In a September 2025 client alert, White & Case forecast that the new interagency Trade Fraud Task Force signaled a prioritization and dedication of resources by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigating customs- and trade-related fraud and could lead to a significant increase in both criminal and civil enforcement actions. Two enforcement actions recently announced on the same day show that the DOJ is, in fact, pursuing both criminal and civil enforcement of fraud allegations involving international trade practices. Specifically, these resolutions demonstrate (1) the increasing role of DOJ criminal components in trade fraud investigations, which historically have been handled civilly for the most part, (2) the potential benefits of self-reporting violations to both criminal and civil components of the DOJ, and (3) the more severe consequences that can result when the DOJ learns about misconduct in the absence of a self-report.
On December 18, 2025, the DOJ's Criminal Division and the US Attorney's Office for the District of New Hampshire announced the criminal resolution of a trade fraud investigation into subsidiaries of a prominent distributor of plastic resin. Historically, many customs fraud investigations have often involved the importation of industrial components. The investigation stemmed from an instruction by the distributor's former chief operating officer (COO) to...
Kenneth Scott Miller, 48, is charged with a felony count of making a false report to law enforcement. He was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $500 bond. According to an Escambia County ...