About me

Address: Washington, D.C.: Robert S. Strauss Tower, 2001 K Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20006-1037

Areas of Focus: False Claims Act/Qui Tam Defense; Cybersecurity, Privacy & Data Protection; Government Contracts; Inspector General Investigations; Tariff Enforcement Defense; White Collar Defense & Government Investigations

Biography:
Sara leverages her decades of DOJ experience to provide compliance counseling and representation to clients facing False Claims Act (FCA) and other civil fraud issues, investigations and litigation. With a proven track record of litigation success in FCA actions, Sara is one of the most experienced FCA lawyers and civil fraud litigators in the market.
Prior to joining Akin, Sara led the DOJ’s FCA enforcement as Assistant Director for 16 years of the Civil Fraud Section and for 10 years as a trial attorney responsible for FCA cases. She handled and supervised all aspects of FCA and civil fraud investigations.
Clients rely on Sara as a strategic advisor drawing on her high-level government experience and her instrumental role guiding FCA enforcement efforts. She has litigated and/or supervised FCA matters in the key areas of health care, cyber, education, procurement/government contracts, customs, trade, energy and financial fraud.
Sara offers her deep knowledge of the law and the government’s approach to these cases to help clients avoid risks and navigate these matters to a favorable result, whether that be a declination or dismissal by DOJ of a qui tam complaint filed under the FCA’s whistleblower provisions, a self-disclosure, a settlement or a win in litigation.
Sara negotiated and oversaw scores of settlements and won victories at every phase of litigation, including summary judgment, trial and appeal, securing approximately $2 billion in recoveries. She trained DOJ attorneys on settlement and developed language used in DOJ settlement agreements.
Her DOJ civil fraud practice ran the gamut of government programs and agencies. One focus was health care fraud matters, including alleged Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Act violations and other overbilling. She led DOJ’s civil cyber-fraud enforcement efforts involving data privacy and other cybersecurity violations. She handled and supervised matters alleging contract and grant fraud, mineral royalty underpayments and mortgage fraud, as well as claims against universities and for trade-related violations.
Sara began her legal career as a law clerk for the Honorable John W. Bissell in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. She holds a J.D. from Yale Law School and an A.B. summa cum laude from Princeton University.

Representative Work:
- Cybersecurity and Data Privacy: Oversaw investigations and negotiations that led to twelve False Claims Act cyber-fraud settlements, including with three Fortune 100 companies. Allegations concerned violations of government cybersecurity requirements with respect to sensitive health/personal information or sensitive defense and other government information. Several settlements gave credit under DOJ policy on self-disclosure, cooperation and remediation.
- Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Act: Won summary judgment on False Claims Act and common law claims against a home health company accused of Stark Law violations. Supervised other False Claims Act litigations over alleged Anti-Kickback Act violations. These included litigation against a national diabetic supplier that settled for $160 million and litigation over alleged kickbacks for laboratory referrals that led to $59 million in settlements with over 50 physicians.
- Education: Won a jury verdict for the government against a prominent university in litigation over alleged misuse of foreign aid funds. Settled with all parties for $33 million.
- Government Contracts and Grants: Handled and supervised investigations, litigation, and hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements with leading IT contractors over alleged overcharges on General Services Administration multiple award schedule contracts.
- Energy: Negotiated over $300 million in settlements with major oil companies in litigation over alleged underpayment of natural gas royalties.
List includes matters worked on prior to joining Akin.

Credentials:
Education: J.D., Yale Law School, 1997; A.B., Princeton University, 1993 (summa cum laude)
Bar Admissions: District of Columbia, 2025; New York, 1998

Recognitions:
- Department of Justice, Civil Division, Award for Dedicated Service, 2019.
- Department of Justice, Special Commendations for Outstanding Service in the Civil Division, 2025, 2018, 2017, 2014, 2009, 2007, 2005.
- Counsel of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, 2024, 2017, 2016.
- Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Certificate of Commendation, 2016.
- General Services Administration Office of Inspector General Award, 2012, 2014.
- FBI Award, 2010.
- Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General’s Integrity Award, 2009.
- President’s Council on Integrity and Efficiency, 2006.

Affiliations:
- Assistant Director, U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch (Fraud Section), 2010-2025.
- Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch (Fraud Section), 1999-2010.
- Co-Chair, American Bar Association, False Claims Act & Qui Tam Enforcement Institute, since 2018.

Insights:
- A Billion-Dollar Milestone: The Trade Fraud Task Force Signals a New Era of Criminal and Civil Trade Enforcement (July 20, 2026): https://www.akingump.com/en/insights/alerts/a-billion-dollar-milestone-the-trade-fraud-task-force-signals-a-new-era-of-criminal-and-civil-trade-enforcement
- DoW Pauses CMMC Third-Party Assessment Regime—Could This Be CMMC 3.0? (July 14, 2026): https://www.akingump.com/en/insights/alerts/dow-pauses-cmmc-third-party-assessment-regimecould-this-be-cmmc-30
- The 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown: A Data-Driven, Whole-of-Government Approach to Preventing Fraud  (June 29, 2026): https://www.akingump.com/en/insights/alerts/the-2026-national-health-care-fraud-takedown-a-data-driven-whole-of-government-approach-to-preventing-fraud
- Proposed Rule on CUI and CUI Incident Reporting Would Create New Requirements and Risks for Contractors (June 25, 2026): https://www.akingump.com/en/insights/alerts/proposed-rule-on-cui-and-cui-incident-reporting-would-create-new-requirements-and-risks-for-contractors
- CMS ‘Crackdown on Fraud’ Continues with Nationwide Six-Month Moratoria on New Medicare Enrollments for Hospices and Home Health Agencies (May 15, 2026): https://www.akingump.com/en/insights/alerts/cms-crackdown-on-fraud-continues-with-nationwide-six-month-moratoria-on-new-medicare-enrollments-for-hospices-and-home-health-agencies
- Pallets, Penalties and Parallel Proceedings: $549.5 Million Perfectus Aluminum Settlement Sets a New High-Water Mark in False Claims Act Trade Fraud Enforcement (May 15, 2026): https://www.akingump.com/en/insights/alerts/pallets-penalties-and-parallel-proceedings-dollar5495-million-perfectus-aluminum-settlement-sets-a-new-high-water-mark-in-false-claims-act-trade-fraud-enforcement
- DOJ Civil Division Launches ‘FOCUS’ Initiative to Enhance Partnerships with 'Data-Miner' Whistleblowers (May 1, 2026): https://www.akingump.com/en/insights/alerts/doj-civil-division-launches-focus-initiative-to-enhance-partnerships-with-data-miner-whistleblowers
- From Forest to Felony: Boise Cascade’s $6.3 Million Lacey Act Plea Signals a New Front in DOJ’s Trade Fraud Crackdown (April 29, 2026): https://www.akingump.com/en/insights/alerts/from-forest-to-felony-boise-cascades-dollar63-million-lacey-act-plea-signals-a-new-front-in-dojs-trade-fraud-crackdown
- Akin Attorneys Author Article for Dow Jones Risk Journal on DOJ’s First‑Ever ‘Illegal DEI’ FCA Settlement (April 28, 2026): https://www.akingump.com/en/insights/media-mentions/akin-attorneys-author-article-for-dow-jones-risk-journal-on-dojs-firstever-illegal-dei-fca-settlement
- FAR Council Implements Executive Order 14398 DEI-Related Contract Requirements  (April 22, 2026): https://www.akingump.com/en/insights/alerts/far-council-implements-executive-order-14398-dei-related-contract-requirements
- DOJ Announces First-Ever False Claims Act Settlement Concerning Alleged ‘Illegal DEI Practices’ (April 13, 2026): https://www.akingump.com/en/insights/alerts/doj-announces-first-ever-false-claims-act-settlement-concerning-alleged-illegal-dei-practices
- 2026 Perspectives in Private Equity: Health Care & Life Sciences (March 31, 2026): https://www.akingump.com/en/insights/articles/2026-perspectives-in-private-equity-health-care-and-life-sciences