At the 2025 American Bar Association (“ABA”) White Collar Crime Institute in Miami, industry veterans forecasted the new Trump Administration’s white collar objectives by examining trends during the first Trump presidency. In the absence of officials from the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) to outline the Administration’s priorities, the “Consumer Protection – Health, Safety, Fraud, and Privacy Enforcement” panelists—Ethan Davis, Former Acting Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, DOJ, Hon. Patricia Brown Holmes, (Ret.), and Arun Rao, partner at Mayer Brown—added to the chorus of “wait and see” remarks heard throughout the conference, while also sharing insights about likely areas of focus in consumer protection.
Cases with “Real” Victims; Elderly Fraud
The first Trump Administration’s consumer protection efforts focused primarily on unlawful drug distribution and elderly fraud schemes. Panelists predicted that cases pursued by the new administration will likely remain focused on those involving “real” victims—that is, people with concrete losses or impacts—rather than cases serving regulatory interests.
In that vein, the panelists agreed that the Administration would likely continue to crack down on fraud against the elderly. The first Trump Administration had targeted grandparent scams and romance scams. During the Biden Administration, there were tremendous efforts to extradite perpetrators of these crimes to the United States.1 And those efforts have continued in the early days of the second Trump Administration,2 which Davis viewed as critical, noting the temptation to focus on U.S.-based perpetrators and suggesting the real bad actors are often overseas. Panelists also predicted a surge in the use of cryptocurrency to perpetuate elderly fraud, given its ability to transmit money overseas without leaving much of a trace, and potentially making it an area of increased oversight.
Gender-Affirming Care
The Trump Administration has publicly remarked about gender-affirming care for transgender individuals. Panelists predicted that the Administration may pursue consumer protection litigation against pharmaceutical and medical device companies that manufacture products used in gender-affirming care. There may also be litigation against medical providers who offer gender affirming care.
The panelists discussed state reactions to the federal government’s statements critical of transgender health care. There is significant variation on a state-by-state basis as to whether governments intend to follow the federal government’s lead. Given the disparate approaches across states, Judge Holmes predicted irregularity in approaches, where an individual seeking care for gender dysphoria would have access to care in one state but not in another.
Make America Healthy Again and Foreign-Made Products
In February, just a few weeks before the conference, President Trump announced the establishment of the “Make America Healthy Again Commission”3 (colloquially known as “MAHA”) with the mandate to understand and lower chronic disease rates. At the same time, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (“FDA”), which is typically a key partner in consumer protection efforts, including some within the MAHA framework, had a significant reduction in resources. According to the panelists, these cuts may impact the FDA’s preexisting efforts to ensure the safety of medical devices, devices using artificial intelligence, food additives, and e-cigarettes, objectives seemingly aligned with MAHA priorities.
Rao predicted that e-cigarettes may be an area where the Trump Administration continues enforcement efforts undertaken by the Biden Administration. The Trump Administration may well enforce rules concerning e-cigarettes and vaping products, though what form such enforcement may take remains to be seen. Concerns about these products do not always break down along party lines, given that the products—including unapproved flavored e-cigarette products—are widely available, manufactured abroad, and impact children. But Rao noted that the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which had been pursuing e-cigarette enforcement through the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (“PACT”) Act under the Biden Administration, may have recently been redirected to immigration initiatives by the Trump Administration.
Panelists also predicted that the Administration’s focus on trade and tariffs could impact False Claims Act enforcement. They said there would be opportunities for companies to make mistakes regarding imports and certifications that the government could view as deliberate fraud or deliberate avoidance of tariffs.
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The past is prologue, and the industry veterans at the ABA White Collar Crime Institute looked to the first Trump Administration for clues about where the second may focus consumer protection enforcement efforts. The panelists predicted the government will target crimes with tangible victims, such as elderly fraud, focus its oversight on gender-affirming care, and continue some regulation of e-cigarettes. The rest remains to be seen.
1E.g., https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-extradition-and-guilty-plea-connection-international-fraud.
2https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/2-dominican-nationals-extradited-connection-grandparent-scam.
3https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/establishing-the-presidents-make-america-healthy-again-commission/.
