The Justice Department has a message for fraudsters or would-be fraudsters across the U.S.: We're prosecuting people like you every day, as our efforts keep expanding into new regions of the country.
That was the gist of Assistant Attorney General of the National Fraud Enforcement Division, Colin M. McDonald's welcoming remarks to "new enforcement partnerships" during a press conference at the 2026 Federal–State Fraud Partnership Conference – Southeast in Columbia, hosted by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, in Columbia on Thursday.
LIVE NOW: Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald announces RECORD fraud enforcement actions across the Southeast and new enforcement partnerships in the region alongside senior federal and state officials ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/kbIP3vj7pA
— National Fraud Enforcement Division (@DOJFraudDiv) July 30, 2026
He laid out the wide range of expertise and positions working alongside the Fraud Division:
With me today are U.S. attorneys, state attorneys general, secetaries of state, state treasurers, auditors, directors, inspectors general, the FBI, HSI...from seven different states across the Southeast.
McDonald continued, explaining how federal and state partnerships have already scored major successes:
When federal prosecutors work with state agencies to share leads, data, and strategy, the American people win; better intelligence, better cases, better training, more money returned to victims, and more fraudsters behind bars where they belong.
You can read more about the Southeastern U.S. fraud cases the Fraud Division announced on Thursday here:
The announcement today is a series of significant fraud enforcement actions across the Southeastern U.S., the product of robust federal-state partnerships with Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
— National Fraud Enforcement Division (@DOJFraudDiv) July 30, 2026
“Defeating the fraud epidemic in… pic.twitter.com/cy0RPZTzy3
Recently, we've been hearing a lot about Vice President JD Vance's fraud task force uncovering Medicare fraudsters. But here are two prosecutions the DOJ's division announced this week in the Northeast and Southwest, and they involve fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first example, the SBA (Small Business Administration) worked hand in hand with prosecutors to bring these labor union administrators to justice:
FRAUD UPDATE: This week, DOJ announced a $3.85 million settlement involving four labor unions that illegally obtained PPP loans during the pandemic.
— SBA (@SBAgov) July 29, 2026
Another win in the fight to hold bad actors accountable for defrauding the American public!https://t.co/ni5LARu4nq pic.twitter.com/HID0rloXdo
Then for this second case in my home state of Arizona, you could call it: All in the family, as the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Arizona prosecuted three members of the same family for setting up fake businesses, then claiming the funds meant to help small businesses keep their doors open during shutdowns. They used the money to buy property, the DOJ said in a press release:
Between May 2020 and March 2024, the three family members conspired with each other to fraudulently obtain and misuse multiple Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan relief loans. They submitted false information to secure nearly $2.2 million in loans for multiple businesses that had no employees. The funds were instead used for personal enrichment, including the purchase of multiple properties.
Forty-three-year-old Mohammed Maio, his mother, 66-year-old Souzan El-Sayed, and his father, 70-year-old Abukar Maio, all of Phoenix, pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Wire and Bank Fraud and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering.
Mohammed Maio also pleaded guilty to conspiring with his mom for her to buy a firearm in her name, as he's a convicted felon. Those charges are Felon in Possession of a Firearm, and Aiding Another in Making a Materially False Statement to Purchase a Firearm.
All three will be sentenced later this fall.
AAG McDonald did not mince words in addressing the fraudsters Thursday:
My message to the fraudsters is this: our team is getting bigger, our resolve is getting stronger, and your time is getting shorter.
AAG Colin McDonald to states working with the @DOJFraudDiv
— Vice President JD Vance (@VP) July 30, 2026
"Your partnership with us is the antidote to the fraud epidemic facing our nation. My message to the fraudsters is this: our team is getting bigger, our resolve is getting stronger and your time is getting shorter." pic.twitter.com/kuky26756o
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