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Paul Davis: U.S. Attorney’s Office announces creation of Interagency Fraud Task Force

Created in part due to the exposure of the massive federal fraud cases in Minnesota and other states, President Trump announced the creation of the National Fraud Division in January of 2026, commissioning the division with a broad mandate to “enforce the Federal criminal and civil laws against fraud targeting Federal government programs, Federally funded benefits, businesses, nonprofits, and private citizens nationwide.”

According to the Justice Department, the Fraud Division is central to the Department of Justice’s support of President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

“The Department of Justice’s National Fraud Enforcement Division (“Fraud Division”) investigates and prosecutes those who commit fraud against the American people,” the Justice Department stated. “We fulfill our 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.”

Here in Philadelphia U.S. Attorney David Mecalf (seen in the above photo) announced the creation of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (“EDPA”) Interagency Fraud Task Force (“IFTF”).

The Task Force consists of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Department of Justice’s National Fraud Enforcement Division (“NFED”), and 14 other federal law enforcement agencies. Through expanded data-sharing and investigative cooperation, the IFTF will focus on detecting, investigating, and prosecuting those who defraud and steal from American taxpayers.

On October 1st the U.S. Attorney’s Office (“USAO”) hosted the first meeting of the IFTF, attended by federal prosecutors and representatives of the member agencies. Topics of discussion included cultivating all available criminal intelligence, innovating methods for identifying leads, and enhancing cross-agency collaboration and information sharing.

“The great fraud of our time has been against the American taxpayer by criminals who have looted government benefits programs,” Metcalf said. “Although we have enjoyed strong partnerships with individual agencies to combat this threat, it is time to get everyone to the table and muster a total approach to identifying, investigating, and prosecuting government fraud. Safeguarding the public fisc requires nothing less than striking fear in the heart of every fraudster who would steal from the national till.”

Metcalf also thanked the agencies comprising the EDPA Interagency Fraud Task Force for their collaboration and commitment to the fighting fraud on behalf of the U.S. government and the taxpayers who fund it.

The 14 federal law enforcement agencies joining the USAO and NFED on the IFTF:

► Defense Criminal Investigative Service
► Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General
► Drug Enforcement Administration
► Federal Bureau of Investigation
► Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations
► Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General
► Homeland Security Investigations
► Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General
► Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation
► Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General
► Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General
► Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration
► U.S. Postal Inspection Service
► Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General

“These efforts are part of the nationwide initiative to combat fraud led by the White House and Department of Justice. On March 16, 2026, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 14395, directing federal agencies to coordinate and accelerate a comprehensive strategy to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse within federal benefit programs, to be led by the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance,” the USAO stated.

Nearly everyone believes they pay far too much in taxes. And nearly everyone believes the government wastes far too much money. So when the massive fraud in Minnesota was exposed – such as a federally funded children’s learning center that misspelled learning on its sign - “Learing Center” – and was found to not have any actual children there by a young independent reporter, taxpayers were infuriated.

Hopefully the National Fraud Enforcement Division and the local federal task force can put a stop to the massive federal fraud being committed throughout the country.

Paul Davis’s On Crime column appears here each week. He is also a contributor to Counterterrorism magazine. He can be reached via pauldavisoncrime.com.

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Paul Davis

Paul Davis is a writer who covers crime. He has written extensively about organized crime, cybercrime, street crime, white collar crime, crime fiction, crime prevention, the military, espionage and terrorism. He is a contributor to the Washington Examiner and Counterterrorism magazine, and he writes the magazine's online 'Threatcon' column. His 'Crime Beat' column, which covers crime news, crime issues and crime prevention in South Philadelphia, appears weekly in the South Philly Review, and his 'On Crime' column, which covers crime in the Greater Philadelphia region, appears weekly at Philly Daily and Broad and Liberty. His crime fiction appears in American Crime Magazine. His work has also appeared in the Washington Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia Weekly and other publications. As a writer, he has attended police academy training, gone out on patrol with police officers, accompanied detectives as they worked cases, accompanied narcotics officers on drug raids, observed criminal court proceedings, visited jails and prisons, and covered street riots, mob wars and murder investigations. He has interviewed police commissioners and chiefs, FBI, DEA, HSI and other federal special agents, prosecutors, judges, public officials, WWII UDT frogmen, Navy SEALs, Army Delta operators, Israeli commandos, military intelligence officers, Scotland Yard detectives, CIA officers, former KGB officers, film and TV actors, film writers, directors and producers, journalists, novelists and true crime authors, gamblers, outlaw bikers, and Cosa Nostra organized crime bosses. Paul Davis has been a student of crime since he was a 12-year-old aspiring writer growing up in South Philadelphia. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy when he was 17 in 1970. He served aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Kitty Hawk during the Vietnam War and he later served two years aboard the Navy harbor tugboat U.S.S. Saugus at the U.S. floating nuclear submarine base at Holy Loch, Scotland. He went on to become the civilian administrative officer of a Defense Department command in Philadelphia, where he oversaw security, safety and other programs for the command's military and civilian employees, and served as an investigating officer, while working part-time as a newspaper crime reporter and columnist. He retired in 2007 after more than 37 Navy/DOD years of service and became a full-time writer. From 1991 to 2005 he was a producer and on-air host of "Inside Government," a public affairs interview radio program that aired on Sunday mornings on WPEN AM and WMGK FM in the Philadelphia area. You can read Paul Davis' crime columns, crime fiction, book reviews and news and feature articles on this website. You can read his full bio by clicking on the above photo (by Brittany Davis-Pearson). And you can contact Paul Davis at pauldavisoncrime@aol.com.

Paul Davis On Crime

Thursday, October 8, 2026

My Philly Daily On Crime Column: United States Attorney’s Office In Philadelphia Announces Creation of Interagency Fraud Task Force