The Department of Justice has launched a new National Fraud Enforcement Division, signaling increased attention to fraud-related issues affecting federal contractors. The U.S. Senate confirmed Colin McDonald on March 24 to serve as Assistant Attorney General overseeing the Division.

DOJ says the Division will coordinate nationwide civil and criminal fraud enforcement, oversee multi-district investigations, and set national enforcement priorities across federal programs and federally funded activities. The Division also will serve as a centralized resource for high-impact fraud matters across the Justice Department.

The new Division adds another layer to the DOJ’s efforts to investigate fraud involving recipients of federal funds. DOJ’s Civil Rights Fraud Initiative already targets entities that knowingly violate federal civil rights laws, including through unlawful DEI programs, and the Department has acknowledged ongoing investigations into contractors’ practices. It remains unclear how these matters will be allocated among DOJ components.

Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, can read more here. To reduce their risk exposure, federal contractors should consider using tools — such as CWC’s DEI Risk Assessment Package — to identify open risk areas and document their decisionmaking and remediation.