Contributors

Related

The Fraud Section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Criminal Division released its 2025 Year in Review, highlighting a historic year of white-collar enforcement. The Section achieved record-setting results, including the largest health care fraud takedown in DOJ history (with over $14.6 billion in alleged intended losses), 15 corporate enforcement actions (including the first corporate indictments in over 15 years), charges against 265 individuals, 25 trials, and total global resolutions exceeding $1 billion. This reflects sustained aggressive enforcement and a significant expansion in scope and resource.

Enforcement spanned foreign corruption, securities and market fraud, trade and customs violations, health care fraud, and newly emphasized public health and safety threats. Below is a summary of key trends, aligned with the official report, followed by actionable takeaways for 2026.

Anti-Corruption Enforcement

Following a February 2025 Presidential Executive Order pausing certain FCPA activity, the Unit conducted a comprehensive review and resumed targeted enforcement in the second half of the year. This aligned with the Deputy Attorney General’s June 2025 Guidelines, which prioritize cases involving U.S. economic or national security interests, substantial bribes, distortions of fair competition, or facilitation of transnational criminal organizations. See more details in our previous alert here.

The Unit secured three corporate enforcement actions: the Fraud Section’s first corporate FCPA indictment in 15 years (against a voting machine company for bribery tied to the 2016 Philippine elections, combined with money laundering charges), a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with a South American telecommunications provider ($6 million penalty), and a CEP declination for an insurance carrier. The Unit also charged individuals and obtained convictions, demonstrating a disciplined, high-impact approach that rewards cooperation while pursuing consequential cases.

Securities, Commodities & Cryptocurrency Enforcement

The rebranded MGC Unit (formerly Market Integrity and Major Frauds) integrated criminal consumer fraud responsibilities and prosecutors from the former Consumer Protection Branch. It resolved five corporate matters and two CEP declinations (totaling approximately $250 million in penalties) and charged 62 individuals.

A core focus was dismantling schemes involving foreign issuers on U.S. exchanges, including variable interest entities used for “ramp and dumps” and market manipulation targeting American investors. This emphasis on protecting U.S. markets from cross-border fraud remains a priority.

Federal Procurement & Trade Fraud (MGC Unit)

The MGC Unit pursued fraud in government contracts, taxpayer-funded programs (e.g., unemployment insurance, veterans’ benefits, disaster/pandemic relief), and expanded explicitly into large-scale trade and customs fraud to evade tariffs and trade laws.

A landmark case involved the first coordinated corporate-individual trade fraud resolution: a scheme falsifying country-of-origin declarations to evade Section 301 duties on Chinese-origin products. The DOJ declined to prosecute the company (crediting $6.8 million paid in related civil False Claims Act liability for unpaid duties) while charging the former Chief Operating Officer, who agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to smuggle goods.

Health Care Fraud & Health and Safety

The Health Care Fraud Unit (HCF) operated nine Strike Forces across 26 districts, charging 195 individuals in schemes with over $15 billion in alleged losses. Its data analytics team processed 2,085 requests and 164 proactive referrals. A standout was Operation Gold Rush, a transnational $10 billion durable medical equipment scheme involving fraudulent Medicare claims for urinary catheters.

Enforcement targeted emerging schemes (telemedicine, wound care), transnational networks, foreign/corporate misconduct, addiction treatment fraud, and prescription drug abuse, with aggressive seizure and forfeiture to safeguard public funds.

On November 30, 2025, the new Health and Safety Unit (HSU) launched with 23 prosecutors to address violations threatening public health/safety, including adulterated/misbranded/counterfeit food, drugs, and devices; transportation safety; and dangerous consumer products. The HSU resolved four corporate matters and charged four individuals. More on HSU here.

False Claims Act

While not covered in the Fraud Section’s criminal report, related civil FCA enforcement hit a historic high in FY 2025: over $6.8 billion in settlements (more than double FY 2024), driven by a record 1,297 qui tam lawsuits generating $5.3 billion in recoveries, and 401 new investigations. Health care fraud accounted for over $5.7 billion of recoveries, but trade fraud is a rising area of FCA enforcement.

Key Takeaways for 2026

The 2025 results signal unrelenting enforcement momentum into 2026, amplified by the Section’s growth, new units, and data-driven approaches. Companies should act decisively:

  • Leverage CEP Incentives Aggressively: Nearly all corporate resolutions favored cooperation/remediation/voluntary disclosure, with no monitors imposed and multiple declinations. Strong internal compliance, prompt self-reporting, thorough investigations, and documented fixes remain the most effective risk mitigators.
     
  • Prioritize High-Impact Anti-corruption Risks: Enforcement is targeted but severe for cases tied to U.S. interests, large bribes, or competitive harm. Enhanced whistleblower/self-disclosure programs will drive more cases—bolster anti-corruption controls in high-risk jurisdictions.
     
  • Strengthen Trade/Supply Chain Compliance: Trade fraud is now a core priority, with coordinated corporate-individual actions and tariff evasion scrutiny. This enforcement posture is supported by DOJ’s use of Trade Fraud Task Force and coordinated referrals from SEC’s cross‑border matters. Multinationals sourcing from high-risk areas must rigorously verify country-of-origin, customs declarations, and tariff compliance to avoid parallel criminal and civil FCA exposure.
     
  • Fortify Health Care and Safety Defenses: Record alleged losses and analytics-driven detection mean telemedicine, DME, wound care, and transnational schemes face intense focus. The HSU’s expansion signals rising risks in FDA-regulated areas (misbranded drugs/devices, counterfeit products, consumer safety defects)—especially in industry-heavy districts like Boston and Philadelphia. Proactive audits and compliance are essential.
     
  • Anticipate Faster Detection via Data Analytics and Whistleblowers: Record FCA qui tams and analytics investments across units will accelerate anomaly detection and investigations. Robust internal reporting channels and remediation protocols are critical to early intervention.
     
  • Navigate Structural Changes Confidently: The new National Fraud Enforcement Division may create some overlap, but the Fraud Section’s track record and expanded resources position it to sustain aggressive enforcement.

These trends underscore that while enforcement is broadening and intensifying, companies demonstrating genuine commitment to integrity and cooperation can achieve favorable outcomes. Proactive compliance enhancements now will be far more cost-effective than reactive enforcement responses later.

Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP’s White Collar Defense and Criminal Investigations Team navigates domestic and international clients in all manner of white collar, regulatory, corporate and congressional investigations. Our team includes a distinguished roster of veteran defense attorneys, former federal prosecutors and U.S. Attorneys who served at the highest levels of the Department of Justice and at leading United States Attorneys’ Offices. Our team includes Chambers Ranked (Band 1) lawyers and alumni of the U.S. Department of Justice, the SEC’s Enforcement Division, the U.S. Senate, House of Representatives, and in-house compliance specialists of publicly traded companies.