Creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division

In April 2026, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a memorandum formally establishing the National Fraud Enforcement Division (NFED) as a stand-alone Department of Justice litigating division. The April 7, 2026 memorandum defined the Division's "core mission" as investigating and prosecuting "those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars" and scoped its work to "fraud against taxpayer dollars and taxpayer-funded programs." Effective immediately, the memorandum gave the Division's Assistant Attorney General operational control over the Criminal Division's Tax Section, Health Care Fraud Unit, and Market, Government, and Consumer Fraud Unit; directed the Office of Legal Policy within thirty days to recommend additional Criminal Division units for absorption, applying a "reasonable presumption" that any criminal unit or section with a "mission similar" to the new Division's would be brought within it; required each U.S. Attorney's Office to designate a dedicated NFED prosecutor within twenty‑one days; and tasked the Division with establishing a National Fraud Detection Center in coordination with the Task Force created by Executive Order 14,395, "Establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud." Although the memorandum does not mention it, previous statements and publications from White House officials in January 2026 noted that this new division would also investigate networks that finance and fund political violence and domestic terrorism.