penalties by self-reporting and cooperating with Commission investigations.

In Cunningham v. Cornell University, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected efforts by plan fiduciary defendants, previously endorsed by several courts of appeals, to require plaintiffs to allege more than the mere existence of a contract with a service provider to withstand early motions to dismiss prohibited transaction claims in excessive fee lawsuits. The decision appears likely to lead to increased litigation, and plan fiduciaries should review their processes and procedures to ensure plans are only paying reasonable fees for necessary services.