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ARTICLE · 23 MAY 2022

COVID, Crypto, And Kleptocrats: Current Justice Department Enforcement Initiatives

Cohen & Gresser LLP
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The Department of Justice (DOJ) has recently signaled a renewed focus on enforcement, and its priorities are being driven by world events.

United StatesTechnology
Christian Everdell
Christian Everdell
Alexandra Theobald
Alexandra Theobald
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The Department of Justice (DOJ) has recently signaled a renewed focus on enforcement, and its priorities are being driven by world events. In the past few months, the DOJ has announced new task forces and more resources to combat fraud in connection with COVID-19 relief, criminal activity related to cryptocurrency, and sanctions violations by Russian entities and individuals linked to the Putin regime. With these new initiatives, we can expect an uptick in enforcement activity in these areas. This alert summarizes some of the recently announced initiatives, which shed light on the likely future enforcement priorities.

Covid-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force

In May 2021, the DOJ announced the creation of the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to coordinate the enforcement of pandemic-related fraud.1 In the last two years, the United States government has awarded $2.2 trillion in federal funds to states, corporations and individuals affected by the

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