Last week, sources within the Department of Justice (DOJ) signaled a reorganization designed to help the agency focus its enforcement of criminal customs fraud and tariff avoidance schemes. A reported expansion and reconfiguration of the DOJ's Market Integrity and Major Frauds (MIMF) Unit would focus on trade fraud and white collar crimes affecting investors and consumers. The roughly 35-lawyer MIMF Unit now stands to be supplemented with additional personnel from the DOJ Consumer Protection Branch and the expanded group would be renamed the Market, Government, Consumer Fraud Unit. This shift of key DOJ resources to investigate and prosecute tariff evasion represents a significant change for the MIMF Unit, which traditionally focused on procurement fraud and market manipulation, but is part and parcel with the DOJ's broader enforcement strategy.

The changes to the revamped MIMF Unit are the latest in a series of moves showing President Trump's focus on global trade relations and combatting tariff evasion. The Trump administration has repeatedly promised to enforce tariffs aggressively, including through the False Claims Act (FCA) and criminal prosecution, with DOJ criminal and civil fraud efforts at the forefront of that endeavor. In May 2025, Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the DOJ Criminal Division, announced that his unit would prioritize "trade and customs fraud, including tariff evasion." We have previously covered the DOJ's increasing focus on prosecuting customs fraud through the FCA here, here, and here. 

Increased investigations and prosecutions of customs issues undoubtedly are underway already. Reports indicate that the new unit is prioritizing cases involving long-running fraud, senior executives, and large volumes of alleged losses from unlawful tariff evasion schemes, and the DOJ is already receiving whistleblower tips and voluntary disclosures linked to trade fraud. 

While enforcement certainly will focus on violators of the newly implemented tariffs imposed by the present administration, enforcement is also likely to extend beyond such violations. For example, the DOJ recently has pursued FCA violations related to long-standing import duties, such as anti-dumping orders. Furthermore, earlier this year, the DOJ reached a settlement with a wood flooring company based on allegations that the company evaded customs duties, anti-dumping and countervailing duties, and section 301 tariffs. This is not entirely new – in the past five years, the DOJ also reached settlements with companies accused of underpaying duties after misclassifying imports, knowingly submitting incorrect valuation information on customs documents, and manipulating product descriptions to avoid duties. Nevertheless, the DOJ's recent reorganization shows the Trump administration's heightened focus on combatting customs fraud.

Miller & Chevalier has experience in both FCA litigation and customs law, and is available to assist clients with this evolving landscape. For more information, please contact:

Joshua Drew, jdrew@milchev.com, 202-626-5811

Richard A. Mojica, rmojica@milchev.com, 202-626-1571

Bradley E. Markano, bmarkano@milchev.com, 202-626-6061

Peter Kentz, pkentz@milchev.com, 202-626-5891

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