The FCA Insider

The FCA Insider

Insights and updates on False Claims Act Litigation

Todd R. Steggerda

Photo of Todd R. Steggerda Todd Steggerda serves as McGuireWoods’ Deputy Managing Partner for Strategic Development, following service as the deputy managing partner for litigation where he oversaw and managed the firm’s litigation departments and roughly 500 litigators in the U.S. and the UK. He is the former chair of the firm’s Government Investigations and White Collar Litigation Department, which Law360 recently selected for its prestigious “Practice Group of the Year” award. In a dynamic practice spanning nearly 25 years in Washington, Todd has resolved a diverse range of high-stakes government investigations, regulatory enforcement, and litigation matters, including dozens of matters investigated by the civil and criminal divisions of the Department of Justice, the Department of Defense, and numerous other federal and state agencies and investigative bodies.

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Defense Contractor, Private Equity Firm to Pay $1.75M to Settle FCA Allegations Regarding Cybersecurity Violations

By Todd R. Steggerda, Edwin O. Childs, Michael J. Podberesky, Abram J. Pafford, Brett Barnett, Jack White, Andrew Konia, Jason M. Vespoli, Maura Naehr and John Sullivan on DOJ, FCA Litigation
On July 31, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a $1.75 million False Claims Act (FCA) settlement with Aero Turbine, a California-based defense contractor, and private equity firm Gallant Capital Partners. The settlement arises out of allegations that Aero Turbine failed to comply with cybersecurity requirements under a U.S. Air Force contract and provided… Continue Reading

Department of Justice Suggests “Aggressive” Enforcement of False Claims Act

By Edwin O. Childs, Brett Barnett, Jack White, Farnaz Farkish Thompson, Michael J. Podberesky, Todd R. Steggerda, Jason M. Vespoli, John Sullivan and Maura Naehr on FCA Litigation, Regulatory
On February 20, 2025, during a speech to the Federal Bar Association’s annual qui tam conference, Michael Granston, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Commercial Litigation Branch at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), said that the Trump Administration will seek to “aggressively” enforce the False Claims Act (FCA). In particular, Granston stated that active… Continue Reading

Cautionary Tale: Contractor Settles for $2.6M Over Alleged Falsely Obtained Small Business Contracts

By Edwin O. Childs, Jack White, Abram J. Pafford, Todd R. Steggerda, Brett Barnett, Michael J. Podberesky, Maura Naehr and Jason M. Vespoli on DOJ
On Jan. 7, 2025, the Department of Justice announced that R&K Enterprises agreed to pay over $2.6 million to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729-3733, among other causes. The settlement was predicated on allegations that the company represented it was a small business eligible for certain small business set-aside contracts… Continue Reading

U.S. Supreme Court Clarifies DOJ’s Authority to Dismiss Whistleblowers’ False Claims Act Suits, Questions Constitutionality of Qui Tam Provisions

By Edwin O. Childs, Michael J. Podberesky, Jonathan Ellis, Gretchen Heinze Townshend, Todd R. Steggerda, Charles Wm. McIntyre and Jason M. Vespoli on DOJ, FCA Litigation
In United States ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources, Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court recently resolved a circuit split[1] by holding that in a False Claims Act (“FCA”) action (1) the Government may seek dismissal of a qui tam case in which it initially declined to intervene over the relator’s objection as long as… Continue Reading

DOJ and Aerojet Settle for $9 Million in Qui Tam Cybersecurity False Claims Act Case

By Edwin O. Childs, Todd R. Steggerda, Abram J. Pafford, Andrew Konia and Jason M. Vespoli on DOJ
On July 8, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a $9 million settlement with federal government contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, Inc. for alleged violations of the False Claims Act in a case pending in the Eastern District of California. The settlement results from alleged false statements by Aerojet related to compliance with Department of Defense… Continue Reading

Largest-Ever Small-Business Contracting Fraud Settlement Related to Pass-Through Subcontracting

By Edwin O. Childs, Michael J. Podberesky, Todd R. Steggerda and Jason M. Vespoli on FCA Litigation
Federal contractors should take note of a $48.5 million False Claims Act settlement between the Department of Justice and TriMark USA LLC — the largest-ever FCA settlement based on allegations of small-business set-aside contracting fraud. DOJ alleged that TriMark had a plan to circumvent specific small-business contracting requirements by providing significant assistance to three small… Continue Reading

DOJ Announces First False Claims Settlement Since Launch of Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative

By Edwin O. Childs, Todd R. Steggerda, Charles Wm. McIntyre, Michael J. Podberesky, Jason M. Vespoli, Andrew Konia and McGuireWoods LLP on DOJ
On March 8, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a $930,000 settlement with Comprehensive Health Services, LLC for alleged violations of the False Claims Act. As DOJ’s first resolution of a False Claims Act enforcement action involving cyber fraud since launching its Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative in October 2021, this settlement signals the DOJ’s eagerness to… Continue Reading

Tide Is Turning Against FCA Case Dismissals

By Michael J. Podberesky, Todd R. Steggerda, John S. Moran, David Pivnick and Cassandra M. Burns on Defense Arguments, DOJ, FCA Defenses, FCA Litigation
According to a July 28 article in Law360 by McGuireWoods lawyers Michael J. Podberesky, John S. Moran, Todd R. Steggerda, David Pivnick and Cassandra M. Burns, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision declining to review an appeal of a Seventh Circuit case that could have resolved a three-way circuit split regarding the proper standard for… Continue Reading

U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Clarify False Claims Act Falsity Standard

By Michael J. Podberesky, Todd R. Steggerda, David Pivnick, John S. Moran, Brandi G. Howard and Jason M. Vespoli on FCA Defenses, FCA Litigation
The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to address a circuit split regarding the standard for establishing that a statement material to a claim for payment is false under the False Claims Act (FCA); specifically, whether the FCA requires pleading and proof of an “objectively false statement,” or whether liability can be based on allegedly false… Continue Reading

3rd Circuit Case of First Impression Clarifies Lower Threshold for FCA Actions

By Todd R. Steggerda, Patrick Rowan, Edwin O. Childs and Jason M. Vespoli on FCA Litigation
Government contractors should take note of a March 4, 2020, ruling by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (Court) that lowers the jurisdictional threshold for establishing a claim under the False Claims Act (FCA). The 3rd Circuit’s decision in Druding v. Care Alternatives revived an FCA claim that the U.S. District Court for the District of… Continue Reading

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