President Donald Trump announced Thursday the creation of a new Department of Justice division dedicated to national fraud enforcement, expanding federal efforts to investigate and prosecute large-scale fraud targeting government programs, businesses, nonprofits, and private citizens.
According to a White House fact sheet released January 8, the new DOJ division will focus on enforcing federal criminal and civil fraud laws nationwide, with particular emphasis on complex, multi-district, and multi-agency cases. The division will be led by a new Assistant Attorney General, who will oversee coordinated investigations across U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and federal agencies.
The Assistant Attorney General will also be responsible for setting national enforcement priorities, advising senior DOJ leadership on major fraud cases, and proposing legislative or regulatory reforms aimed at closing systemic vulnerabilities that enable large-scale fraud.
Minnesota Investigations Cited as Enforcement Example
The Trump administration pointed to Minnesota as a key example of the type of widespread fraud the new division is intended to address, citing multiple ongoing federal investigations into state programs, including Feeding Our Future, Housing Stabilization Services, Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention programs, and Medicaid-related cases.
According to the Department of Justice, federal prosecutors have charged 98 defendants in Minnesota-related fraud cases, with 64 convictions secured to date. Investigators have issued more than 1,750 subpoenas, executed over 130 search warrants, and conducted more than 1,000 witness interviews.
The administration said the FBI has deployed forensic accountants and data-analytics teams, while the Department of Homeland Security has sent approximately 2,000 agents to Minnesota to conduct targeted investigations tied to fraud and immigration enforcement. DHS has also arrested more than 1,000 criminal illegal aliens in recent weeks, according to the White House.
Federal agencies have additionally paused or frozen payments across multiple programs, including Medicaid, childcare assistance, housing assistance, SNAP benefits, unemployment insurance, and small-business grants, pending audits and compliance reviews. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has also halted payments to several Minnesota programs previously flagged for fraud, waste, and abuse.
Minnesota has been a focal point of federal fraud scrutiny following earlier warnings from state lawmakers and whistleblowers that went unaddressed, as The Dallas Express previously reported.
Nationwide Expansion of Fraud Enforcement
The administration said the new DOJ division is intended to centralize and expand fraud enforcement nationwide, building on current investigations while improving coordination across jurisdictions.
The Assistant Attorney General will also advise the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General on high-impact fraud matters and policy decisions, according to the White House.
The DOJ has not yet announced a timeline for appointing the division’s leadership or formally launching operations.
