USA – TENNESSEE Trends and Developments Contributed by: Alex Little, Zack Lawson, Ted Canter and JR Glover, Litson PLLC
Litson PLLC 54 Music Square E
Suite 300 Nashville TN 37203 USA
Tel: +1 615 985-8205 Email: Info@litson.co Web: www.litson.co
The New Enforcement Calculus: How DOJ Priorities Are Reshaping White-Collar Prosecutions in Tennessee The federal government is going through a period of significant change. Experienced federal prosecutors and agents are retiring or facing reassignment. Law enforcement resources are shifting towards immigra - tion enforcement, violent crime, and cartel cases. The Department of Justice appears to be pulling back on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and public corruption prosecutions. So where does that leave white-collar enforcement in Tennessee? The answer is surprisingly straightforward: it contin - ues, but with sharper focus. The Department’s Crimi - nal Division has identified ten enforcement priorities. And despite the broader shifts in federal law enforce - ment, these priorities are already driving prosecu - tions across Tennessee. Healthcare fraud cases are increasing. COVID-19 fraud prosecutions will extend for years. And a new Trade Fraud Task Force is tar - geting importers with civil and criminal enforcement tools. For Tennessee companies and their counsel, the stakes remain high: multimillion-dollar penalties, prison sentences, and reputational harm that can outlast any criminal case. The government may be reorganising, but it has not retreated from white-collar enforcement. It has simply refocused. Understanding that focus – and the cases already demonstrating it – allows for better compliance decisions, smarter risk
assessment, and more informed choices about vol - untary disclosure. The Galeotti Memorandum details the DOJ’s new enforcement priorities In May 2025, the Department of Justice issued a mem - orandum outlining the Criminal Division’s enforcement priorities under the new administration. Authored by Matthew R Galeotti, who heads the division, the mem - orandum reaffirms the DOJ’s commitment to white- collar enforcement. The Criminal Division has distilled its enforcement focus into ten priority areas. Leading the list are waste, fraud, and abuse in government programmes – the healthcare fraud, programme fraud, and other schemes that drain public funds. Trade and customs fraud, including tariff evasion, comes next. The memorandum then addresses fraud perpetrated through variable interest entities, and Chinese-affiliated shell companies on US exchanges that funnel American capital into strategic Chinese industries with minimal investor protection. Traditional investor protection remains a priority, such as from Ponzi schemes, investment fraud, elder fraud, and other schemes that defraud American investors. National security threats occupy the fifth and sixth spots. These include sanctions violations by finan - cial institutions enabling cartels, transnational crimi - nal organisations, hostile nation-states, and terrorist groups, along with material support given to those same entities.
369 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook