Establishing the National Fraud Enforcement Division

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Federal Register / Vol. 91, No. 158 / Tuesday, August 18, 2026 / Rules and Regulations

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Office of the Attorney General

28 CFR Part 0

Establishing the National Fraud Enforcement Division

Department of Justice.

Final rule.

This rule amends Part 0 of the Department of Justice's ("Department") organizational regulations in title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations to establish the National Fraud Enforcement Division ("Fraud Division") and set forth its authorities.

Effective August 24, 2026.

Michael Fraggetta, National Fraud Enforcement Division, Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20530; telephone: (202) 514-2000; email: [email protected].

The Department has established the Fraud Division as part of a revamped, comprehensive approach to investigating and prosecuting fraud against taxpayer dollars and taxpayer-funded programs.\1\ The Fraud Division's mission is to investigate and prosecute those who commit fraud against the American people. At the core of this mission is a mandate to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars. The Fraud Division fulfills its mission by using advanced, data-driven investigative techniques; coordinating with agencies responsible for administering taxpayer- funded programs; partnering with Federal, Tribal, State, territorial, and local law enforcement on fraud-fighting efforts; developing systems and processes that ensure efficient identification and investigation of fraud; and equipping prosecutors and law enforcement with state-of-the- art tools and resources needed to bring criminal actors to justice. The Fraud Division works every day to protect the financial integrity of the United States of America, ensure the vibrancy of the American economy, and seek justice for victims of fraud.

\1\ See Memorandum from the Acting Attorney General, Creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (Apr. 7, 2026), https://www.justice.gov/ag/media/1435311/dl?inline [https://perma.cc/DHR4-VHPP].

Through this rule, the Attorney General delegates certain powers and authorities to the Assistant Attorney General for the Fraud Division and makes conforming amendments to the authorities previously delegated to the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division ("CRM"). The rule creates a new subpart M, composed of Sec. Sec. 0.70 and 0.71 and which sets forth the Fraud Division's general functions and authorities, and makes conforming changes to CRM's regulations at Sec. 0.55, as discussed below.

A. Section 0.70

Section 0.70 sets forth the functions assigned to and that shall be conducted, handled, or supervised by the Assistant Attorney General for the Fraud Division. These include handling: (1) criminal proceedings involving criminal frauds except cases assigned to the Antitrust Division by Sec. 0.40(a), see 28 CFR 0.70(a); (2) criminal proceedings arising under the internal revenue laws, see 28 CFR 0.70(b); (3) criminal proceedings relating to trade fraud matters, including the importation of goods, items, articles, merchandise, products, materials, or wares; customs duties, tariffs, or other external revenue; or foreign commerce, see 28 CFR 0.70(c); (4) criminal proceedings involving monies owed to or paid by the United States, see 28 CFR 0.70(d); (5) criminal proceedings involving fraud or abuse with respect to health plans, see 28 CFR 0.70(e); and (6) criminal proceedings related to health care fraud and controlled substances distribution and diversion schemes, see 28 CFR 0.70(f). To ensure necessary flexibility, Sec. 0.70 also includes two paragraphs allowing the Fraud Division to oversee additional cases or types of cases assigned by the Attorney General or Deputy Attorney General or by agreement with the Assistant Attorney General having authority to handle such cases. See 28 CFR 0.70(g), (h). Similarly, paragraph (i) provides the Fraud Division authority to bring actions to seek injunctions against fraud under 18 U.S.C. 1345, obtain restitution, seize or forfeit property, recover forfeitures or damages, enforce compliance with final judgments, recover penalties, and impose penalties, including actions for the imposition of penalties for conspiring to defraud the United States, when such actions are related to proceedings identified in paragraphs (a) through (f). See 28 CFR 0.70(i). And paragraph (j) provides the Fraud Division authority to prosecute any Federal criminal provision when charged in criminal proceedings brought pursuant to paragraphs (a) through (f). See 28 CFR 0.70(j). Paragraph (k) allows FRD to investigate criminal conduct in pursuit of cases under paragraphs (a) through (f) and to prosecute any criminal charges identified as a result of such investigations whether or not such prosecutions fit within the descriptions in paragraphs (a) through (f). See 28 CFR 0.70(k). Finally, paragraph (l) allows the Attorney General or Deputy Attorney General to assign the Fraud Division other duties and functions. See 28 CFR 0.70(l).

B. Section 0.55

The Department is amending CRM's provisions in Sec. 0.55 in three ways. First, the rule revises the paragraph generally assigning criminal fraud litigation to CRM to carve out cases involving frauds that are now specifically assigned to the Fraud Division--i.e., tax frauds and fraud with respect to health plans. See 28 CFR 0.55(b). Second, the rule revises CRM's authority to handle "[a]ll" criminal and civil litigation under two acts relating to controlled substances by removing the word "all". See 28 CFR 0.55(c). This change will ensure that CRM does not have exclusive authority to bring charges under such provisions, such that the Fraud Division may bring such charges where authorized to do so. Third, the rule removes paragraph (w), which previously assigned to CRM all criminal proceedings arising under the internal revenue laws. See generally Transfer of the Functions of the Tax Division to the Civil Division and the

Criminal Division, 90 FR 57139, 57140 (Dec. 10, 2025) (assigning criminal tax prosecutions to CRM).

C. Section 0.71

The rule adds new Sec. 0.71, which mirrors CRM's provision at Sec. 0.59. It allows the Assistant Attorney General of the Fraud Division (or his Deputy Assistant Attorneys General, as applicable) to exercise functions assigned to the Attorney General under 18 U.S.C. 3331 and 3503 relating to the certification of special grand juries, see 28 CFR 0.71(a), and certification that a legal proceeding is against a person who is believed to have participated in an organized criminal activity, for purposes of obtaining depositions to preserve testimony, see 28 CFR 0.71(b).

This rule makes two other technical and consistency changes. First, the rule adds the "National Fraud Enforcement Division" to the table of organizational units within the Department in Sec. 0.1. Second, the rule amends paragraph (b) of Sec. 0.13 to allow Assistant Attorneys General to redelegate all litigating authority to Section Chiefs by removing a prohibition on redelegating authority to designate attorneys to conduct grand jury proceedings. This change allows Assistant Attorneys General greater flexibility in managing their duties and responsibilities.

This rule is a rule of agency organization, procedure, and practice; is limited to matters of agency management and personnel; and is not a substantive rule. Therefore, this rule is exempt from the requirements of prior notice and comment and a 30-day delay in the effective date. See 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2), (b)(3)(A), (d).

B. Executive Order 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review), Executive Order 13563 (Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review), and Executive Order 14192 (Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation)

This final rule is not a significant regulatory action under section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866, as supplemented by Executive Order 13563. This rule is limited to agency organization, management, and personnel as described by section 3(d)(3) of Executive Order 12866 and therefore is not a "regulation" or "rule" as defined by that Executive Order. Accordingly, this action has not been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget. Further, as this rule relates to agency organization, management, or personnel, it is not subject to the requirements of Executive Order 14192.