According to data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, prosecutors brought fewer white-collar cases last year than in any year since at least 1986.
Since returning to office last year, the Trump administration has paused and then overhauled enforcement of a law targeting foreign bribery, redirected prosecutors’ resources toward immigration, and raised the bar for crypto cases, among other shifts. While prosecutors continue to advance some major white-collar cases, they are pursuing far less than in the past.
Vanessa Roberts Avery, McCarter & English partner and former US attorney for the District of Connecticut, spoke to The Financial Times and said it was “devastating to have a mass exodus.” She added that, “When you don’t have people who have the experience to lead [white-collar] cases it’s going to be nearly impossible to keep them going.”