5 Big Questions For White Collar Enforcement In 2025

In a Law360 roundup of major white-collar enforcement trends anticipated in 2025, Woods Rogers’ Justin Lugar is quoted regarding several major issues at the center of the enforcement world in 2025, including the potential prosecution of prosecutors related to the events of January 6, 2021 and a likely uptick in False Claims Act investigations, in part due to the incoming administration’s promise of trade tariffs.

While incoming President Donald Trump and others in his cabinet have vowed to prosecute investigators of the incident, Justin and other legal sources say it’s too soon to tell what will happen after the Inauguration. “So far, statements from Trump and others in his circle about prosecuting political opponents ‘feels like sound and fury, signifying nothing,’” Justin told Law360 in an interview. He pointed out that prosecutors who charged Trump, including Jack Smith, are cloaked in prosecutorial immunity and that prosecuting them is a “pipe dream, frankly.”

Regarding an anticipated increase in FCA cases, Justin told Law360, “Companies are going to be incentivized, for all the wrong reasons, to engage in fraud to try to protect their bottom line. The [tariff] numbers are going to be potentially so big that if they are put in place the fraud will follow." In turn, Justin explained “you're going to have whistleblowers who realize what’s going on. So we could see an uptick in FCA cases.”

You can read the full article, including other major white-collar news anticipated in the New Year, in Law360.