Meta is set to go on trial in New Mexico for allegedly failing to protect minors. The company is requesting a broad swath of information not be allowed to be presented in court.

• The Justice Department recovered more money through the False Claims Act in fiscal 2025 than ever before. New data shows DoJ won $6.8 billion in settlements for healthcare, procurement and tariff fraud. A significant amount of those cases were driven by whistleblowers. DoJ said there were 1,297 qui tam lawsuits filed last year, the highest number in a single year, and the government opened 401 investigations. Of the $6.8 billion in False Claims Act recoveries last year, $5.7 billion related to matters that involved the health care industry.
  (DoJ recovers more money than ever before under the False Claims Act - Justice Department)
• The audit of the 8(a) program is expanding to the largest user of the small business contracting program. The Defense Department is joining the Treasury Department and Small Business Administration in reviewing all sole source contracts under the 8(a) program. Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon spends $100 million a year on 8(a) sole source contracts and he's worried about fraud. "I'm ordering a line-by-line review of every small business sole source 8(a) contract that is over $20 million. We will look at everything smaller than that too," Hegseth said in a video on X. Hegseth said it will be a two-stage review. If the contract doesn't help the DoD mission, they will cancel it. The other stage is to make sure the small business is the one doing the work and not acting as a pass through.
  (DoD to audit 8(a) sole source contracts - Social media platform X)
• New legislation in the House would put new restraints around the Department of Homeland Security’s use of facial recognition and related technologies. The Realigning Mobile Phone Biometrics for American Privacy Protection Act would establish stronger standards around DHS’s use of mobile biometric identification tools. House Democrats sponsoring the bill say Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been using an unproven biometric identification tool on American citizens in recent months. ICE has been using the tool called Mobile Fortify to help determine a person’s legal status.
  (Thompson introduces legislation to curb unchecked DHS mobile biometric surveillance and protect privacy of American citizens - House Homeland Security Committee Democrats )
• One agency is easing up on in-office work requirements, while another is ordered to consider more exceptions. The Office of Workers' Compensation Programs is offering remote work to some of its employees because of limited office space. An agency memo states that while most of its employees benefit from in-person collaboration, employees in roles eligible for remote work are less collaborative and require distraction-free focus. Meanwhile, a third-party arbitrator is directing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to meet with one its unions to discuss exemptions to its return to office mandate.
  (One agency eases in-office work requirements, while another is ordered to consider exceptions - Federal News Network)
• The Department of Veterans Affairs is looking for a permanent leader to oversee its benefits division. VA’s deputy secretary is heading up the search for an under secretary for benefits. Once a candidate is selected, they will need to be confirmed by the Senate before starting the job. Under the Trump administration, the Veterans Benefits Administration has reduced its backlog of benefits claims by 60%.
  (VA starts search for permanent Veterans Benefits Administration leader - Department of Veterans Affairs)
• Transportation Security Administration employees will continue to have a union after a new court ruling. A federal judge ruled that TSA and the Department of Homeland Security violated a court order when it made a second attempt to eliminate TSA collective bargaining rights late last year. Judge Jamal Whitehead’s ruling last week blocked a September DHS directive that would have dissolved TSA’s collective bargaining agreement. Whitehead found DHS and TSA’s action would violate a preliminary injunction issued last June that stopped the department’s first attempt to eliminate the agreement. The fight over TSA union rights is scheduled to go to trial this September.
  (Judge finds TSA violated court order in new attempt to dissolve union - Federal News Network)
• The Defense Logistics Agency is turning to artificial intelligence to improve its demand planning. The agency has begun ingesting maintenance, consumption and supply data into its models, starting with the Army and expanding next to the Navy and Air Force, with additional work underway for the Marine Corps. The goal is to more accurately forecast demand, improve inventory health and ensure the right items are on the shelf. DLA is currently about 60% accurate when it comes to demand planning. The agency is also using AI to get after our administrative and production lead times.
  (DLA to use AI to improve demand planning - AFCEA Army IT Day)
• A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing to hold military family housing contractors financially accountable for remediation, relocation and property loss. For decades, service members and their families have been exposed to hazardous conditions in privatized military housing; military families are dealing with black mold, contaminated water and asbestos, among other issues. A new bill introduced by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) would establish Defense Department–wide standards for acceptable humidity levels, create a 24/7 hotline and website for reporting hazards, require third-party oversight and impose penalties for noncompliance, including withholding fees and allowing tenants to retain their rent. “Now it's time for legislation to protect our military families, 700,000. That's right, 700,000 service members and their families presently face hazardous conditions that may cause respiratory illness, developmental delays, other kinds of severe diseases and effects, rashes, neurological symptoms, vision loss, seizures and chronic conditions.”
  (Lawmakers want to hold military housing contractors financially accountable - Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.))

The post Justice Dept recovers more money than ever in 2025 for False Claims Act violations first appeared on Federal News Network.

© AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

Three offshore wind projects under construction on the U.S. East Coast are back to building after judges rebuked the Department of the Interior's actions.

A former Expedia Group employee who amassed 20 terabytes of illicit footage of women by hiding spy cameras throughout the company’s headquarters — including bathrooms — was sentenced to four years in prison Friday in King County Superior Court in Seattle. 

Marcelo Vargas-Fernandez, 44, pleaded guilty in December to 14 counts of first-degree voyeurism and two counts of violating a sexual assault protection order for contacting one of the victims in October 2025 in an attempt to convince her not to testify.

Before handing down the sentence, Superior Court Judge Janet Helson heard statements read on behalf of several victims, identified in court only by their initials, who described the lasting trauma and “shattered” sense of security caused by the invasion of their privacy.

“I will wonder for the rest of my life whether there is more footage of me somewhere,” said one of the victims in her statement. “The constant question, ‘am I being watched?’ is exhausting.”

Gary Ernsdorff, senior deputy prosecuting attorney, described the scope of the case as “staggering,” noting that investigators identified nearly 60 potential victims in the 20 terabytes of data seized from Vargas-Fernandez. Ernsdorff told the court that the defendant meticulously organized the illicit footage by name, description, and activity.

“We could spend, frankly, a career going through the evidence and parsing out and trying to identify more victims,” Ernsdorff said.

In addition to bathrooms, prosecutors said in court Friday that cameras were also found mounted under desks to record people sitting in chairs, hidden inside the door and dashboard of his vehicle to record passengers, and even installed inside the bathroom and living room of one victim’s private apartment.

Vargas-Fernandez sat in red prison garb, his hands clasped on a piece of paper on the table, at one point removing his glasses to wipe his eyes as one statement was read.

Later, addressing the court, Vargas-Fernandez apologized to the victims, his family, and his former employer, admitting that he “failed trust” and created “pain and fear.” He told the judge he should have asked for help to deal with depression and personal issues.

“This is my fault,” he added.

His attorney, Court Will, emphasized Vargas-Fernandez’s efforts toward rehabilitation over the past two years, noting that he has completed a psychosexual evaluation, attended weekly sex offender treatment, and installed accountability software on his devices.

“He’s not before the court to make any excuses whatsoever,” Will said. 

In addition to the prison term, Judge Helson sentenced Vargas-Fernandez to up to 36 months of community custody and issued no-contact orders to protect the victims.

“These are not victimless crimes,” Judge Helson told him. “These are crimes with real victims who experience serious consequences in their lives.” 

Expedia Group temporarily closed its Seattle headquarters for three days following the discovery to conduct security sweeps but found no additional devices at that time.

Class-action lawsuits have been filed over the case, including one against both Expedia Group and its security contractor, Securitas. The suits allege negligence, claiming that the security team failed to act on the initial report of hidden cameras in December 2023, allowing the recording to continue for weeks before police were finally notified in January.

“Expedia is committed to protecting the privacy, safety, and security of our employees and guests across all offices,” an Expedia spokesperson said in a statement today. “We fully cooperated with law enforcement throughout this investigation and are pleased that our support contributed to holding the individual accountable.”

The investigation by Seattle police began after hidden cameras were discovered under the sinks of single-occupancy, gender-neutral bathrooms at the company’s campus on the Seattle waterfront. According to court records, an employee first spotted a recording device taped under a sink on Dec. 4, 2023, and reported it to onsite security. However, the devices were not immediately identified as cameras or turned over to police at that time.

The cameras reappeared weeks later.  On Jan. 11, 2024, an employee discovered the devices again and alerted security, who then contacted Seattle police. Witnesses reported seeing Vargas-Fernandez acting suspiciously in the area while the restrooms were closed.

Following his identification as a suspect, Seattle police executed a search warrant at Vargas-Fernandez’s home in Lynnwood on Feb. 1, 2024. An electronics sniffing dog was used to sweep the apartment. The search recovered substantial evidence, including at least 33 spy cameras, 22 SD cards, and six hard drives.

Ernsdorff, the prosecuting attorney, said in court that investigators found no evidence the footage was uploaded or shared online, despite finding evidence that Vargas-Fernandez had visited websites featuring similar illicit content. However, he acknowledged that victims may never have complete certainty about whether their images were distributed.

A Kirkland, Wash.-based tech company is suing its New York-based acquisition advisor, alleging it was pushed into a $5.2 million acquisition that was supposed to generate $1 million annually but has instead required ongoing cash infusions just to stay afloat.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of SmarTek21, a longtime technology consulting services firm, accuses TGP GP Management of “egregiously defective due diligence” in its May 2025 acquisition of IT Avalon, another U.S.-based tech consulting company.

According to the complaint, Tortuga Growth Partners, a New York-based private equity firm, acquired a minority stake in SmarTek21 in 2024. Its affiliate, TGP GP Management, a management and acquisition advisory firm, entered into an agreement to advise SmarTek21 on acquisitions and related matters.

TGP responded in a statement: “TGP strongly disputes the allegations in this complaint and stands by the comprehensive due diligence process conducted for the IT Avalon acquisition.”

The lawsuit was filed Dec. 18 in King County Superior Court in Seattle by Totem Lake Investments II, the majority owner of SmarTek21. Totem Lake Investments is led by SmarTek21 CEO Alkarim Lalji. The suit seeks at least $6 million in damages, plus punitive damages and other relief.

According to the complaint, TGP almost immediately began pressuring SmarTek21 to acquire IT Avalon, as a complementary business that would augment SmarTek21’s existing model and diversify its customer base. The suit says TGP represented that IT Avalon would generate at least $1 million annually in free cash flow, before other benefits from the combination.

The complaint alleges that TGP’s principal Ashray Prasad dismissed concerns raised by SmarTek21 executives about IT Avalon’s deteriorating finances in the days before closing. According to the suit, Prasad repeatedly called Lalji urging him to close the deal — placing many of these calls while Lalji was undergoing treatment for a serious medical condition.

The lawsuit alleges TGP pursued the IT Avalon acquisition out of “enthusiasm for transaction fees, publicity, and the appearance of quick deal-making.”

According to the suit, IT Avalon’s revenue had been declining since 2022, and its operating income had dropped significantly, while its vendor relationships deteriorated.

TGP structured the deal so that any working capital shortfall would be offset against future earnout payments to IT Avalon’s sellers. But that proved worthless, the suit alleges, because IT Avalon had almost no chance of hitting the revenue targets that would trigger those payments.

In its statement, TGP disputed these claims.

“IT Avalon is a strong technology business with valuable client relationships,” it said. “The combined entity now benefits from an expanded client base, talented personnel, and a robust pipeline of opportunities. We intend to vigorously defend against these baseless claims.”

The dispute illustrates the complicated nature of private equity-led technology roll-up strategies, in which smaller companies are combined to create larger platforms.

The acquisition of IT Avalon in May was the second in six months for SmarTek21, following its earlier combination with Retro Rabbit, a South Africa-based product design firm, according to a press release by Tortuga Growth Partners announcing the IT Avalon deal at the time.

“We are building a category-defining platform,” said TGP’s Prasad, who is also a member of SmarTek21’s board of managers, in the press release. He added that the completion of the second acquisition over that time frame reflected “the momentum behind SmarTek21’s growth.”

According to the company’s public materials, SmarTek21 provides product engineering and enterprise software services to Fortune 250 clients in industries including financial services, healthcare, and telecom. It says it has more than 650 associates across the U.S., India, and South Africa.

IT Avalon, founded in 2012, provides technology consulting services to clients in financial services, healthcare, gaming, and hospitality. The May press release announcing the deal described the company as having a 95% client retention rate.

Lalji and SmarTek21 did not respond to requests for comment. See the full complaint below.

SmarTek21 v. TGP Management by GeekWire