Acting attorney general announces National Fraud Enforcement Division to coordinate prosecutions
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Summary
The acting attorney general said the Justice Department will create a National Fraud Enforcement Division and a National Fraud Detection Center to centralize expertise and data analytics for health-care, tax and other fraud, and said the unit will work with U.S. attorneys and federal agencies; reporters pressed him on staffing, White House referrals and subpoenas for leak investigations.
The acting attorney general announced the creation of a National Fraud Enforcement Division and directed establishment of a prosecutor-led National Fraud Detection Center to centralize criminal fraud investigations and data analytics across the Justice Department.
He said the division will bring together experts in health-care fraud, tax fraud, benefits fraud and corporate fraud and that ‘‘there will be an additional 93 prosecutors in every district across the country devoted to the mission of combating fraud,’’ adding that U.S. attorney offices nationwide will participate and that the department will ‘‘spare no resources’’ to pursue cases. ‘‘I am proud to announce in greater detail the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division,’’ he said.
Why it matters: The department framed the move as a response to what it described as large-scale, increasingly sophisticated fraud against taxpayer-funded programs. The acting attorney general said the government is pursuing high-dollar health-care and COVID-related fraud matters and that hundreds of criminal matters and thousands of fraud-related inquiries are underway across the country.
Reporters questioned the acting attorney general about whether the unit will be insulated from political influence and whether the White House or the vice president’s task force will be able to make referrals. He replied that the division’s prosecutors and staff will report through the usual Department of Justice chain of command and said ‘‘when we talk about ending weaponization . . . it means nothing to me because it’s completely false.’’ He also said the department will accept tips and referrals ‘‘from anywhere’’ including the White House if a president raises an allegation.
On staffing, the acting attorney general said the department plans a mix of detailees from U.S. attorneys’ offices and new hires so prosecutors can remain based in their districts while supporting the national effort. He named Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald as the official who will lead the effort and said McDonald and the anti-fraud task force will provide further details in coming days and weeks.
Reporters pressed about scope and civil enforcement: the acting attorney general said the initiative is ‘‘primarily criminal’’ but that he did not want to ‘‘box anybody into a corner’’ and left open the possibility of civil components or coordination with civil-fraud work such as False Claims Act matters.
When asked about hospice fraud specifically, he said prosecutions will target whoever committed the offense—‘‘if it’s the doctor, it’s the doctor; if it’s the hospital organization itself, fine; if it’s the families of the patient, fine.’’
Reporters also asked whether the Justice Department would investigate and, if necessary, issue subpoenas in leak investigations that involve classified information and risks to service members. The acting attorney general said the department ‘‘will always investigate’’ such leaks and that ‘‘if it means sending a subpoena to the reporter, that’s exactly what we should do, and that’s exactly what we will be doing.’’
On the departure of former Attorney General Pam Bondi, the acting attorney general declined to say why she left and said those personnel decisions are the president’s; when asked about compliance with a House Oversight Committee subpoena for the former attorney general, he said he did not have an answer and would leave it to congressional leadership.
The announcement was presented as an administrative action; no formal vote, rulemaking or timetable for full implementation was recorded during the conference. The acting attorney general said additional staffing and operational details will be provided by Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald and the anti-fraud task force in the coming days.
Ending: The department framed the new division as an effort to ‘‘supercharge’’ fraud prosecutions and warned fraudsters they would be investigated and prosecuted; reporters will await more detail from McDonald about staffing, case selection and how the division will coordinate referrals and civil enforcement.
