Inspector General Investigations
Practice Overview
Companies and individuals may find themselves the subject of intrusive investigations, as federal and state offices of inspectors general pursue suspected fraud, waste, and abuse.
INFORMED PERSPECTIVE
Buckley draws upon decades of experience handling IG matters and the regulatory and compliance issues that frequently underlie such investigations, along with the deep investigative, negotiation, and trial capabilities of our attorneys, to defend our clients. We draw on these skills and experience to minimize the burden, exposure, and reputational harm arising from IG investigations.
Many of our partners have significant government experience. Team members include the former chief of the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York; the former chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, and chief assistant district attorney for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office; a number of other former federal prosecutors, and other partners with decades of experience in the investigative process and subject matter the IGs investigate. Our lawyers have handled investigations involving numerous IG offices, and the entities with which they coordinate, including the Department of Justice, various U.S. Attorney’s Offices, federal agencies, and Congress. Officials within IG offices have also relied upon Buckley attorneys to represent them in congressional and Department of Justice inquiries.
EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE
Our extensive experience advising corporate and individual clients on multijurisdictional IG investigations and skillfully handling concurrent civil, congressional, and criminal investigations has resulted in a proven track record of obtaining closures, declinations, and non-prosecution agreements.
Over the past few years, we have handled dozens of IG matters, including representation of numerous corporate clients, including regional and national banks, mortgage originators and servicers, fintech companies, business advisory firms, and investment management companies, as well as representation of individuals, in civil and criminal investigations by the IGs of various agencies.
| AGENCY INSPECTORS GENERAL EXPERIENCE | |
|---|---|
| Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) | Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) |
| Department of Commerce | Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) |
| Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) | Prudential Regulators |
| Department of Homeland Security (DHS) | Small Business Administration (SBA) |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) | Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) |
| Department of Justice (DOJ) | United States Postal Service (USPS) |
| Department of Treasury | U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) |
LEARN MORE
For more information on our capabilities, please see our related practice pages, including Enforcement Actions & Investigations, Congressional Investigations, Internal Investigations, Whistleblower, and White Collar, or contact a Buckley attorney.
Topic Spotlight: IG investigations and the Covid-19 pandemic
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), signed into law on March 27, 2020, expanded the role of inspectors general in the oversight and investigation of the unparalleled federal relief deployed to address the economic crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic. The CARES Act created a special inspector general for pandemic recovery (SIGPR), as well as a Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) which consists of existing federal inspectors general and is armed with the authority to compel testimony. These oversight bodies join more than 70 existing federal inspectors general — including the SBA, FHFA, FHA, and VA — who are already scrutinizing recipients of these funds and CARES Act compliance and oversight. Accordingly, we should expect a sharp increase in IG-led investigations and resulting civil, criminal, and congressional proceedings.
Learn more about pandemic relief investigations, enforcement, and litigation »
Articles
"How to tackle coronavirus corruption" co-authored by Daniel R. Alonso (Foreign Policy)
Latin America as a region has long had a problem with public corruption, and the coronavirus pandemic has made things worse. As governments shovel public funds to fight the pandemic and its economic fallout, public officials are swindling millions, including in the graft-prone public health sector...
Articles"CARES Act puts inspectors general back in the spotlight" by Daniel R. Alonso, Preston Burton, & Meredith Leeson (New York Law Journal)
Federal Inspectors General—the nation’s watchdogs over government agencies and government programs—are back in the news. First, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act , received close attention not only for its $2 trillion infusion of taxpayer dollars into the U.S. economy, but also...
Articles
News & Blogs
Office of the Inspector General issues statement on Coronavirus oversight challenges
The Office of the Inspector General of the Federal Reserve Board, which provides independent oversight of both the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Reserve Board, issued a statement on Coronavirus pandemic oversight challenges. The statement identifies areas of focus for the OIG...
InfoBytesJeffrey P. Naimon quoted in American Banker article, “Treasury watchdog subpoenas Google to identify whistleblower”
Jeffrey P. Naimon was quoted on April 4, 2018 in an American Banker article, “Treasury watchdog subpoenas Google to identify whistleblower,” which discussed the investigation by the Treasury Department’s office of the inspector general to identify an employee within the Office of Financial Research...
In The News
