Attorneys at Davis Wright Tremaine caution that, despite the “initial frenzy” of government funding for COVID-19 economic reflief, “it is prudent to remember that government enforcement always has the benefit of hindsight and fund recipients should anticipate exacting scrutiny of their compliance with CARES program funding requirements.”
They warn that in the calmer atmosphere to come, “robust enforcement will follow any misrepresentations, lies, or half-truths related to grants of CARES Act funds. In the wake of financial crises, the Department of Justice historically has been aggressive in pursuing what it perceives to be abuse of the government’s largess. We should anticipate that DOJ’s post COVID-19 enforcement will follow a similar pattern and rely in large measure on the federal False Claims Act.”