DOJ Deploys 500 Prosecutors to Stop Fraud Against Government Programs

The Department of Justice’s National Fraud Enforcement Division, which was created earlier this year, will have about 500 attorneys by Aug. 24 and will continue growing after that, according to a memo released Thursday (Aug. 13).

In the memo about the National Fraud Enforcement Division’s enforcement priorities, Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald said that the Government Accountability Office estimated that the federal government loses between $233 billion and $521 billion a year to fraud.

“These shocking figures alone are worth our full and complete attention,” McDonald said in the memo. “And there is so much more at stake than simply dollars and cents; unabated fraud inflicts just as much damage to the hearts and souls of Americans as it does to their wallets.”

Since its creation earlier this year, the Fraud Division has prosecuted complex crimes involving billions of dollars of fraud, according to the memo.

Now, the DOJ is increasing the division’s headcount and will bring the total to about 500 attorneys by Aug. 24, the memo said.

“The division will not stop there,” McDonald said in the memo. “With the support of department leadership, we will continue to rapidly grow for the next two years.”

Fraud Division attorneys will prioritize fraud involving public trust and financial integrity, healthcare, internal revenue, global trade and commerce, and corporate misconduct, per the memo.

“This administration’s whole-of-government approach to combating fraud is critical to advancing U.S. interests,” McDonald said in the memo. “The Fraud Division will continue to leverage its unique position as a leader in this fight to systematically target, prosecute and imprison fraudsters who dare steal from Americans and their government. With the division’s expansive mission and national presence, we are aggressively and meticulously repairing the damage inflicted on our social fabric by criminal fraudsters.”

The DOJ announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division in April, saying the new group would target those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars and that it would support President Donald Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.

On Aug. 6, the White House launched a website (fraud.gov) that tracks the actions taken by the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and the dollar amounts recovered through those actions. At the time of its launch, the Fraud Ledger website said the task force had uncovered nearly $230 billion in fraud since beginning its work in January 2025.