United States Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald announced that over 76 have faced “prosecutorial actions” after a multi-state anti-tax fraud effort.
The vast majority of Justice Department districts around the United States participated in the “National Tax Enforcement Surge” in the last month and a half, which the department says resulted in over $450 million in “intended loss to the federal government” being discovered.
“We are not looking for a person for clicked the wrong button on an online filing form […] we are looking for people who lied on purpose to take money that they knew didn’t belong to them,” McDonald told reporters on Wednesday at a news conference.
“These are not errors. These are criminal schemes […] designed to be hard to find,” he further added.
"These are not errors. These are criminal schemes." Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald takes aim at deliberate tax fraud during a DOJ press conference, detailing schemes involving stolen identities, fraudulent refunds and illegal trusts used to hide taxable income. "These are criminal schemes built deliberately, run for years, designed to be hard to find and paid for every single time by the Americans who file taxes honestly and pay what they owe."
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 14, 2026
IRS Commissioner Frank Bisignano said that the crackdown is meant to display that “the system is fair.”
“Enforcement of the tax laws is critical to ensuring fairness in our tax system,” Bisignano said, adding that compliance that’s “strong, visible and robust” is a “top priority” for him.
“Criminal investigation is on the front line of many tax related crimes,” he added, including evasion both domestic and foreign, including fraud related to the COVID-19 pandemic and sham “tax return preparers.”
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“The IRS and DOJ are making significant progress in combatting tax related crime,” he added.
Specifically, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Kelly Hayes pointed out a case involving an alleged $2.8 million in employment tax fraud involving a business owner.
She said the message to potential fraudsters is simple:
“If you cheat the system, you will be identified, investigated and prosecuted,” Hayes said.
The National Fraud Enforcement Division was created as part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to crack down on fraud and abuse of taxpayer-funded programs. There is also an anti-fraud task force that Vice President JD Vance helms, which announced last week that it was investigating companies like Microsoft and Adobe for potential visa fraud, as well as several universities for alleged misuse of the immigration system.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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