The First Prediction Market Insider Trading Case: SDNY and CFTC Test the Limits of Fraud and Commodities Law
On April 23, 2026, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (“SDNY”) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) announced parallel criminal and civil actions against a U.S. Army service member accused of using classified military information about a planned operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to place profitable trades on Polymarket, a prediction market platform. The case, the first to apply traditional insider trading and fraud theories to prediction markets, signals a shift in how the government will regulate this emerging market. In response to this news, companies should consider reviewing company policies on insider trading and compliance to address prediction markets and the use of confidential information in connection with event-based trading.
DOJ’s FOCUS Initiative: An Invitation or a Warning to Data Miner Relators?
On April 30, 2026, the Department of Justice’s Civil Division announced the Fraud Oversight through Careful Use of Statistics, or FOCUS, initiative. The initiative is aimed at a fast-growing category of False Claims Act relators that exploded in the aftermath of the pandemic and the Paycheck Protection Program: “data miners” who analyze publicly available government data to identify potential fraud and then file qui tam complaints. DOJ’s message to these non-traditional relators is twofold. First, the Department seems to have accepted that data-miner relators are here to stay, and so has invited sophisticated, well-supported data analysis that can help identify fraud that might otherwise go undetected. But second, DOJ intends to prioritize data-miner relators who can demonstrate meaningful pre-filing diligence, analytical rigor, familiarity with the governing program rules, and legally sufficient allegations.
For companies in sectors with substantial government funding or reimbursement, including healthcare, life sciences, defense, education, technology, and other government contractors, the practical takeaway is straightforward. Companies should evaluate their own publicly available data with the same skepticism and sophistication that a relator, short seller, or agency analyst might apply. Leveraging enhanced analytics and AI to match and front-run potential data miner-driven qui tams will allow companies to quickly assess the likely source of government interest, and explain it.
New Division Continues Time-Tested Model: DOJ’s National Fraud Enforcement Division Launches West Coast Health Care Fraud Strike Force
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.
Sidley’s Loss-Eaton Making Supreme Court Debut in Saudi Spy Case
Sidley partner Tobias Loss-Eaton is set to argue his first case before the U.S. Supreme Court, representing a former Twitter employee convicted of spying for Saudi Arabia. The case centers on whether federal prosecutors brought an obstruction charge in the proper venue, raising broader constitutional questions about where criminal cases can be tried. Loss-Eaton, who helped bring the case to the Court through Northwestern’s Supreme Court clinic, now prepares to make his debut at the lectern in a closely watched dispute over the limits of federal venue law.
Call of Duties: New U.S. Trade Fraud Task Force Signals Increased Tariff Enforcement is Coming
On August 29, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced their partnership on the cross-agency Trade Fraud Task Force. Per DOJ’s press release, the Task Force will bring robust enforcement against importers and other parties that seek to defraud the United States.
Tariff Evasion Is Within DOJ’s Crosshairs: Potential Criminal and Civil Consequences for Noncompliance With Increased U.S. Tariffs
The first six months of the current Trump administration have made it clear that tariffs are here to stay and that noncompliance — intentional or otherwise — will be subject to potentially significant criminal and civil liability. Indeed, the administration has committed to an August 1, 2025, deadline for new country-specific tariffs to begin. The scale, speed, and complexity of the changes in the U.S. tariff landscape over the previous six months (which will likely continue) has created an environment ripe for noncompliance. (more…)
U.S. DOJ Announces Renewal of FCA Working Group
On July 2, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the renewal of the DOJ-HHS False Claims Act Working Group (Working Group), a partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that aims to strengthen use of the False Claims Act (FCA) to combat healthcare fraud. (more…)
U.S. DOJ Hits the Brakes on FCPA Enforcement and Announces Other Key Policies at the Beginning of Attorney General Bondi’s Tenure
Through a series of presidential executive orders (EOs) and Attorney General (AG) memos, the new Trump administration has signaled dramatic changes in how the Department of Justice (DOJ) will enforce white collar crime and specifically the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). This alert analyzes the significant takeaways for corporations that operate in the United States and across borders.