DOJ Fraud Division orders prosecutors to use early, pre-indictment asset seizures

Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald has issued Directive 26-13, setting out how the National Fraud Enforcement Division will investigate and prosecute fraud. The memo pushes prosecutors toward early, pre-indictment asset seizures, digital-infrastructure takedowns and the combined use of multiple enforcement authorities. For firms exposed to US fraud enforcement, it signals a more aggressive, disruption-focused posture worth a few minutes.

• Directive 26-13 requires Division prosecutors to deploy early, pre-indictment asset seizures and digital-infrastructure takedowns to freeze assets in real time.
• Prosecutors are directed to combine the Division's tax, securities fraud, consumer fraud and cybercrime authorities against fraud schemes.
• The directive urges developing cooperators, prosecuting corporate bad actors, seeking arrest and detention in appropriate cases, and fulsome advocacy at sentencing.
• The Division cites a GAO estimate that the federal government loses between $233 billion and $521 billion annually to fraud.
• The public may report corporate fraud to the Corporate Enforcement Section at corporate.enforcement@usdoj.gov.

Executive summary

Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division released Directive 26-13 on October 8, 2026, outlining what the Division calls its comprehensive approach in the fight against fraud. The directive expands on earlier guidance…

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