Entries by Sheila A.G. Armbrust

17 07 '26

DOJ Ends 15-Year-Old Economic Espionage Case—With Prejudice

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In a surprising development, on July 13, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice dismissed with prejudice its landmark economic espionage prosecution against Pangang Group Company, Ltd. and its subsidiaries—a Chinese state-owned enterprise accused of stealing DuPont trade secrets for the benefit of the Chinese government. The dismissal came just one week after trial began, bringing to an end one of the longest-running and most consequential prosecutions under the Economic Espionage Act.

Although the case itself is over, its legal legacy remains. Over more than a decade of litigation, the prosecution produced significant rulings on service of process, foreign sovereign immunity, and the treatment of foreign state-owned enterprises under the Economic Espionage Act and the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. Those decisions, together with amendments to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 4 prompted by the litigation, will continue to shape future prosecutions.

05 05 '26

New Division Continues Time-Tested Model: DOJ’s National Fraud Enforcement Division Launches West Coast Health Care Fraud Strike Force

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In another signal that health care fraud enforcement remains a top priority for DOJ, on April 30, 2026, the newly created National Fraud Enforcement Division (the “Fraud Division”) announced the launch of the West Coast Health Care Fraud Strike Force, a multi-district initiative targeting health care fraud across the District of Arizona, the District of Nevada, and the Northern District of California. This expansion is consistent with the time-tested model of Main Justice-based health care matters that has existed since 2007. Like its predecessor strike forces, the West Coast Strike Force will use dedicated agent and prosecutorial resources in the region to combat schemes identified based on data analytics and traditional law enforcement techniques. This announcement is independently notable because it makes clear that while the Health Care Fraud Unit—rebranded as the Health Care Section of the new Fraud Division—is no longer part of the Criminal Division, it will continue with the same career leadership and approach to enforcement: use of data to expand prosecutorial pipelines, solicitation of whistleblowers, and aggressive pursuit of corporate and individual prosecutions.