Cybersecurity False Claims Act Enforcement Against Defense Contractors and Their Private Equity Sponsors

Julie Keeton Bracker, Founding Partner | Bracker & Marcus LLC

Julie Keeton Bracker is a founding partner of Bracker & Marcus LLC, a boutique law firm focusing exclusively on False Claims Act qui tam litigation. Based in Atlanta, with attorneys in Washington, D.C., Chattanooga, and Kansas City, Missouri, the firm handles FCA cases nationwide and was named the nation’s third most prolific qui tam practice by Lex Machina in 2019. Ms. Bracker has had the privilege of arguing before the Sixth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeals and appearing before the Supreme Court of the United States on FCA matters. Representative cases range from an $84.5 million settlement with a Detroit-area hospital for kickback allegations, to a $1.5 million settlement and full repairs with a defense contractor whose defective products were creating a danger to the military.

• Education & Credentials

Ms. Bracker is a proud “double ‘Dore,” graduating with a bachelor’s degree magna cum laude from Vanderbilt University in 1993 and again summa cum laude from Vanderbilt University Law School in 2002, where she was elected to Order of the Coif, served on the moot court board, and as executive editor for the Journal of Transnational Law.

• Recognition & Leadership

Ms. Bracker currently sits on the Board of Advisors for Vanderbilt Law School.

• Professional Involvement

Ms. Bracker is a member of the Anti-Fraud Coalition, the FBA’s Qui Tam Section, and the National Employment Lawyer’s Association and its Georgia affiliate, where she served on the Board from 2013-2015 and as its president in 2014.

• Experience

Since 2021, Ms. Bracker has been at the forefront of using the False Claims Act to combat cybersecurity violations, currently representing Relators in more than fifty cyberfraud cases nationwide and having served as Relator’s counsel in the Georgia Tech and Penn State settlements.

David W.S. Lieberman | Whistleblower Law Collaborative

David W.S. Lieberman is an experienced litigator of complex fraud claims who represents whistleblowers asserting fraud under the False Claims Act and other qui tam statutes at Whistleblower Law Collaborative in Boston. A former prosecutor, he has represented both whistleblowers and governments in major FCA matters, including United States ex rel. Hendrix v. J-M Manufacturing Co., a case against the world’s largest municipal water pipe maker in which he helped secure a favorable jury verdict after a multi-week trial.

• Education & Credentials

Mr. Lieberman earned his JD from Columbia University School of Law in 2008, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and a James Kent Scholar and served as Managing Editor of the Columbia Law Review. He received his undergraduate degree from Tufts University in 2005. He is admitted in Massachusetts and before the US Courts of Appeals for the First and Second Circuits and the US District Courts for the Districts of Massachusetts and Colorado.

• Recognition & Leadership

Mr. Lieberman received the Up & Coming Excellence in the Law Award from Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly in 2015. Massachusetts Super Lawyers recognized him as a Rising Star from 2015 to 2018 and as a Super Lawyer from 2019 through 2025, and Boston Magazine has named him a Top Lawyer each year from 2021 through 2025.

• Professional Involvement

An active member of the Boston Bar Association, Mr. Lieberman is a BBA Junior Fellow and previously served in the BBA Public Interest Leadership program. He served on the City Year Boston Seven Generations Board and Alumni Board, co-chaired the City Year Legal Breakfast, and is a contributing writer for the legal podcast Talking Feds.

• Experience

Before joining Whistleblower Law Collaborative, Mr. Lieberman served as an Assistant Attorney General prosecuting environmental crime in the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, clerked for the Honorable Bruce M. Selya of the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and practiced at Ropes & Gray and Day Pitney in Boston. He lectured at Boston University School of Law and has published on FCA and litigation topics in Law360, USA Today, and other outlets.

Eric S. Crusius, Partner | Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP

Eric S. Crusius is a partner at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP whose regulatory practice spans the full range of government contract matters, including bid protests, claims and disputes, compliance, and government contract litigation. He counsels contractors on cybersecurity and privacy obligations in federal contracting, including FAR 52.204-21, DFARS requirements, the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program, and FedRAMP, and guides companies through cybersecurity incident response and litigation, including potential ramifications under the False Claims Act.

• Education & Credentials

Mr. Crusius earned his JD from Hofstra University School of Law and his BA in Social Science, with honors, from Hofstra University. He is admitted in New York and Virginia and before the US Supreme Court, the US Court of Federal Claims, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and federal district courts in Virginia and New York.

• Recognition & Leadership

Chambers USA recognized Mr. Crusius as a Leader in Government Contracts, USA-Nationwide, in 2025. He was named to Who’s Who Legal: Government Contracts in 2024 and received JD Supra Reader’s Choice Top Author honors in the government contracts industry in 2018, 2020, and 2024.

• Professional Involvement

Mr. Crusius holds leadership roles in the American Bar Association’s Section of Public Contract Law, including as Conference Director of its Virtual Speaker Series and committee co-chair. He served as President of the National Contract Management Association’s NOVA Chapter and is a member of the Professional Services Council. He hosts the Regulatory Phishing podcast on cybersecurity in government contracting.

• Experience

Mr. Crusius has successfully prosecuted and intervened in numerous bid protests before the US Court of Federal Claims, the GAO, and boards of contract appeals, including a successful challenge to an approximately $190 million award. He has guided breach response plans for defense contractors following cyberattacks, obtained favorable investigative outcomes after breach disclosures to the DOD, and won a $3.3 million verdict in a complex government contracts trial.

Michael G. Gruden, Partner | Steptoe LLP

Michael G. Gruden is a partner at Steptoe LLP and leads the firm’s Cybersecurity & Incident Response practice. His practice sits at the intersection of cybersecurity, government contracts, incident response, and cyber-related enforcement matters. A former Pentagon IT acquisition branch chief, he combines extensive experience from the US Department of Defense (DoD) and US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with nearly a decade of private practice advising multinational corporations and critical infrastructure operators on enterprise cybersecurity risk, compliance, and resilience.

• Education & Credentials

Mr. Gruden is a Certified Information Privacy Professional with a US government concentration (CIPP/G) and a Registered Practitioner under the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) framework. Mr. Gruden earned his JD from Georgetown University Law Center where he was an editor of the Journal of National Security Law & Policy.

• Recognition & Leadership

A recognized leader in cybersecurity and defense regulatory compliance, Mr. Gruden serves on the Appeals Board for the CMMC Accreditation Body (The Cyber AB). He is widely recognized for helping organizations translate complex regulatory requirements into practical technical implementation strategies and regularly advises executives, general counsel, CISOs, and technology leaders on cybersecurity governance, compliance, and incident response.

• Professional Involvement

Mr. Gruden chairs the American Bar Association Science & Technology Section’s Homeland Security Committee and speaks frequently before the ABA Section of Public Contract Law, The Cyber AB,  Association of Corporate Counsel, and industry cybersecurity conferences on topics including CMMC, FedRAMP, cyber incident response, and federal cybersecurity compliance.

• Experience

Mr. Gruden advises multinational corporations, critical infrastructure operators, defense contractors, cloud service providers, and technology companies on cybersecurity compliance and risk management, incident response, and cyber-related regulatory enforcement matters. His experience includes conducting privileged cybersecurity and CMMC assessments, advising on FedRAMP and cloud security requirements, leading ransomware and data breach investigations, managing domestic and international breach notification obligations, conducting cybersecurity compliance investigations, and defending organizations in cyber-related False Claims Act and whistleblower matters. He also counsels clients on software security, third-party risk management, Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) governance, and executive-level cyber preparedness exercises.

SESSION 1 – Building Qui Tam Cyber-Fraud Cases Against Defense Contractors and Their PE Sponsors | 1:00pm – 2:00pm

This session equips relators’ counsel and whistleblower attorneys with the legal theories, evidentiary frameworks, and practical tools needed to build FCA qui tam cases arising from cybersecurity noncompliance by defense contractors and their private equity sponsors. Attorneys will learn how CMMC, DFARS 252.204-7012, and SPRS score submissions create both implied and express false certification liability, how the landmark Gallant Capital settlement establishes PE sponsor exposure, and how to identify, vet, and represent the ideal whistleblower profile in cyber-fraud cases. Attendees will leave with a concrete understanding of the 2025 settlement landscape, actionable scienter patterns, and the evidentiary checklist for pre-filing investigation.

BREAK | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

SESSION 2 – Defending Cyber-Fraud False Claims Act Actions Against Defense Contractors and Their PE Sponsors | 2:10pm – 3:10pm

This session equips defense counsel with the doctrinal and practical tools to defend cybersecurity-related False Claims Act actions brought against defense contractors and their private equity sponsors. Attorneys will examine materiality and scienter defenses under the Escobar framework, successor liability exposure for PE-backed acquirers, cooperation credit strategy, and the recurring certification trap created by CMMC. Attendees leave with a working command of the 2025 settlement map, the untested state of DOJ’s litigation theory, and the specific defensive moves that have produced favorable resolutions.