DOJ Overhauls White-Collar Crime Enforcement and Targets DEI Programs in Policy Shift

The Department of Justice has unveiled substantial changes to its approach to white-collar crime enforcement, signaling a significant shift in priorities under the current administration. These changes include a revamped Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy, an updated monitor selection process, and an expanded Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program.

In a May 12 announcement, Criminal Division head Matthew Galeotti introduced a new white-collar enforcement plan that transforms the division’s corporate enforcement priorities. The plan, outlined in a memorandum titled “Focus, Fairness, and Efficiency in the Fight Against White-Collar Crime,” identifies ten “high-impact areas” for investigative and prosecutorial focus.

These priority areas include health care fraud, federal program and procurement fraud, trade and customs fraud, market manipulation schemes, investment fraud, national security threats, material support to foreign terrorist organizations, complex money laundering, bribery that impacts U.S. interests, and crimes related to digital assets.

While the new approach appears to streamline enforcement efforts, Galeotti made clear at a June 10 American Conference Institute Conference that the Criminal Division “has not and will not close meritorious investigations or dismiss meritorious cases” and promised to “vigorously pursue” investigations.

The revised Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy now offers automatic—rather than presumptive—declination of prosecution for companies that self-disclose criminal conduct, fully cooperate with investigations, and appropriately remediate misconduct, provided no “aggravating circumstances” exist. The policy includes a flowchart illustrating potential paths to declination, non-prosecution agreements, or other resolutions.

“This is the time for companies to self-report,” Galeotti emphasized in recent remarks. “It is the time to do the work, come in early, cooperate, and remediate. The Criminal Division’s policies give clear benefits to those who do.”

The DOJ has also revised its policy on monitor selection, requiring prosecutors to consider four key factors: the nature and seriousness of the conduct, the availability of other effective oversight, the efficacy of the company’s compliance program, and the maturity of the company’s controls. The updated policy aims to ensure monitor roles are “appropriately tailored to avoid unnecessary burdens to the business’s operations.”

Civil Rights Fraud Initiative Targets DEI Programs

In a controversial move, the DOJ has established a Civil Rights Fraud Initiative (CRFI) to target grant recipients and government contractors—particularly colleges and universities—that allegedly falsely certify compliance with federal anti-discrimination laws. This initiative appears directly connected to the administration’s executive orders on anti-discrimination policies and represents an unprecedented use of the False Claims Act (FCA) as an enforcement tool against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.

The CRFI memorandum “strongly encourages” private individuals with knowledge of civil rights fraud to “protect the public interest by filing lawsuits and litigating claims under the False Claims Act.” With whistleblowers eligible to receive up to 30% of monetary recoveries under the FCA, legal experts anticipate a surge in whistleblower actions in this area.

The initiative specifically mentions that “a university that accepts federal funds could violate the False Claims Act when it… refuses to protect Jewish students” from allegedly antisemitic acts or “allows men to intrude into women’s bathrooms,” language that appears to target ongoing political disputes with certain universities.

Health Insurers Face Scrutiny Over Kickbacks and Discrimination

The DOJ has filed a significant False Claims Act complaint against three national health insurance companies—Aetna Inc., Elevance Health Inc. (formerly Anthem), and Humana Inc.—along with three insurance brokers, alleging unlawful kickbacks and discrimination against disabled persons in Medicare Advantage plans.

According to the complaint, from 2016 to at least 2021, the defendant insurers paid hundreds of millions of dollars in illegal kickbacks to brokers eHealth, Inc., GoHealth, Inc., and SelectQuote Inc. in exchange for referring Medicare beneficiaries to the insurers’ Medicare Advantage Plans.

The government alleges that the brokers steered beneficiaries toward plans offered by insurers providing kickbacks, disregarding whether those plans were suitable for beneficiaries. Additionally, Aetna and Humana allegedly conspired with brokers to discriminate against disabled Medicare beneficiaries whom the insurers viewed as less profitable by threatening to withhold kickbacks from brokers enrolling such individuals.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General had previously warned about suspect marketing arrangements involving payments between Medicare Advantage plans and third-party marketers in its 2024 Special Fraud Alert. The litigation underscores intensified federal scrutiny of marketing and referral practices in the Medicare Advantage sector.

Speaker Programs for Health Care Providers Draw Enforcement Actions

Recent enforcement actions highlight the significant Anti-Kickback Statute and False Claims Act risks pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers face when using speaker programs to promote their products. Three large settlements—Gilead Sciences ($176.9 million, 2025), Biohaven ($59.7 million, 2025), and Biogen ($900 million, 2022)—along with a 2020 Special Fraud Alert from HHS-OIG, demonstrate the government’s focus on these arrangements.

The OIG’s Special Fraud Alert identified several red flags in speaker programs, including high-end venues, lavish meals, repeat attendance by clinicians on identical topics, selection of speakers based on prescribing patterns, excessive compensation, and minimal substantive content.

In the Gilead case, the company allegedly paid physicians more than $23.7 million in honoraria, meals, and travel between 2011 and 2017 to induce prescriptions for HIV drugs. The government claimed Gilead hosted approximately 17,300 events at luxury restaurants with six-course dinners and wine pairings, featuring excessive repeat attendance and manipulated meal-spend limits.

Compliance experts recommend implementing robust needs assessments, objective speaker selection criteria, venue and hospitality controls, attendance management systems, content integrity protocols, training programs, data analytics, and clear corrective action procedures to mitigate risks associated with speaker programs.

These enforcement actions and policy shifts signal a significant realignment of DOJ priorities that will likely reshape corporate compliance programs and enforcement risk across multiple industries in the coming years.