Justice Department's Procurement Collusion Strike Force Holds Its First Summit to Discuss Strategies to Combat Emerging Threats

During the summit, AAG Kanter, DAAG Kumar and Director Glad commemorated the PCSF’s fourth anniversary and reflected on its growth and success since its inception. They also detailed additional resources the division has dedicated to combat procurement collusion, emphasized the importance of law enforcement partnerships and a whole-of-government response to persistent threats in government spending and sharpened the PCSF’s focus on the challenges, risks and opportunities of increased federal spending.

Summit participants discussed the heightened areas of procurement collusion risk resulting from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act of 2022 and supplemental funding in response to the invasion of Ukraine. Director Glad delivered a speech at the National Association of State Procurement Officials’ 10th Annual Law Institute. In his remarks, he outlined the ways that states can partner with the PCSF to address these emerging threats.

The PCSF is the Justice Department’s coordinated, joint law enforcement effort to combat antitrust crimes and related fraudulent schemes that impact procurement, grant and program funding at all levels of government — federal, state and local.

Since its inception in November 2019, the PCSF has opened more than 100 criminal investigations and trained more than 31,000 people. In that time, the PCSF and the Antitrust Division have investigated and prosecuted over 65 companies and individuals involving over $500 million worth of government contracts. The summit marks the department’s continued support of the PCSF as it enters its fifth year.