The Trump administration’s crackdown on fraud continues to score victories against criminals who bleed American taxpayers dry and try to cheat customs officials.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced proudly on July 14 that the Trade Fraud Task Force (TFTF) hit a major milestone in under a year. Between publicly charged losses, forfeitures, criminal recoveries, and penalties, TFTF has managed to recover $1 billion. Now, when it comes to customs and trade enforcement, the federal emphasis is on civil enforcement and criminal prosecution, the DOJ press release noted.
This announcement comes soon after convictions or arrests of big-time fraudsters. In June, Bill Essayli, the first U.S. assistant attorney for the Central District of California, and Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, confirmed the arrests of multiple fraudsters who had been living lives of luxury replete with jewelry, expensive cars, and vacations purchased using stolen taxpayer money.
Around the same time, the Trump administration charged 455 defendants related to fraud. Thanks to collaboration from foreign and local authorities, the FBI also secured custody of two of its “most wanted” fraudsters, Herbert Leon Kimbel, guilty of a staggering $1.2 billion Medicare fraud conspiracy, and Said Abdullahi Ereg, who stole $4 million from a food program. And of course, the effort continues daily, particularly regarding stopping customs fraud, which is a whole separate area of potential exploitation.
The DOJ repeatedly highlighted the change that is ongoing in federal enforcement. “For too long, fraud actors have viewed customs violations as a mere surcharge or cost of doing business,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “By utilizing the Department’s full weight, we are making it clear that trade fraud is a serious economic crime. This billion-dollar milestone demonstrates that the United States and the National Fraud Enforcement Division will no longer allow the integrity of our country’s borders and markets to be compromised for illicit profit. This message should be heard loud and clear by all supply-chain actors.”
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The DOJ is working with the Department of Homeland Security and its Customs and Border Protection to bring about these reforms. “Ensuring that the global supply chain remains a level playing field for law-abiding American businesses is a critical component of CBP’s mission,” said U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney S. Scott.
“By pairing CBP’s operational reach with DOJ’s prosecutorial authority, we are dismantling the networks that seek to bypass our laws and undermine our economic security,” Scott continued. “Every day, CBP confronts criminal networks that exploit our supply chains, endanger American families with unsafe goods, threaten the integrity of our consumer and industrial markets, and undermine confidence in international commerce. Our message is clear: those who seek to exploit America’s trade system will be identified, investigated, and brought to justice.”
Through mislabeling, false declaration, and other methods, customs fraudsters try to make a profit while breaking America’s laws. But at every stage of the supply chain, from importers to customs brokers to industrial end-users, CBP and the DOJ are enforcing the law.
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