DOJ Built a Division Just for Fraud. Time to Prepare.

The takeaway is simple. Investigations may start sooner, move faster, and begin with a tip from inside your own company.

For the first time, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has a division entirely devoted to fighting fraud. On October 1, 2026, the DOJ released a memo directing federal prosecutors to “place great weight” on a new list of factors when deciding whether to bring charges in corporate fraud cases. Prosecutors will look first at whether company executives knew about or took part in the fraud and will also weigh efforts to hide fraud from the government, schemes that last three years or more or reach three or more federal districts, harm to programs funded by taxpayers, 25 or more victims or $25 million or more in losses, and links to national security, immigration offenses or foreign adversaries. The DOJ will also prioritize schemes involving healthcare, financial markets, government contracts, tax evasion and tariff evasion. DOJ is putting significant resources behind this push. It has moved about 500 attorneys and staff into its new Fraud Division, is relying more on data analytics and a new National Fraud Detection Center to spot fraud quickly and is building programs to encourage whistleblowers to come forward.

The best time to prepare is before the government calls. Miller Johnson’s White Collar and Investigations team includes former federal prosecutors who know how DOJ weighs these factors because they have applied them themselves. We help companies and their leaders test their compliance programs against DOJ’s current priorities, address internal concerns before they become whistleblower complaints, and act quickly and strategically if a subpoena, search warrant or target letter arrives. If you have already been contacted by the government, reach out right away. If your business touches government programs, healthcare, financial markets, government contracts, tax or tariffs, now is the time to act. Contact a member of the Miller Johnson White Collar and Investigations team to discuss how these priorities affect your organization.