‘Comprehensive and coordinated’: Whether and how DOJ ramps up fraud enforcement remains to be seen

On April 7, 2026, the Department of Justice (DOJ or Department) announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (NFED). The new division’s “core mission,” according to the memorandum released by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, will be “to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars.”^[1] President Donald Trump first announced that the NFED would be forthcoming in January, and Colin McDonald was confirmed as the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the new division last month.^[2] 

The Department’s goal is to adopt “a comprehensive and coordinated approach to investigating and prosecuting fraud against taxpayer dollars and taxpayer-funded programs.” It is still unclear, however, whether this means sweeping changes to both criminal and civil fraud enforcement or just a change in the Department’s organization chart; although Vice President JD Vance initially indicated that the new Assistant Attorney General of the NFED would report directly to the White House, acting Attorney General Blanche subsequently clarified that the NFED would report to the Deputy Attorney General’s office, as do all criminal units within DOJ. The most immediate effects appear organizational rather than substantive, and it will likely be some time before we see whether the NFED delivers on its promises of “a robust litigating division capable of reaching any fraud.”

Organizational changes

According to the memo, the NFED is immediately assuming operational control of the Criminal Division’s existing Tax Section, Health Care Fraud Unit, and Market, Government, and Consumer Fraud Unit, with recommendations for other sections or units to follow. The memo also directs each U.S. Attorney’s Office to “designate an experienced prosecutor to be detailed-in-place” to the NFED.

The full scope and priorities of the NFED are yet to be determined, but the acting Attorney General has already signaled the Department’s intent to substantially increase the federal government’s resources devoted to fraud enforcement. Among the memo’s directives are:

• The establishment of a National Fraud Detection Center, in coordination with Trump’s recently created Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, that will be “dedicated to identifying fraud across taxpayer-funded programs and generating leads for investigators and prosecutors”
• The implementation of a hiring plan intended to “rapidly and substantially increase prosecutorial resources across the country to combat fraud against taxpayer-funded programs”
• An increase in the number of FBI “agents, analysts, and forensic accountants available to investigate fraud against taxpayer-funded programs”
• Recommendations from the Office of Legal Policy “for strengthening” the laws, regulations and guidelines that bear on fraud enforcement and penalties.

The bigger picture

This latest move by the Department is consistent with the Trump administration’s broad emphasis on investigating, prosecuting and deterring fraud. And the administration continues to be particularly focused on fraud enforcement in the health care industry, as we highlighted last year.^[3] On the same day the Department announced the creation of the NFED, it also announced several civil and criminal fraud enforcement prosecutions involving more than half a billion dollars, including a guilty plea and a related civil settlement for an alleged Affordable Care Act enrollment scheme, a guilty plea in a case involving fraudulent California Medicaid claims, and a 54-month prison sentence in a case based on fraudulent COVID-19-related employment tax credits.^[4] And when the White House announced the establishment of the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud last month, it again emphasized the administration’s focus on investigating Medicaid fraud.^[5]

For now, civil fraud enforcement (including investigations and complaints brought under the False Claims Act) is still outside the scope of the NFED. However, that may change in the coming months. The acting Attorney General’s memo directs the Civil Division to designate a liaison to the NFED “to ensure that the Department leverages the full range of enforcement tools—civil and criminal—to combat fraud against taxpayer dollars.” It also directs the Office of Legal Policy to make a recommendation within 120 days “on whether non-criminal elements of the Department should be brought within” the NFED.

Precisely how the Department and the NFED will strengthen fraud enforcement remains to be seen. Whether and how the government can fund the increased resources, heightened enforcement activity and additional hiring described in the acting Attorney General’s memo are also uncertain. And although the Department’s focus still appears to be on Medicaid and similar programs for now, it very well could expand as the NFED grows and takes shape. Companies and individuals that receive government funding or tax credits should make sure they remain compliant with all applicable laws and regulations and are monitoring to prevent or detect any fraud. We will continue to monitor the NFED’s priorities and any changes to the way the Department investigates and prosecutes fraud cases. 

^[1] _{Memorandum, https://www.justice.gov/ag/media/1435311/dl?inline.}

^[2] _{Prior to joining DOJ in 2025, McDonald spent 10 years in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, where he helped prosecute a series of public corruption cases against Honolulu city officials.}

^[3] _{https://www.hsfkramer.com/insights/2025-07/no-rest-for-the-caretakers-health-care-industry-in-crosshairs-for-expanded-fca-and-criminal-enforcement-activity.} 

^[4] _{See https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-prosecutes-half-billion-dollars-healthcare-and-covid-fraud-schemes.} 

^[5] _{See https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2026/03/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-establishes-the-task-force-to-eliminate-fraud/.}