Overview
- On Oct. 1 the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division issued Directive 26‑12 to guide corporate fraud investigations and resolutions across the Division.
- The Directive names four enforcement priorities—health care (including controlled substances and FDCA violations), government procurement and programs, tax and revenue evasion, and trade/tariff/forced‑labor issues.
- A new Corporate Enforcement Section must be notified of corporate probes and major developments and prosecutors were required to report ongoing corporate investigations to the Section within seven days.
- Prosecutors must give 'great weight' to ten listed factors when charging or resolving cases, including management involvement, concealment, schemes lasting three or more years, conduct spanning three or more federal districts, and losses of $25 million or harm to 25 or more victims.
- The Directive ties expanded data analytics from the National Fraud Detection Center to stronger whistleblower incentives while reaffirming that timely self‑disclosure, cooperation, and remediation can earn CEP credit, prompting companies in the priority sectors to reassess compliance, reporting and disclosure decisions.