The Department of Justice announced the first-ever National Tax Enforcement Surge, a nationwide crackdown on fraud against the Internal Revenue Service, on Tuesday evening ahead of the October 15 tax extension filing deadline.
Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General McDonald detailed the operation, which resulted in prosecutorial actions against 76 defendants over 45 days. The alleged and proven crimes totaled an intended loss of over $490 million.
Scale of Fraud 'a Crisis of the First Order'
McDonald, whose remarks were distributed by the White House rapid response account, characterized the scale of fraud against American taxpayers in stark terms.
"The sad truth confronting the United States is that criminals steal hundreds of billions of dollars every year from the taxpayer," he said. "To put this crisis into perspective, more taxpayer dollars go to fraudsters every year than to most federal departments and agencies, including the combined budgets of the departments of energy, justice and interior."
He continued: "No program is too noble or too compassionate for a fraudster. No program is off limits for a fraudster. They will take from all of us until there is nothing left."
McDonald credited President Trump, Vice President Vance, and Attorney General Blanche with launching what he called "the most robust, coordinated fraud fighting effort the country has ever attempted."
190 Days, 1,000 Enforcement Actions
Since Attorney General Blanche created the National Fraud Enforcement Division 190 days ago, the Department of Justice has announced over 1,000 major fraud enforcement actions across the country, McDonald said. Those cases span Medicaid fraud, SNAP fraud, HUD fraud, Social Security fraud, and SBA fraud.
"Different programs, different schemes, but the same target in all of these cases, the American people," McDonald said.
The newly announced tax surge specifically targets fraudulent schemes siphoning money from the IRS. McDonald cited a Government Accountability Office estimate from last month that taxpayers lose up to $304 billion every year due to fraud schemes perpetrated against the IRS.
"We are actively combating those tax fraud schemes," he said.
Charges Across the Country, Trial Victories
The 76 prosecutorial actions included new charges against 31 defendants whose alleged schemes targeted approximately $350 million in intended loss to the taxpayer, according to McDonald.
During the surge, the department also achieved two trial victories, dozens of other convictions through guilty pleas, and numerous sentencings of criminal fraudsters.
McDonald emphasized the nationwide scope of the operation, with cases brought from Alaska to Maine, to Florida, to Minnesota, and many states in between.
